Day 7 of my lab tests for a Sports and Exercise Science study yesterday and Jon said it would be a test at one of the extremes. I’m not allowed to know beforehand what the intensity is though.
3 minutes in and the resistance increases and it was obvious that this was at maximum resistance and I wasn’t going to last long. I tried my best but after about 2 minutes there just wasn’t any power left in my legs and I dropped below the required cadence and the test was over. Sharp, but at least it was short.
No doubt the next one will be the same but lying down. That should be fun!
Otherwise they have been going well, but I will be looking forward to the end of them soon so that I can get back in the pool during my lunch hours instead.
My lab tests for the ‘Supine exercise and the power-duration relationship’ study continue.
The second test on Monday was a very similar format to the first test except that I was lying down whilst cycling rather than in the usual position. It did make it harder and I didn’t last as long. The position is a little unusual and you just can’t produce as much power come the end of the test but it doesn’t seem to affect your heart and lungs quite so much, instead all of the pain is muscular!
Todays test was at a constant resistance and all I had to do was keep going at the same cadence for as long as possible. Sounds easy, but it soon becomes very difficult! I don’t know which of the settings I was at (60%, 70%, 80% or 100%) but it soon became pretty tough and I had to give it my all. And just to add the the pleasure I had to have a a small blood sample taken before and after as well.
Horrible at the time but it feels good afterwards!
A friend of mine (Jon) is doing a PhD. in the Sports and Exercise Science Department at Aberystwyth University and was looking for lab rats. Being a glutton for punishment I of course agreed to help out and have now become a participant in his study.
He is researching ‘Supine exercise and the power-duration relationship’ and says that research to date has focused on this relationship during moderate to heavy intensity exercise whereas his study is focusing on the relationship during exhaustive (i.e. severe-intensity) exercise.
It sounds as though some of these sessions in his lab could be hard work, especially as the adverse effects listed include nausea, vomiting, loss of balance and cardiac dysfunction along with localised muscular pain that may persist for more than 24 hours after a testing session. What have I let myself in for?
The first of my sessions was yesterday. Jon was very professional and talked me all through it, told me a little about his research and what the tests were looking at. He what I would have to do and what to expect. Then, after filling in a quick questionnaire / disclaimer I was on the bike and starting the test.
The test yesterday was a ramp test to determine the rates I’d be able to endure during subsequent testing. I had to sit on a very expensive exercise bike and pedal at a constant cadence whilst the resistance was gradually increased. I had to breathe through a tube and wear a nose-clip so that my pulmonary gas exchange could be measured breath by breath. My heart rate was monitored too and in future tests blood samples will be taken as well. All I had to do was keep going until I could go no more!
As expected it started off easy and simply got harder and harder. I found it fairly easy. Working in the aerobic zone was comfortable and I felt as though I could go on forever, but as soon as I passed my gas exchange threshold it was a different story. Jon was shouting encouragement at me, but before long I was down below the desired cadence and had to stop.
A nice little workout though and hopefully my results will aid Jon in his research. Next time I have to do the same, but this time in a suppine (lying down) body position. Should be fun!
All in the name of science, but it should also give me an insight into my fitness levels and hopefully Jon will come up with a few training sessions I could do to improve certain aspects of my cycling fitness.
I’ll let you know how future sessions go.
