Running head: CROSSFIT VS. TRADITIONAL EXERCISE BIERHAUS 1

Transcription

1 Running head: CROSSFIT VS. TRADITIONAL EXERCISE BIERHAUS 1 Comparison of Metabolic Equivalent of Task and Heart Rate Levels of an Adult with Intellectual Disability Participating in Crossfit and Traditional Exercises Brooke Bierhaus Texas Woman s University

2 CROSSFIT VS. TRADITIONAL EXERCISE BIERHAUS 2 Introduction Physical Activity is an important aspect of health that is often overlooked. The Center for Disease Control recommends that adults age 18 to 64 exercise with moderate intensity for 150 minutes every week combined with muscle strengthening exercises two or more days a week. A second option is 75 minutes of vigorous activity combined with two days or more of strength training exercises. (Center for Disease Control, 2015) The intensity of physical activity can be measure as moderate or vigorous. Moderate intensity exercises include brisk walking, water aerobics, gardening and several others. Vigorous intensity exercises include jogging, lap swimming, jumping rope and other activities that increase the heart rate. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015) A method of measuring exercise intensity is using the Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET). One MET is equal to 3.5 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight multiplied by minutes. (Jette, Sidney & Blumchen, 1990) A MET level of three or lower indicates the basic activities of daily living such as breathing. A MET level between three and six is indicative of a moderate intensity exercises. A MET level of six or higher indicates vigorous exercise. There are several ways in which physical activity recommendations can be achieved. Two options that seem to have gained popularity are traditional gym exercises and Crossfit. Traditional gym exercises include free weights, muscle strengthening machines and cardio equipment. Typically the exercises target one muscle group and are performed in sets of specific

3 CROSSFIT VS. TRADITIONAL EXERCISE BIERHAUS 3 repetitions before moving on to the next exercise. Traditional exercise has been utilized by professional athletes, body builders and the average citizen. Crossfit is constantly varied, high-intensity, functional movement. (The crossfit level one training guide) Crossfit utilizes functional movements for strength and cardiovascular gains. Functional movements are defined as compound movements that are initiated from the core to the extremities. (The crossfit level one training guide) Crossfit identifies ten fitness domains: cardiovascular endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, speed, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy. Crossfit, as determined by the Crossfit organization, is an exercise program that can be done by all people. Crossfit does not change programs, they scale the load and intensity. The purpose behind scaling Crossfit workouts as opposed to changing the programming is to preserve the intended stimuli. The stimuli for workouts may vary depending on the workout. The intention may be to work the cardiovascular system, or the muscular endurance system. Whichever it is, scaling should preserve the nature of the workout of the day (WOD). (Gordon, 2015) With scaling, Crossfit exercises can be accomplished by any person who desires to exercise in a Crossfit style. In a recent study using novice athletes and experienced athletes continuous circuit and high-intensity interval Crossfit exercises were compared. Both types of exercises are those utilized by Crossfit programming. One is continuous exercises while the other incorporates the use of breaks during training. Both modes of training showed similar heart rate response indicating both can be used to elicit a desired heart rate response. (Butcher, Judd, Benko, Horvey

4 CROSSFIT VS. TRADITIONAL EXERCISE BIERHAUS 4 & Pshyk, 2015) Meaning breaks in exercise do not effect overall heart rate response as long as participants are able to perform at a high intensity following the break. There have been few studies to examine the difference between traditional exercise and Crossfit. There have been no known studies examining the response of Crossfit for individuals with disability. While Crossfit is gaining popularity for all individuals, the response is still unknown. The purpose of this study is to examine the difference in MET level and heart rate of an individual with intellectual disability while performing traditional exercise and Crossfit. Methods The participant for the research is a 27 year old male with intellectual disability and minimal expressive language. Training will occur one time per week for six weeks. Each session will last 45 minutes to an hour. An Actiheart, which has been validated for use in adults (Crouter, Churilla & Bassett Jr., 2007) will be used to monitor the participant s heart rate and Metabolic Equivalent of Task. The training sessions will all use the same warm up of five minutes on the stationary bike prior to beginning the exercise session. The first three sessions will be programmed following a traditional model of gym exercises. The last three sessions will be programmed following a Crossfit style exercise.

5 CROSSFIT VS. TRADITIONAL EXERCISE BIERHAUS 5 Table 1: Programming for six sessions Traditional Day 1/Assessment (sept.29) Assessment of one rep max lifts for: -chest press -leg press -1 mile jog -Range of motion Traditional Day 2 (oct.6) 5 min bike warm up Plank: 5 sets of 10 seconds Seated Abdominal Twist: 2 sets of 10 reps (10lb) Bicep Curl: 2 sets of 10 reps (5lb) Chest Press: 2 sets of 10 reps (25lb) Seated Cable Row: 2 sets of 10 reps (25lb) Stretching: 5 minutes Traditional Day 3 (oct.13) 5 min bike warm up Plank: 5 sets of 10 seconds 10 push ups Chest Press: 2 sets of 10 (25lb) Seated Cable Rows: 2 sets of 10 reps (30lb) Step-ups: 2 minutes Mini-Squats: 2 sets of 10 minutes Stretching: 5 minutes Crossfit Day 1 (oct.20) 5 min bike warm up 20 minutes As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) -5 push press 11lbs -10 abdominal crunches -100 meter walk or jog Stretching: 5 minutes Crossfit Day 2 (oct.27) 5 min bike warm up 20 minutes AMRAP -5 Burpees -10 Kettle Bell Swings (5lb) -20 Step Ups (10 ) Stretching: 5 minutes Crossfit Day 3 (nov.3) 5 min bike warm up 2 sets of 12 minute AMRAP with 5 min break between -5 squats (on box) -8 push ups -10 sit ups -15 jumping jacks Stretching: 5 minutes Results

6 CROSSFIT VS. TRADITIONAL EXERCISE BIERHAUS 6 Gathering the data from the Actiheart, graphs are pre-made for heart rate and MET level. The highest MET level was achieved during Tradition exercise 2 during the five minute stationary bike warm up. The longest period of time the participant showed elevated MET levels, not including assessment day, was Crossfit day one. A visual analysis of the Actiheart graphs show Crossfit had more spikes in MET levels when compared to the two traditional exercise days. The day the participant exhausted most energy was the first day of traditional exercise. Table 2: HR (top) and MET (bottom) level for exercise Tradition/Assessment Day 1 Crossfit Day 1 Traditional Day 2 Crossfit Day 2

7 CROSSFIT VS. TRADITIONAL EXERCISE BIERHAUS 7 Traditional Day 3 Crossfit Day 3 Through visual analysis of Actiheart data, peak MET levels were found for each day as well as estimated time spent in moderate or vigorous activity. Graph 1: Comparison of peak MET levels Peak MET Levels traditional crossfit Graph 2: Comparison of estimated time spent in moderate or vigorous activity

8 CROSSFIT VS. TRADITIONAL EXERCISE BIERHAUS 8 Estimated Time Spent in Moderate or Vigorous Activity (minutes) traditional crossfit Informal observation data was collected during the research sessions. For the traditional style of exercise, the participant needed teaching and re-teaching at each exercise, even for exercises that had been completed previously. During the Crossfit intervention, after approximately two rounds, the participant knew which exercise was next and how many repetitions to complete with minimal prompting. Discussion The results from this research study do not determine exactly which exercise may be better for the participant at increase MET levels and heart rate. In the future, I would personally use Crossfit due to the fact that the participant requires minimal prompting and is constantly moving and remembering which exercise is next. There are some limitations to this study. A major limitation is the lack of data points. However, the class only meets with the participants for nine weeks and six of those are data

9 CROSSFIT VS. TRADITIONAL EXERCISE BIERHAUS 9 collection days. In future studies, I would like to gather more data to better compare the two styles of exercise. During the class the participants are paired with two trainers. For this study, one trainer delivered the traditional exercise and the other delivered the Crossfit exercise sessions. This could be another reason for differences in Heart Rate and MET levels. Another limitation is that neither of the trainers are certified in the required fields. The main purpose of the class is to gain experience training individuals with disabilities, with a secondary requirement of conducting research. However, the workouts were deemed appropriate by a certified personal trainer and a level one certified Crossfit coach. In the future I would like to repeat this study using a participant who met more frequently and for a longer duration of time. I do feel that Crossfit could be beneficial for all individuals, including those with intellectual disability. With the appropriate modifications, any of the exercises can be made possible and all participants can have success. References Author. (2012). Cognitive Disabilities. In C. Wing. (Eds.), Inclusive Fitness Trainer (pp ). Indianapolis, IN: American College of Sports Medicine.

10 CROSSFIT VS. TRADITIONAL EXERCISE BIERHAUS 10 Butcher, S. J., Judd, T. B., Benko, C. R., Horvey, K. J., & Pshyk A. D. (2015). Relative intensity of two types of crossfit exercise: Acute circuit and high-intensity interval exercise. Journal of Fitness Research, 4(2). Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Measuring physical activity intensity. (2015). Retrieved from Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). How much physical activity do adults need? (2015). Retrieved from Crouter, S. E., Churilla, J. R., & Bassett Jr., D. R. (2007) Accuracy of the actiheart for the assessment of energy expenditure in adults. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 62, Doi: /sj.ejcn Gordon, J. (2015). Scaling crossfit workouts. Crossfit Journal. October, Retrieved from Jette, M., Sidney, K., & Blumchen, G. (1990) Metabolic equivalents (METS) in exercise testing, exercise prescription, and evaluation of functional capacity. Clinical Cardiology, 8, Retrieved from: The crossfit level one training guide. Crossfit, Inc. Retrieved from