Article #28 of 50: I have made it a goal of mine to share at least 50 research articles with you to review in 2012. These articles will be shared with no opinion of mine, just purely the information provided in the research and where to go to read more about the topic. This weekly challenge will feature many different aspects of the field: strength, conditioning, nutrition, psychology, etc. If you would like to submit research articles to be included in this segment, please email me a PDF version of the peer reviewed journal article.

Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 37: 252–256 (2012)

Abstract: We examined the aerobic and anaerobic energy expenditures of weight lifting (bench press); submaximal work was kept constant among protocols. Ten male subjects (age, 23.2 ± 3.1 years; height, 177.3 ± 5.3 cm; weight, 82.1 ±11.5 kg) were randomly assigned to 3 lifting sessions of 3 sets of 5 repetitions at 70% 1 repetition maximum (1RM) using 3 lifting cadences: 1.5 s down and 1.5 s up (15 s per set), 4 s down and 1 s up (25 s per set), and 1 s down and 4 s up (25 s per set). No differences were found among the aerobic exercise energy expenditures for each lifting cadence. However, anaerobic energy expenditure was significantly different among protocols: 1.5 down–1.5 up, 16.5 ± 8.1 kJ; 4 down–1 up, 21.6 ± 8.1 kJ; and 1 down–4 up, 26.7 ± 7.2 kJ (p = 0.001). Excess postexercise oxygen consumption (EPOC; after each set) was lower for 1.5 down–1.5 up, 38.6 ± 17.8 kJ; versus 4 down–1 up, 50.2 ± 23.5 kJ; and 1 down–4 up, 50.0 ± 22.6 kJ (p = 0.002). Total energy expenditure also was significantly less for 1.5 up–1.5 down, 60.2 ± 23.8 kJ; versus 4 down–1 up, 80.0 ± 27.7 kJ; and 1 down–4 up, 84.2 ± 28.3 kJ (p = 0.001). Differences in EPOC and total energy expen- diture with submaximal lifting were based not on the amount of work performed or with a particular eccentric–concentric cadence, but on the time to completion of the weight lifting exercise – time-under-tension; longer submaximal lifting times had greater energy expenditure.

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