Effects of additional external load manipulation on perceptual and physiological responses during exergame

Abstract Aims: This study tested whether performing exergames with and without additional external load could induce to different internal load demand for young adults. Methods: Fifteen young women (24.4 ± 4.06 years) participated in the study. Electromyography (EMG) activity, heart rate (HR) and overall and local rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were determined in “Just Dance” and “Ski” exergames without additional external load and with additional external load of 5% of body mass attached bilaterally to the ankles in “Just Dance” and using a weight vest in “Ski”. Results: EMG, HR and overall RPE presented similar responses between loads in both exergames (p>.05). However, local RPE differentiate internal load only in “Just Dance”, with higher values with additional load (with additional load: 11.2 ± 2.1 RPE; without additional load: 10.3 ± 1.4 RPE; p = .037). Conclusion: Therefore, performing exergames with an additional external load of 5% of young women body mass did not induce different internal load demand in “Just Dance” and “Ski” exergames compared to performing such games without external load. However, the greater local RPE in “Just Dance” exergame after adding the external load suggests that a higher amount of load (i.e., > 5% of body mass) to this population may generate different internal load demand.

摘要 研究目标：本研究旨在验证，附加额外外部负荷与不附加额外负荷的情景下，体感运动游戏（exergame）能否对年轻成年人产生不同的内部负荷需求。
方法：本研究共纳入15名年轻女性（年龄24.4±4.06岁）。分别在两种实验条件下测定受试者的肌电（electromyography, EMG）活动、心率（heart rate, HR）以及整体与局部自觉劳累分级评分（rating of perceived exertion, RPE）：其一为不附加额外外部负荷的《Just Dance》与《Ski》体感运动游戏；其二为《Just Dance》游戏中于双侧踝关节附加相当于受试者体质量5%的额外负荷，《Ski》游戏中穿戴负重背心。
结果：两款体感运动游戏在不同负荷条件下的EMG活动、HR及整体RPE均无统计学差异（p>0.05）。不过局部RPE仅在《Just Dance》游戏中可区分内部负荷，附加负荷组的局部RPE值更高（附加负荷组：11.2±2.1 RPE；无负荷组：10.3±1.4 RPE；p=0.037）。
结论：综上，相较于不附加额外外部负荷的情景，为年轻女性附加相当于其体质量5%的额外负荷，并未使《Just Dance》与《Ski》两款体感运动游戏产生不同的内部负荷需求。但《Just Dance》游戏在附加额外负荷后局部RPE显著升高，提示针对该人群使用更高负荷（即>体质量5%）可能会引发不同的内部负荷需求。