Effect of accumulated vs continuous exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption

Abstract

Background: A continuous aerobic exercise program is an effective method of improving calorie consumption on the metabolism of skeletal muscle. However, studies report that accumulated exercise of 30 minutes divided into three sessions of 10 minutes is as effective as one continuous exercise session for 30 minutes. As yet, no study has compared the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption associated with accumulated exercise and continuous exercise over these timeframes.

Objective: The primary purpose of this study was to compare the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption associated with performing continuous exercise for 30 minutes and three sessions of accumulated exercise for 10 minutes at the same intensity of 60% VO₂max.

Method: Posters about the study were posted on the February 2019 Konkuk university homepage and bulletin board, and a total of 34 college students (males, n=18; females, n=16) volunteered to participate. Using a balanced repeated-measures crossover design, the subjects randomly took two exercises: continuous exercise (1 x 30 minutes) or accumulated exercise (3 x 10 minutes), and the washout period between the two exercises was a week. All exercises were performed using an ergometer at 60% maximal oxygen consumption. Oxygen consumption and heart rate were monitored and measured during exercise and after exercise. Lipid profile and lactate acid were measured at rest, exercise end, exercise end plus 30 minutes, and exercise end plus 60 minutes. IBM SPSS Statistics 23 was used to perform a paired t-test, and the statistically significant difference was set at <.05.

Results: Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption parameters (e.g., total oxygen consumption, total calorie, and summation of heart rate) were higher in accumulated exercise than in continuous exercise (p<.05). No significant difference in the calorie during exercise between CEx and AEx (p = .140). No significant difference was observed in the lipid profile between accumulated exercise and continuous exercise (p>.05). No significant differences were observed at rest, exercise end plus 30 minutes, exercise end plus 60 minutes in lactic acid in the blood (p <.05). However, at exercise end, it was significantly higher in the accumulated exercise (p<.01).

Conclusions: This study confirmed that after equalizing energy expenditure for continuous exercise and accumulated exercise in participants in their 20s, accumulated exercise results in higher excess post-exercise oxygen consumption than continuous exercise. The data suggests that accumulated exercise may be more effective in reducing body fat than continuous exercise for a given amount of energy expenditure. [Ethiop.J. Health Dev. 2020;34(Special issue-3):84-90]

Keywords: Continuous exercise, accumulated exercise, excess post-exercise oxygen consumption