Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jun 1;11(4):886-899.
doi: 10.70252/WFYJ1596. eCollection 2018.

Acute Cardiometabolic Responses to Medicine Ball Interval Training in Children

Avery D Faigenbaum  1 , Jie Kang  1 , Nicholas A Ratamess  1 , Anne Farrell  1 , Nicole Ellis  1 , Ira Vought  1 , Jill Bush  1
Affiliations

Acute Cardiometabolic Responses to Medicine Ball Interval Training in Children

Avery D Faigenbaum et al. Int J Exerc Sci. .

Abstract

Medicine ball interval training (MBIT) has been found to be an effective exercise modality in fitness programs, yet the acute physiological responses to this type of this exercise in youth are unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the acute cardiometabolic responses to MBIT in children. Fourteen children (mean age 10.1 ± 1.3 yr) were tested for peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) on a treadmill and subsequently (> 48 hours later) performed a progressive 10 min MBIT protocol of 5 exercises (EX): standing marches (EX1), alternating lunges (EX2), squat swings (EX3), chest passes (EX4) and double arm slams (EX5). A 2.3 kg medicine ball was used for all trials and each exercise was performed twice for 30 sec with a 30 sec rest interval between sets and exercises. Participants exercised while connected to a metabolic system and heart rate (HR) monitor. During the MBIT protocol, mean HR significantly (p<0.05, η2 = 0.89) increased from 121.5 ± 12.3 bpm during EX1 to 178.3 ± 9.4 bpm during EX5 and mean VO2 significantly (p<0.05, η2= 0.88) increased from 15.5 ± 2.9 ml × kg-1 × min-1 during EX1 to 34.9 ± 5.1 ml × kg-1 × min-1during EX5. Mean HR and VO2 values during MBIT ranged from 61.1% to 89.6% of HRpeak and from 28.2% to 63.5% of VO2peak. These descriptive data indicate that MBIT can pose a moderate to vigorous cardiometabolic stimulus in children.

Keywords: Heart rate; circuit training; oxygen consumption; preadolescent; resistance training; youth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participant performing squat swing exercise while connected to metabolic cart. Parental permission was obtained to reveal the identity of the child.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Heart rate (HR) responses (mean ± SD) during the medicine ball interval training protocol. PRE = Baseline. EX = Exercise; S = set; R = rest interval; P = post exercise. See Table 3 for significant differences between sets. Parental permission was obtained to reveal the identity of the child.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Relative oxygen uptake responses (mean ± SD) during the medicine ball interval training protocol. PRE = Baseline. EX=Exercise; S = set; R = rest interval. See table 3 for significant differences between sets. Parental permission was obtained to reveal the identity of the child.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM’s guidelines for exercise testing and prescription. Baltimore, MD: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins; 2018.
    1. Armstrong N, McManis A. Oxford textbook of children’s sport and exercise medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2017. Aerobic Fitness.
    1. Armstrong N, Welsman J. Paediatric exercise science and medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2008. Aerobic Fitness.
    1. Baquet G, Gamelin F, Aucouturier J, Berthoin S. Cardiorespiratory responses to continuous and intermittent exercise in children. Int J Sports Med. 2017;38:755–762. - PubMed
    1. Baquet G, Gamelin F, Mucci P, Thévenet D, Van Praagh E, Berthoin S. Continuous vs. interval aerobic training in 8- to 11-year-old children. J Strength Cond Res. 2010;24:1381–1388. - PubMed