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. 2021 Mar 4;67(1):69-76.
doi: 10.5606/tftrd.2021.5344. eCollection 2021 Mar.

The effects of vibration on efficiency in off-road cyclists

Tolga Aksit  1 , Arzu On  2 , Gorkem Aybars Balci  1 , Ozgur Ozkaya  1
Affiliations

The effects of vibration on efficiency in off-road cyclists

Tolga Aksit et al. Turk J Phys Med Rehabil. .

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether vibration significantly affected the efficiency of off-road cyclists.

Patients and methods: Eight male mountain cyclists (mean age 21.1±1 years; range, 19 to 22 years) between August 2017 and November 2017 were included. The experimental protocol included four testing sessions with a one-day interval between testing sessions: a familiarization session; performance of submaximal tests; performance of maximal graded exercise test; and a 30-min mountain bike trial performed with vibration or without vibration. Physiological measures including volume of oxygen uptake (VO2), volume of 2), VO2, VCO2, heart rate, respiratory exchange ratio, rating of perceived exertion, and gross efficiency (GE) were compared between the trials performed with vibration or without vibration.

Results: There was a significant increase in the GE with the addition of intermittent vibration, particularly over the last 15 min of the cycling trial (p<0.05). There were no significant effects of vibration on other parameters.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that addition of intermittent vibration may provide positive benefits in improving GE during a 30-min submaximal cycling trial.

Keywords: Gross efficiency; mountain biking; oxygen uptake; performance; vibration.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Schematic illustration of the experimental protocol. VO2: Oxygen uptake; VbX+: With vibration; VbX-: Without vibration.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Placement of the system on a platform fixed to whole body vibration equipment.
Figure 3
Figure 3. (a) Oxygen uptake and (b) gross efficiency differences of 30 min submaximal mountain bike trials. VbX+: With vibration; VbX-: Without vibration.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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