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Powlovich, Chad Thomas

College of Education and Social Services

2011

M. Ed.

Purpose: To determine if there is a difference in maximal heart rate (HR) achieved in a laboratory setting versus a competition setting in runners and cyclists. Methods: Thirty five healthy subjects (25 males, 10 females) consisting of 17 runners (10 males, 7 females, ages = 43.71 ± 9.07 yrs) and 18 cyclists (15 males, 3 females, ages = 43.56 ± 9.85 yrs) were recruited to participate in this study. All subjects performed a maximal bout of progressive exercise in a laboratory to measure maximum oxygen consumption (V0₂max) and maximal HR, along with a competition race for the runners and time trail for the cyclists where maximal HR was also measured.
Results: A paired T-tests showed no significant difference in maximal HRs between laboratory testing and field testing when cyclists and runners were analyzed in a group (p=.732, p= .969 respectively) (alpha set at <0.05). No significant difference was found in maximal HR between the two settings in male only (p=.21, p=.96 respectively) or female only cyclists and runners (p=.442, p=.96 respectively). In addition, no significant difference was found in maximal HR between male and female subjects in the laboratory for the running and cyclist groups (p= .478, p=.628), or in the field setting for the runners (p= .299). However, a significant difference was found between male and female cyclists in the field portion of the study (p= .015). Females produced a 10 beat/min⁻¹ higher maximal HR than the male cyclists group.
Conclusion: Results in the present study suggest there was no significant difference in maximal HR between the laboratory and competition settings in both cyclists and runners from the specific protocol used in the study.