Comparison of Peak Oxygen Uptake and Exercise Efficiency Between Upper-body Poling and Arm Crank Ergometry in Trained Paraplegic and Able-bodied Participants

Peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) and exercise efficiency are key factors for endurance performance. In persons who are primarily able to use their upper-body during exercise, such as many Paralympic athletes, the mode most commonly used in assessing VO2peak and efficiency is arm crank ergometry (ACE). However, sport-specificity of the test mode has been suggested to be of importance for achieving VO2peak and exercise efficiency that are reflective of the aerobic capacity in the respective sport. For ice sledge hockey players, cross-country sit skiers and sitting biathletes, upper-body poling (UP) is the most sport-specific test mode. However, it has not yet been investigated whether VO2peak and efficiency differ between ACE and UP. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare VO2peak and exercise efficiency in upper-body poling versus arm crank ergometry in trained able-bodied and paraplegic participants. Participants performed four 5-min submaximal stages at increasing effort and an incremental peak test to exhaustion in both ACE and UP.