Analysis of peak oxygen consumption and heart rate during elliptical and treadmill exercise

Objective: To compare peak oxygen consumption (VO2) and heart rate (HR) dur ing treadmill (TM) running and exercise on an elliptical trainer (ET). Design: A graded exercise test (GXT) during TM running and ET exercise. Participants: Physically active college students (N = 14; 25 +/- 4.6 years) . Each completed a TM GXT and ET GXT on separate days. Results: There were no differences in either VO2peak or peak HR between TM (53.0 +/- 7.7 ml . kg(-1) . min(-1), 193.4 +/- 9.4 bpm) and ET (51.6 +/- 10 .7 ml . kg(-1) . min(-1), 191.2 +/- 11.5 bpm; P >.05). Correlations between HR and VO2 data for all stages of exercise for all subjects were similar b etween machines (ET: r =.88; TM: r =.95; P >.05). Conclusion: No adjustments to the target HR used during TM running are nece ssary when using the ET.