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Faculty of Medical Sciences

The effects of 4 months handbike training under free-living conditions on physical fitness and health

Hoekstra, S.P. (Sven) (2015) The effects of 4 months handbike training under free-living conditions on physical fitness and health. thesis, Human Movement Sciences.

Full text available on request.

Abstract

Introduction Handcycling has become a popular mode of propulsion to engage in a physically active lifestyle for wheelchair-bound individuals. Recognizing the encouraging effect of challenging events to initiate training, the HandbikeBattle (HBB) event was created in 2013. The purpose of this study was to reveal the effects on physical fitness and health outcomes of 4 months handbike training under free-living conditions in preparation for the event. Methods 59 Relatively inexperienced handyclists participated in the HBB of 2013 or 2014. Before (T1) and after (T2) the 4 months preparation period preceding the event, incremental exercise tests were conducted, respiratory function was tested and anthropometrics were measured. Main outcome measures were peak power output (POpeak), peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) and waist circumference, of which changes were tested using repeated measures ANOVA for T1 and T2. To detect possible determinants of large improvements in physical fitness, the median of change in POpeak was used to compare the groups with improvements above and below this value for age, gender, classification, time since injury, POpeak at T1, and shoulder complaints during the training period. Results POpeak, VO2peak and waist circumference improved significantly with 17%, 7% and 4.1%, respectively. Only age could be detected as possible determinant for large improvements in physical fitness, with an older age for the group with large improvements. Conclusion A challenging event such as the HBB provokes training regimes among participants of sufficient load to realize substantial improvements in physical fitness and health outcomes. Since only age could be detected as a determinant for large improvements in POpeak, insight in the conducted training of handcyclists in free-living conditions is needed in future research. The use of modern technology to monitor handbike training can be a route to a better understanding in the positive effects of handbike training on physical fitness and health. Keywords: physical fitness; handcycling; rehabilitation; training; free-living conditions

Item Type: Thesis (UNSPECIFIED)
Supervisor name: Valent, L.J.M. and Woude, prof. dr. L.H.V. van der and Groot, S. de
Faculty: Medical Sciences
Date Deposited: 12 Apr 2022 09:00
Last Modified: 12 Apr 2022 09:00
URI: https://umcg.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3088

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