Oxygen Consumption and Metabolic Equivalents during Ruesi-Dudton-Stretching Exercise in Healthy Females

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the oxygen uptake response and metabolic equivalents (METs, or energy consumption rates)) during Ruesi Dadton stretching exercise in 30 healthy female volunteers (mean age, 20.0 ± 0.9 yrs). After determining the peak oxygen uptake (VO_2peak) with a ramp incremental cycling test, each participant underwent Ruesi Dadton stretching exercise (15 postures, 5 times per posture), and before as well as during exercise, his/her oxygen uptake was measured using Cortex Biophysik, Metalyzer. The oxygen uptake rate and MET were calculated for each posture; and a blood sample from the fingertip was collected and analyzed to determine the blood lactate level over the last 20 s of baseline and within 20 s of the termination of exercise. The results demonstrated that there was a significantly increased oxygen uptake during the stretching exercise (ranging from 31.1±7.5 to 58.5±18.2% of VO_2peak), compared to the resting period (26.2±6.4% of VO_2peak) (p<0.05). In addition, METs significantly increased during the stretching exercise (ranging from 1.8±0.4 to 3.1±0.9), compared to the resting period (1.4±0.3, p<0.05). There was a significant difference between baseline and after exercise blood lactate levels (2.2±0.3 vs 4.3±1.8 mmol/l) (p<0.05). These findings reveal that Ruesi Dadton stretching exercise meets the requirements for an exercise of light-to-moderate intensity.