Profiling exercise intensity during the exergame Hollywood Workout on XBOX 360 Kinect®

Abstract

Background: Despite the increasing popularity of exergame practice and its promising benefits in counteracting physical inactivity, limited research has been performed to document the physiological responses during an exergame session. This study aims (i) to investigate the responses of heart rate (HR) and oxygen uptake ( ${\dot{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{\text{2}}$ ) during an exergame session and to compare with HR and ${\dot{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{\text{2}}$ measured during joystick session and (ii) to compare HR and ${\dot{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{\text{2}}$ obtained during exergame and joystick session with those HR and ${\dot{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{\text{2}}$ associated with first and second ventilatory thresholds (VT₁ and VT₂, respectively) obtained during a maximal graded exercise test.

Methods: A total of 39 participants performed a maximal graded exercise test to determine maximal oxygen uptake ( ${\dot{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{\text{2}}\max$ ), VT₁, and VT₂. On separate days, participants performed an exergame and traditional sedentary game (with a joystick) sessions. The time that participants remained with HR and ${\dot{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{\text{2}}$ below the VT₁, between the VT₁ and VT₂ and above the VT₂ were calculated to determine exercise intensity.

Results: Heart rate and ${\dot{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{\text{2}}$ were below VT₁ during 1,503 ± 292 s (86.1 ± 16.7%) and 1,610 ± 215 s (92.2 ± 12.3%), respectively. There was an increase in HR and ${\dot{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{\text{2}}$ as a function of exergame phases, since HR mean values in the 'warm-up' period (119 ± 13 bpm) were lower than the 'main phase' (136 ± 15 bpm) and 'cool-down' periods (143 ± 15 bpm) (p < 0.001). Regarding ${\dot{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{\text{2}}$ values, the 'warm-up' (25.7 ± 2.9 mL.kg^-1.min^-1) were similar to the 'main phase' (25.1 ± 2.8 mL.kg^-1.min^-1) (p > 0.05) and lower than the 'cool-down' (28.0 ± 4.8 mL.kg^-1.min^-1) (p < 0.001). For all times of the joystick session, average HR and ${\dot{\text{V}}\text{O}}_{\text{2}}$ were below the VT₁ levels.

Conclusion: Exergames can be classified as light to moderate exercise. Thus, exergames could be an interesting alternative to traditional forms of exercise.

Keywords: Heart rate; Oxygen uptake; Physiological responses.