Bicycle Touring 480 km in Seven Days: Effects on Body Composition and Physical Fitness—A Case Study
Metadatos
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MDPI
Materia
Bicycle touring Body composition Fat mass Lean mass Physical fitness Cardiorespiratory fitness
Fecha
2022-02-23Referencia bibliográfica
Zúñiga-Moreno, D.; Amaro-Gahete, F.J.; Chillón, P. Bicycle Touring 480 km in Seven Days: Effects on Body Composition and Physical Fitness—A Case Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 2550. [https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19052550]
Patrocinador
Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU14/04172); University of Granada, Plan Propio de Investigación 2016, Excellence actions: Units of Excellence; Scientific Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES); Grupo Nucesa; Obra Social “La Caixa”Resumen
Bicycle touring as a modality of physical activity that involves whole-body cardiorespiratory
and metabolic functions could be a potential strategy to improve body composition and
cardiorespiratory fitness. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of
7-days bicycle touring activity on body composition and physical fitness. A total of 13 individuals
(three women) participated in this quasi-experimental study. The participants were evaluated at baseline
and were tracked for up to 12 days after the intervention. The intervention consisted of a 480 km
bicycle touring route performed over 8 days. Body weight and body composition (i.e., fat mass and
lean mass) were assessed using a bioelectrical impedance analyser. Physical fitness was measured
using the International Fitness Scale questionnaire. We conducted a repeated-measures analysis of
variance to determine changes in body weight and body composition and paired sample t-tests to
analyse changes in physical fitness. Significant differences in fat mass were observed between the
baseline and both post-intervention (p = 0.003) and re-test values (p = 0.031). Significant differences
were also noted in lean mass between the baseline and post-intervention values (p = 0.003), whereas
no significant changes were observed when compared the baseline and re-test values (p = 0.178).
Significant differences were obtained in cardiorespiratory fitness when comparing the baseline with
the post-intervention values (p = 0.016), whereas no significant differences were noted in general
fitness, muscular strength, speed/agility, and flexibility (all p > 0.05). In conclusion, a 7-day bicycle
touring intervention can significantly reduce fat mass and increase lean mass and cardiorespiratory
fitness in healthy individuals.