Effects of 8-Weeks Recumbent Cycle Exercise on Lower Extremity Strengths in Healthy Subjects

This study aimed to compare the changes in muscle strength of the hip, knee, and ankle joints by conducting the recumbent cycle (RC) in high intensity interval training (HIIT) mode for four weeks. Thirty-six healthy subjects participated in this study. The subjects were trained for 24 sessions, 40 minutes per session, and three times a week. The hip flexor strength (HFS), hip extensor strength (HES), hip abductor strength (HAS), knee flexor strength (KFS), knee extensor strength (KES), ankle dorsiflexor strength (ADS), and ankle plantar flexor strength (APS) were measured using Micro FET. Paired t-tests were used to clarify significant differences in lower extremity strength before and after training. The statistical significance level was set at α=0.05. All subjects completed all exercise sessions. The values of HFS, HES, HAS, KFS, KES, ADS, and APS were significantly greater than the muscle strengths before exercise (p<0.001). These findings suggest that training using RC in HIIT mode increases the HFS, HES, KFS, KES, ADS, and APS of the lower extremity joints.