Influence of higher-grade walking on metabolic demands in young untrained Japanese women

The primary purpose of this study was to document the physiological responses of level walking and running (LW/R) at various speeds, and grade walking (GW) at various grades on a treadmill. Twenty-four young untrained Japanese women performed 2 tests on the specially designed treadmill for a higher grade exercise. The first test was the LW/R with increase of speeds, 33.3, 66.7, 91.7, and 116.7 m.min(-1). The first 3 progressions were for walking and the last progression was for running. The second test was the GW with increase of grades 0, 10, 20, and 30% with the velocity of 33.3 m.min(-1) in all progressions. The different combinations of speeds and grade for the progressions used in this study were selected based on the results of preliminary pilot studies, so that the percent heart rate maximim (%HRmax) was reached at the minimum intensities recommended to allow improving cardiorespiratory fitness by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Significant (p