The Acute and Chronic Responses to Exercise with the Core-Tex™

Aim: The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) quantify the acute physiological responses to exercise with the Core-Tex™ and 2) to determine the effectiveness of 6wk chronic exercise training with the Core-Tex™ at improving cardiorespiratory, flexibility, neuromotor, and muscular fitness. Methods: Fifteen women and men (mean ± SD: age, height, weight, and VO2max = 26.1 ± 6.8 years, 171.6 ± 9.3 cm, 64.5 ± 12.7 kg, and 41.3 ± 6.5 mL/kg/min, respectively) participated in the study. A portable calorimetric measurement system and Polar F1 heart rate monitor were worn by each participant throughout two 30-minute Core-Tex™ training sessions (an upper body/core day and lower body/core day) to quantify the acute physiological response to exercise with the Core-Tex™. Cardiovascular and metabolic responses across these two sessions were averaged. Additionally, participants completed a 6wk Core-Tex™ exercise training program (30-minute sessions performed 4 times/wk). Cardiorespiratory, flexibility, neuromotor, and muscular fitness were measured at baseline and after 6wk training. Results: Overall heart rate for a 30-minute exercise session was 121.4 ± 13.7 beats/min, which corresponded to 48.1 ± 10.6% HRR. Exercise intensity in METs was 4.8 ± 1.1, which equated to 35.2 ± 5.9% VO2R. Total energy expenditure for a Core-Tex™ exercise training session was 162.0 ± 21.9 kcal/session. After 6wk of exercise training with a Core-Tex™ there were significant (p < 0.05) improvements all cardiorespiratory, flexibility, neuromotor, and muscular fitness measurements. Conclusions: Findings from the present study support the activity of Core-Tex™ as a feasible alternative to traditional exercise modalities for adults that elicits cardiovascular and metabolic responses within an accepted moderate intensity range. Moreover, regular exercise training with the Core-Tex™ improves various domains of fitness in a time efficient manner.