The effect of foot articulation on exercise intensity during aerobic dance

Aerobic dance intensity can be affected by subtle changes in muscular involvement. To test this hypothesis, two variations (i.e. foot articulation vs. non-articulation) of a simulated aerobic dance movement (i.e. marching in place) were performed by college students enrolled in fitness classes at FAU. Following a separate day to determine VO2 max, all subjects participated in two randomized test sessions (24-48 hrs apart). One session required the subjects to march (non-articulation) to music, taught via videotape, while their heart rate and oxygen consumption were measured. In another session, a foot articulation method was taught to all subjects, using the same marching task originally performed under the non-articulation condition. Articulation HR (114 $\pm$.7 bpm) and VO2 (11.11 $\pm$.142 ml/kg/min) were significantly (p $<$.05) higher than the non-articulation HR (108 $\pm$.7 bpm) and VO2 (9.98 $\pm$.132 ml/kg/min). The results show that articulated marching produced a greater exercise intensity than non-articulated marching.