Foot

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.