Abstract:
The purpose of this investigation was to identify the heart rate and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) responses associated with low-impact aerobic dance exercise with and without wrist weights. Each subject completed a maximal treadmill test, and two low-impact aerobic dance trials, one with one pound wrist weights and one without the wrist weights. The low-impact aerobic dance routine included three five-minute segments which increased in tempo from 116 to 148 beats per minute. Group means and standard deviations were calculated for heart rate and RPE responses at each music tempo with and without wrist weights. Analysis of variance for repeated measures was utilized to compare heart rate and RPE data between the wrist weights and without wrist weights trials. For all comparisons, statistical significance was set at the 0.05 level. For the 116 bpm tempo, there was no significant differences between wrist weights and no wrist weights trials for heart rate (138.0±16.7 vs. 1±22.2 bpm) or RPE (8.1+1.8 vs. 8.7±1.8). At the 148 bpm tempo, no differences were noted between trials for heart rate (155.8±14.7 vs. 158.9±20.9), but the RPE data was significantly different (12.2± 2.4 vs. 12.8+2.0). The results of this study demonstrate that the addition of one pound wrist weights to low-impact aerobic dance exercise does not significantly alter heart rate responses, although higher tempos can affect RPE responses.