Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the performance and metabolic effects of two weeks of Arm Crank Ergometry (ACE) Sprint Interval Training (SIT) in men with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Eight paraplegic males 50.5 ± 9.0 yo, 180.8 ± 6.7 cm tall, 85.1 ± 19.5 kg, and 35.1 ± 5.7% body fat completed three oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTTs) at baseline, 2 weeks later, prior to SIT, and 48 hrs Post SIT. Six SIT sessions were performed on a Monark 891E ACE. Subjects cranked against 3.5% body mass for 30 sec, completing 4 sprints in session 1, then 5, 5, 6, 6, and 7 sprints in the final session. All data are presented as means ± SD with absolute change responses from baseline ± 95% confidence intervals and changes that failed to cross 0 considered significant. Peak and average power output increased across all subjects; peak power increased 11.9%, while average power increased 9.9%. AUC for neither glucose nor insulin significantly changed and ISI-Cederholm insulin sensitivity also failed to improve; OGTT change was 3.93 (-23.4, 31.3 95% CI). However, post-SIT plasma Non-Esterified Fatty Acids (NEFA) AUC dropped 0.34 (-0.53, -0.16 95% CI) mEq.L-1. In conclusion, two weeks of ACE SIT was effective at reducing NEFA in men with SCI, but did not improve insulin sensitivity or glucose levels. These data indicate that ACE SIT may be an effective adjunct training modality for those with SCI and other non-ambulatory populations.

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