Effects of a bi-directional pedal pattern on fatigue in cycling

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a bi-directional pedal pattern (a combination of forward and backward pedaling), on the process of fatigue in cycling. Thirty-three subjects participated in this study (18 trained, age 31.4±11.1 years, average 9.6±9.7 years training; 15 untrained, age 28.6±11.3 years). Subjects participated in four sessions on different days: a maximum sustained power test, followed by three tests to voluntary fatigue for each of these randomly assigned pedal patterns (forward only, backward only and a bi-directional (BI)). Heart rate and blood lactate measured the intensity of exercise. Kinetic, kinematic and EMG data quantified the fatigue process. Main results show that the BI pedal pattern delayed the onset of fatigue in untrained subjects. Future research should explore the BI pedal pattern after subjects train in backward pedaling, as well as the optimal forward to backward pedaling ratio for the BI pedal pattern.