Optimal Seat Height for Cycle Ergometer, Lab Report Example

Design

It is logical that there is the optimal seat height for cycle ergometer to optimize the mechanical efficiency using the sub-maximal exercise. The purpose of the study is to determine the optimal seat height for the cycle ergometer by using the sub-maximal exercise. This is important because it will help to adjust the seat height properly to avoid injury when cycling.  The seat heights were 22cm, 23.4cm, 25cm and 26cm when the knee is extended. After the experiment, the data was recorded for every seat’s height. The complete cycle is termed as the lowest vertical height of a toe. The relevance of the experiment is that it will help in calculating the mechanical efficiency, using cycle preparation and use of a metabolic machine.

Subject preparation

The cyclists were 14 males and 5 females who volunteered to take part in the study. All the participants were well trained on the road bikes, and they owned the bikes. They were all tested using their bikes where their seat heights were recorded. In the study, the seat heights were 20 cm for all the female and the males’ seat heights were 20cm, 22.3cm, 24cm and 25cm. These heights were considered appropriate for the participants, to make sure that they felt comfortable in the cycling exercise. It was agreed that the consent of the participants was a crucial factor to consider. The consent proved that the decision to participate in the experiment was not through coercion or undue influence. The participants were presented with a consent form, which they signed from free will.

Testing protocol

At the beginning of the experiment, a session for the body mass evaluation was conducted which was measured in kilograms (kg) with the self-reported age. Their seat heights and the horizontal position length were measured using the cycle ergometer. The participants performed the 10 minutes warm-up cycle using their respective height. The average speed during their self-selected race event and the training hours of every week was recorded. During the experiment, the seat heights were recorded as the seat heights were altered from the desired position to a high height. The heights to be used depending on the comfortable position of the individual participant. The seat height was determined by the height of the participants. The tall ones needed a relatively higher seat height that matched the individual height. For the shorter participants, the seat height was adjusted to meet their needs. It was agreed that comfortable height was important to achieve the desired outcomes of the experiment.

Analytical Procedures

The overall purpose was to calculate the percentage mechanical efficiency, obtained from the product of power output and the rate of expenditure. Power output refers to the quantity of energy transferred per unit time. The rate of expenditure related to the amount of energy that the participants used per unit time given. In this experiment, the participants took part in intense exercise. The metabolic machine indicated that these participants had varying VO2, indicating the different levels of physical preparedness they had for the experiment. The respiratory exchange ratio also indicated the rate of physical activity and energy use as showed by the metabolic machine. The percentage of mechanical efficiency was high for the participants whose physical exercise was high before participating in the cycling experiment.