caloric expenditure comparing pump, combat, rpm, step and running

Not your usual samba!

I happened to come across a paper that scientifically compared the energy expenditure to complete various aerobic classes to running at different speeds. For those of you who has a distaste for reading journals, here's my summary and (personal thoughts) on the paper.

1. BodyPump rates lower in calorie burn compared to BodyCombat, RPM, Step and running at about 8km/h.

2. The abstract does not mention duration of running that was compared to the aerobic classes, but assuming the time was standardised, it would be 55 minutes.

3. For running to be as effective in calorie burning as RPM, BodyCombat and Steps, the running speed has to between 8.05 to 8.37km/h for 55 minutes.

4. Logically, the heart rate can be increased more while doing BodyPump by carrying more weights, and since this study was done on women, guys, add on those plates to burn more!

5. Not too happy that they labelled BodyCombat as a dance >;o(

Here's the abstract of the said paper.

Journal of Strength Conditioning Research. 2006 Aug;20(3):593-6.

Analysis of the assessment of caloric expenditure in four modes of aerobic dance.

Rixon KP, Rehor PR, Bemben MG.

Center for Human Movement, University of Tasmania (Newham), Launceston, Australia.

Abstract

Aerobic dance has been purported to help with weight management; however, it is not known if various forms of dance are as effective as traditional modalities. This study estimated energy expenditure by heart rate for 28 women participating in 4 modes of aerobic dance (Bodycombat [i.e., TAEBO]; Pump; Step; and RPM [i.e., spinning]) compared to 2 running speeds. Pump had significantly (p < 0.01) lower energy expenditure (8.0 +/- 1.6 kcal.min(-1)) compared to the other classes (RPM: 9.9 +/- 1.9 kcal.min(-1); Step: 9.6 +/- 1.8 kcal.min(-1); and Bodycombat: 9.7 +/- 2.0 kcal.min(-1)) and running at 8.05 km.h(-1) (9.16 +/- 1.53 kcal.min(-1)). Also, Step (p < 0.01), Bodycombat (p < 0.01), and RPM (p < 0.01) had significantly higher caloric expenditures than running at 8.05 km.h(-1) but significantly lower than running at 8.37 km.h(-1) (10.30 +/- 1.72 kcal.min(-1)). In conclusion, RPM, Bodycombat, and Step aerobics were equally as effective as jogging between 8.05 and 8.37 km.h(-1), and they met American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for weight modification and maintenance. Additionally, heart rate assessment provided a quantitative method for estimating energy expenditure and the effectiveness of different aerobic programs.