Preferred Tempo, Work Intensity, and Mechanical Efficiency

Two experiments were carried out to determine the relationship between preferred tempo, work intensity, and mechanical efficiency. During Exp. 1, five inexperienced subjects worked at 0 Newtons 10 min. each day for seven days. Results demonstrated that (1) preferred tempo remained very consistent from Minute 1 to Minute 10, (2) this tempo was statistically reliable from day to day, and (3) variability of preferred tempo decreased from the first day to the seventh day in four out of five subjects. During Exp. 2, four subjects from Exp. 1 cycled at workloads of 0.0, 4.9, 14.7, and 24.5 Newtons for 10 min. each on three different occasions. Oxygen uptake, heart rate, ventilation, and respiratory frequency all increased as a function of increased workload and as a function of time within, workload for 14.7 and 24.5 Newtons. 2 of the 4 subjects maintained a constant tempo within any workload but decreased their over-all rates as a function of increased resistance. There was no direct relationship between preferred tempo and mechanical efficiency. It was concluded that timing characteristics of the task may be changed to fit an increase in workload. However, once initiated, the tempo does not change even when metabolic demands are altered.