Profiling exercise intensity during the exergame Hollywood Workout on XBOX 360 Kinect®

BACKGROUND: Despite the increasing popularity of exergame practice and its promising benefits in counteracting physical inactivity, limited research has been performed to document the physiological responses during an exergame session. This study aims (i) to investigate the responses of heart rate (HR) and oxygen uptake ([Image: see text] ) during an exergame session and to compare with HR and [Image: see text] measured during joystick session and (ii) to compare HR and [Image: see text] obtained during exergame and joystick session with those HR and [Image: see text] associated with first and second ventilatory thresholds (VT(1) and VT(2), respectively) obtained during a maximal graded exercise test. METHODS: A total of 39 participants performed a maximal graded exercise test to determine maximal oxygen uptake ([Image: see text] ), VT(1), and VT(2). On separate days, participants performed an exergame and traditional sedentary game (with a joystick) sessions. The time that participants remained with HR and [Image: see text] below the VT(1), between the VT(1) and VT(2) and above the VT(2) were calculated to determine exercise intensity. RESULTS: Heart rate and [Image: see text] were below VT(1) during 1,503 ± 292 s (86.1 ± 16.7%) and 1,610 ± 215 s (92.2 ± 12.3%), respectively. There was an increase in HR and [Image: see text] as a function of exergame phases, since HR mean values in the ‘warm-up’ period (119 ± 13 bpm) were lower than the ‘main phase’ (136 ± 15 bpm) and ‘cool-down’ periods (143 ± 15 bpm) (p < 0.001). Regarding [Image: see text] values, the ‘warm-up’ (25.7 ± 2.9 mL.kg(−1).min(−1)) were similar to the ‘main phase’ (25.1 ± 2.8 mL.kg(−1).min(−1)) (p > 0.05) and lower than the ‘cool-down’ (28.0 ± 4.8 mL.kg(−1).min(−1)) (p < 0.001). For all times of the joystick session, average HR and [Image: see text] were below the VT(1) levels. CONCLUSION: Exergames can be classified as light to moderate exercise. Thus, exergames could be an interesting alternative to traditional forms of exercise.