Peak cardiorespiratory responses during aquatic and land treadmill exercise.

Purpose: Aquatic treadmill exercise has traditionally been used for aerobic training during rehabilitation; however, its ability to elicit comparable cardiorespiratory stress compared with land exercise is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cardiorespiratory (CR) responses elicited during maximal-effort protocols using an aquatic treadmill (ATM) and a land treadmill (TM).

Methods: Twenty-three college runners participated in two continuous, incremental peak oxygen consumption protocols (ATM and TM) until volitional exhaustion.