Neuromuscular and metabolic comparisons between ramp and step incremental cycle ergometer tests

Introduction: We compared peak and submaximal mean values for neuromuscular and metabolic parameters between ramp (15 W·min^-1) and step (30 W increments every 2 min) incremental cycle ergometer tests. Methods: Thirteen healthy adults (7 men and 6 women; mean ± SD age = 23.4 ± 3.3 years) performed randomly ordered ramp or step incremental tests. Two-way repeated measures analyses of variance were used to analyze the data. Results: The ramp incremental test resulted in lower mean EMG amplitude, O₂, and HR values at the common power outputs, with no differences for MMG amplitude values. Conclusions: It is possible that the cumulative effect of producing an increased amount of work during the step (total work = 75.83 kJ) vs. ramp (total work = 65.60 kJ) incremental cycle ergometer tests at the common power outputs may have contributed to the greater fatigue-induced increase in muscle recruitment and/or firing rate, oxygen consumption, and heart rate.