3 Minute Thesis Competition

Recently I entered the 3 Minute Thesis Competition at Georgia State. The initial step was submitting an abstract (250 word limit) outlining my thesis. From those submissions, Masters and PHD students were selected for a preliminary round competition. In this competition students have three minutes to outline their thesis. The rules were pretty simple: One static power point illustration, otherwise no notes, props or animation allowed, going over three minutes is automatic disqualification. I made it through the preliminary round to the finals. Placed third in the finals among masters students.

Thesis Title: Comparison of aerobic and cardiovascular changes occurring in older adults engaging in diverse types of stationary cycling

Presentation

"Good afternoon. As people age, a considerable number become less active and sedentary. This reduced physical activity can lead to chronic metabolic conditions like high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. However, research has documented the benefits older adults can derive from stationary cycling. In one example a four month study involving healthy older men and women showed an overall 12% improvement in measured peak VO2 and a 13% improvement in anaerobic threshold. VO2 measures how efficiently oxygen is used while anaerobic threshold can measure energy production. These are two common measurements of physical fitness.
Studies suggest that High Intensity Interval Training exercise can increase fitness and cardiovascular health compared to Continuous Moderate exercise. However, these studies involve younger individuals. and diverse types of exercise. Most research involving stationary cycling and older adults has focused on sample populations who have a chronic metabolic condition, injury, or illness. There is no research comparing the results between stationary cycling involving older healthy adults engaging in different exercise intensities.
My research will explore how stationary cycling intensities may help older adults achieve and maintain cardiorespiratory fitness which can help them perform activities of daily living and improve their quality of life. The study will compare cardiovascular and aerobic changes between two groups. Participants will be sedentary but otherwise healthy males and females over 60 years old with medical clearance. One group will engage in Continuous Moderate Exercise stationary cycling while the other group will engage in High Intensity Interval stationary cycling. Individuals in both groups will ride twice a week over 12 weeks. Sessions for both groups will start at 20 minutes increasing to 40 minutes during the study.
Besides workload, data involving heart rate, blood pressure and VO2 max will be collected for each participant before, during and after every session. The expectation is that while both groups will experience improvement in aerobic and cardiovascular function, the High Intensity Interval group will experience a greater improvement than the Continuous Moderate Exercise group. My hope is this research will provide incentive and motivation for older adults to use high intensity interval training as a regular part of their exercise program. Thank you."