Undergraduate Research: From Discovery to Application produced with squats using conventional weights at 1Gz

produced with squats using conventional weights at 1Gz. Subjects were divided into two groups. One group performed conventional squats resistance training (SRT) using free weights while the other group performed squat hypergravity resistance training (SHRT) on the Space Cycle. Each subject exercised eight times over two weeks on either the Space Cycle or using conventional squats. To determine muscle strength (and subsequent muscle hypertrophy) each subject’s 10RM (repetition max) and torque-velocity measurements of knee extensions were taken before and after the study. The 10RM is the maximum weight the individual can squat 10 times. Biopsies were also taken of the vastus laterialis before and after the study for analysis at a molecular level. The majority of subjects experienced increases in average peak torque exerted by knee extension and increased 10RM on squats. Using student t-tests, there was no significant difference in muscle strength increases between the SRT and SHRT groups. These results suggest that squat resistance training on the Space Cycle is capable of producing an increase in muscle strength similar to conventional squat resistance training using free weights.