The effect of boxing exergame on blood lactate and VO2max in non-athlete healthy young men

Abstract

Background: The lack of physical activity and high sedentary behavior is among the main causes of non-communicable diseases at a young age. Moreover, exergaming (EXG) is a type of exercise that integrates different modes of digital games into physical activities. Since several young men spend a significant amount of time on sedentary games, it is believed that replacement with exergames will improve physical activity levels. Therefore, this study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of exercise by measuring blood lactate (BLa) and VO2max in non-athlete healthy young men. This study aims to analyze the effect of exercise using NintendoTM switch "Fitness Boxing 2" on BLa and VO2max in non-athlete healthy young men. Methods: Experimental series with repeated measures on healthy young men of 20-40 years by the health worker at Dr. Soetomo Hospital Surabaya. This research was based on the exercise using Nintendo SwitchTM "Fitness Boxing 2" with the hard or high-intensity mode at a duration of 38 minutes consisting of warm-up, core training which included variations of Straight, Hook, and Uppercut strokes, and cooling down three times a week for one month. The BLa examination was carried out 3 times before and after exercises I, VI, and XII during the exercise. VO2max was examined using the 6-minutes walking test based on the Nusdwinuringtyas formula one day before and after exercises I and XII, respectively. Results: This study included 13 healthy young men, with an average age of 30.77± 3.632. The mean BLa before and after exercise was 2.03 and 3.02, respectively, with an increase of 0.99. The three p-values ​​were carried out by the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, where a p-value = 0.001 was obtained, indicating a significant increase in post-exercise BLa levels. The VO2max before and after treatment obtained an average of 23.39± 2.82 (mL/kg/minute) and 30.69 ± 4.95 (mL/kg/minute), respectively. Furthermore, the comparison of VO2max examination before and after treatment with an average of 7.30±4.04 (mL/kg/min) obtained a significant difference with a p-value = 0.000. Conclusion: The effect of high-intensity exercise using Nintendo SwitchTM "Fitness Boxing 2" increases the BLa levels and VO2max in non-athlete healthy young men.