Effect between cadence and lower extremity muscle activity during uphill cycling to cyclist performance

Cycling is an exercise performing in a vertically reciprocating movement using bicycle which usually serves as sport equipment for training and as transport. Great quantity of lower extremity muscle contraction involved in uphill cycling. In the past few decades, research related to cycling includes study of lower limb muscle activity by various situation applied. However, few research studies on the lower limb muscle activation level with varying cadence during uphill cycling. Thus, this task proposes to investigate the effect of pedalling cadence and tilting angle of cycling on lower extremity muscle activity, and to compare the muscle activation level between genders. Three pedalling cadences (70rpm, 80rpm and 90rpm) and two tilting angles of cycling inclination (10° and 30°) were set. Electromyography (EMG) measurements of the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis in quadriceps were done and collected from 5 males and 5 females during cycling. ANOVA analysis was performed, and results indicated that pedaling cadence had significant influence on the lower extremity muscle activity (p < 0.05). Increasing pedaling cadence caused a significant increase in the muscle activation of the vastus lateralis. For gender effect, females tend to have a higher muscle activation level and significantly greater vastus lateralis muscle activity than males during cycling. On the other hand, no significant differences in peak muscle activity at both tilting angles of cycling and no significant interaction effect in all group comparison.