Caloric expenditure of 821 activities, including conditioning exercises, occupational activities such as masonry work, self-care activities such as dressing, and lawn care activities such as mowing, have been previously reported (Ainsworth et al., 2011). However, there is little research regarding this in regards to elastic resistance training.

Caloric expenditure of 821 activities, including conditioning exercises, occupational activities such as masonry work, self-care activities such as dressing, and lawn care activities such as mowing, have been previously reported (Ainsworth et al., 2011). However, there is little research regarding this in regards to elastic resistance training.PURPOSE: To determine the MET level and caloric expenditure per minute associated with elastic resistance exercise.METHOD: Caloric expenditure was measured by determining oxygen consumption. After participants were fitted with noseclips and a mouthpiece, they lay prone for 5 minutes to assess resting metabolic rate. 20 university students (8 male; 12 female) ages 18-25 (21.80 ±1.8 years) completed 15 min of upper and lower body exercises using two different strengths of elastic resistance bands (blue, black) while expired air was analyzed. A video led them through 10 exercises using the blue band and then again using the black band. Each exercise was performed for 10 reps. METs were calculated from participants’ relative oxygen consumption and caloric expenditure per minute was derived from: 0.0175 x MET x body mass (kg).RESULTS: Differences (p<0.05) were found between upper- and lower-body exercise as well as between the blue and black elastic bands. Lower-body exercises performed with the black elastic band yielded higher energy costs (4.06 ± 0.7 MET; 5.26 ± 1.5 kcal/min) compared to pre-exercise (1.42 ± 0.4 MET; 1.84 ± 0.5 kcal/min), black upper-body (3.29 ± 0.6 MET; 4.26 ± 1.3 kcal/min), blue upper-body (3.10 ± 0.5 MET; 4.05 ± 1.3 kcal/min) and blue lower-body (3.66 ± 0.6 MET; 4.75 ± 1.4 kcal/min) trials. In addition, energy expenditure was higher in exercises with black (3.52 ± 0.6 MET; 4.56 ± 1.3 kcal/min) compared to blue (3.27 ± 0.6 MET; 4.26 ± 1.3 kcal/min) elastic bands.CONCLUSION: Participants burned more calories with greater resistance and when performing lower-body versus upper-body exercise. Observed MET levels suggest that this is a moderate-intensity exercise. These results will provide therapists, personal trainers, and other professionals with guidelines for optimal use and maximum impact of this equipment on weight loss/management.