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Abstract
Acoustic myography (AMG) is the recording of sounds emitted by contracting skeletal muscles. Recent evidence suggests that the AMG procedure can be used to quantify muscular activity and monitor increases in force during isometric and isotonic modes of exercise. However, no previous investigations have examined the applicability of AMG procedures for use during incremental cycle ergometry. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to describe and compare the relationships among electromyography (EMG), AMG, and oxygen consumption rate (VO$\sb2$) versus power output during incremental cycle ergometry. Twenty four adult males (age 19-26 years) volunteered to perform an incremental test to exhaustion on a cycle ergometer. Bipolar surface EMG electrodes were placed over the vastus lateralis muscle with the piezoelectric AMG recording device placed between the EMG electrodes. The r$\sp2$ values for the EMG, AMG, and VO$\sb2$ versus power output ranged from 0.91-0.99, 0.79-0.99, and 0.97-0.99, respectively. In addition, 16 of the 24 subjects showed no significant (p$>$0.05) differences among the slope values for the EMG, AMG, and VO$\sb2$ versus power output relationships. The results of this study indicated that AMG procedures can be used to quantify muscular activity and monitor changes in exercise intensity during incremental cycle ergometry. Furthermore, the present findings suggested that there is a close association between the electrical (EMG), mechanical (AMG), and metabolic (VO$\sb2$) aspects of muscular contraction during incremental cycle ergometry.
