| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 體育健康與休閒研究所 === 105 === Introduction: Cycling is one of the most popular sports in recent years. Sports science equipment as well as wearable devices are gaining more and more attention. The stability of core muscle could prevention injuries of neck, shoulder and lower back. Moreover, previous studies suggested that core muscles of many cyclists do not strong enough to maintain the stability of body as well as bike, which then cause energy losing and negative effects on performance. Purpose: To investigate the relationship between 1) stability of core muscle and various functional measurement and 2) indices related to cycling power output and riding performance. Method: (1) Participants: Twenty-one beginner, amateur and athletic male cyclists participated the current study. Before performing the cycling test, various body measurements (e.g. body height, body weight, and body fat percentage) and functional tests (e.g. core muscle stability, leg muscle endurance and lower back flexibility) were taken from all subjects. (2) Experimental design: In order to measure the power and motion related parameters during cycling test, a Garmin Vector 2 power meter was installed on the pedals of cyclist’s bike, and three 9-axis inertia devices were attached, respectively, on stem and seatpost of the bike and torso of the rider. (3) Measuring parameters included Power Output, Heart Rate, Cadence, Left/Right Balance, Left Torque Effectiveness (Left TE), Right Torque Effectiveness (Right TE), Left Pedal Smoothness (Left PS), Right Pedal Smoothness (Right PS), Left Platform Center Offset (Left PCO), Right Platform Center Offset (Right PCO). (4) Statistics method: T-test was used for comparing indices measured between outdoor and indoor cycling tests. Stepwise regression was use for analyzing the relationship between indices measured from cycling test and subject measurement (e.g. body measurements and functional measurements). Result: According to statistics result, environmental factors had influence on physiological factors and riding condition in outdoor riding. Parameters of outdoor cycling test, including average heart rate and highest cadence, were significantly higher than those parameters measured from indoor cycling test. In stepwise regression, core stability score was significantly correlated with mean heart rate and cumulated heart rate, torque effectiveness and pedal smoothness. Conclusion: This study verified the benefit of core stability for cycling performance. A better core muscle stability would reduce the waste of energy and upgrade the skill and effectiveness during cycling. Therefore, we suggest cyclists include core muscle training for ameliorating cycling performance.
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