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The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends that an appropriate exercise intensity for aerobic conditioning is between 60 to 90 percent of heart rate max, or 50 to 80 percent of heart rate reserve or V02 max.1 The frequency of training should be a minimum of three days per week, for a duration of 20 to 60 minutes. Exercise intensity is an important variable related to the physiological benefits associated with any form of aerobic training.

In order to evaluate exercise intensity of slide board exercise, Auburn University’s Human Performance Laboratory evaluated the exercise intensity of 34 women while “sliding.”12 The average age of the subjects was 24.3 years old, and average weight was 132 pounds. The women performed the standard sliding technique on 5- and 6-foot slide boards. The standard sliding technique is a basic maneuver closely resembling the mechanics used while speed skating. Subjects started in a position with the knees and hips flexed, and then pushed off with the outside foot and slid to the opposite end of the board. They then performed the same maneuver and returned to their original position. This is a four-count movement that was monitored with a metronome.

Subjects completed 30, 40 and 50 slides per minute. Sliding from one end to the other and back constitutes one slide. The 30, 40 and 50 slides per minute were performed to a four-count beat which corresponded to a music cadence of 120, 160 and 200 beats per minute.

While performing the sliding exercise, subjects were connected by wiring and tubing to a metabolic measurement system. The metabolic system provided data indicating the subjects’ heart rate, oxygen consumption and number of calories per minute. Heart rate and oxygen consumption indicate the relative intensity of the exercise. While performing the basic slide technique, heart rates ranged from 143 beats per minute on the 5-foot board at 30 slides per minute, to 186 beats per minute on the 6-foot board at 50 slides per minute. The results of this study indicate that slide board exercise can meet, or exceed, the ACSM guidelines in terms of exercise intensity.

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