Gaming intensity – a pilot study of intensity of a sprint interval based cycle exergame

Cycle-based exergames deliver a moderate-intensity workload, but sprint interval exercise is a more effective training modality. This study aimed to examine the intensity of an in-house sprint-based game. Nine healthy participants completed an incremental time-to-exhaustion test to determine maximum heart rate and then played T Wrecks for 13 minutes, including 3 maximal sprint efforts (boss battle). Heart rate was recorded throughout. Peak heart rate significantly increased between boss battles (battle 1: 168 ± 13 BPM vs battle 2: 170 ± 15 BPM p=0.015, battle 1: 168 ± 13 BPM vs battle 3: 175 ± 12 BPM p<0.001, battle 2: 170 ± 15 BPM vs battle 3: 175 ± 12 BPM p<0.001). A significantly greater percentage of game time was spent in moderate to vigorous and vigorous intensities compared to moderate intensity (moderate to vigorous p=0.018; vigorous p=0.002) and in vigorous intensity compared to maximal intensity (vigorous p=0.018). The extent of the game demand (TRIMP 46.8 ± 8.8 A.U.) was dependent on game mechanics and not the fitness status of the participant (r=-0.13; p=0.747). This pilot study demonstrates that sprint-based cycle exergames can scale to fitness levels and effectively deliver sprint-based training, highlighting its potential to develop engaging, gamified exercise tools.