RESEARCH QUESTION: Does carbon 

dioxide production (V̇CO2)  change from rest to

exercise?

Null Hypothesis: There will be no difference in carbon dioxide production (V̇CO2) between

rest and exercise conditions.

METHODS
Participants
Six participants were recruited to take part in the study (body mass: 69.1 ± 6.0 kg, height:
174.7 ± 11.6 cm). All participants were Sport and Exercise Science university students.
Participants gave informed written consent and completed a health questionnaire prior to
taking part.

Experimental Design
The study involved one trial consisting of three phases: preparation, rest and exercise. All
participants completed the trial in the order stated above. During the preparation phase
anthropometric data was collected and participants were instrumented with a heart rate (HR)
monitor (Polar FT1, Kempele, Finland) which was affixed to their chest. Participants then
rested in a seated position for 10 minutes, following which HR was recorded and a gas
sample was collected via a one way breathing valve and a Douglas Bag (Harvard Apparatus,
Cambridge, UK). Participants then started the exercise phase, which was conducted on a
cycle ergometer (Wattbike Pro, Nottingham, UK) and consisted of a 5 minute warm up at
~50W followed by a 5 minute trial at 65W. HR and gas sample data collection was repeated
in the final minute of the exercise trial. Gas samples were subsequently analysed (Servomex
1440, East Sussex, UK and Dry Gas Meter, Harvard Apparatus, Cambridge, UK) to identify
carbon dioxide production (V̇CO2), volume of oxygen consumption (V̇O2) and minute
ventilation (V̇E).

Statistical Analysis
Statistical differences in the dependent variables (V̇CO2, V̇O2, V̇E, and HR) between resting
and exercise conditions were assessed using paired samples t-tests (SPSS, version 26, IBM).
Significance was accepted at p < 0.05. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD).
RESULTS
V̇CO2 significantly increased from the transition from rest (0.65 ± 0.47 L.min -1) to exercise
(1.85 ± 0.70 L.min-1) (p = 0.002). Thus, V̇CO2 was subject to a mean increase of 1.20 L.min -1
in response to exercise when compared to rest (Figure 1.). The transition from rest to exercise
also significantly increased V̇O2 from 0.40 ± 0.26 L.min-1 at rest to 1.27 ± 0.57 L.min-1 during
exercise (p = 0.006) (Figure 2). In addition, V̇E increased in response to exercise (40.8 ± 19.1
L.min-1) in comparison to the resting condition (16.0 ± 7.8 L.min-1) (p = 0.010) (Figure 3)
displaying a similar response to both V̇CO2 and V̇O2. Exercise placed an increased demand on
the cardiovasluar system resulting in a sigifcant difference in HR between rest (81 ± 14
beats.min-1) and exercise (148 ± 26 beats.min-1) (p = 0.001) (Figure 4).

Rest Exercise

Figure 1. V̇CO2 at rest and during exercise. Values are mean ± SD. *denotes a significant
difference (p < 0.05).  
 Rest Exercise

Figure 2. V̇O2 at rest and during exercise. Values are mean ±SD. *denotes a significant
difference (p < 0.05).  

Rest Exercise

Figure 3. V̇E at rest and during exercise. Values are mean ± SD. *denotes a significant
difference (p < 0.05).  
 Rest Exercise

Figure  4. HR at rest and during exercise. Values are mean ± SD. *denotes a significant
difference (p < 0.05).