In previous studies on physical fatigue during simulated ship movements, the apparent exhaustion of subjects after experimentation suggested that the traditional index of physical workload, oxygen consumption expressed as the percentage of peak oxygen consumption (VO2-peak) measured in a separate graded exercise test (GXT), underestimates workload in a moving environment. In these studies, the GXT was carried out in a stationary environment, as is standard practice. To explain the underestimation, it was hypothesized that VO2-peak might have been less if the GXT had been carried out in the moving environment. This paper reports on three experimental tests of this hypothesis, performed with a ship motion simulator and aboard a ship at sea. In all three experiments, VO2-peak was indeed signifcantly reduced when the GXT was carried out in the moving environment. Theoretical reasons for this phenomenon are discussed and investigated, but a clear explanation is still lacking.
Een nieuwe methode is gevonden om lichamelijke vermoeidheid te meten in bewegende omgevingen. De methode houdt in dat de Maximaaltest, die daar onderdeel van is, niet in een stlstaande maar in een bewegende omgeving moet worden afegnomen.