Inferring the energy cost of cycling in different shoe conditions from surface emg

The rate of oxygen uptake (V̇O2) has been used to infer changes in metabolic rate with changes in EMG; however, V̇O2 is simply a proxy for the energy cost (EC) of exercise since the former does not account for substrate use. We compared the EMG/V̇O2 to the EMG/EC across different power outputs and shoe conditions and found both increased as a function of power output, suggesting a higher metabolic cost for a given level of activation, regardless shoe condition or whether V̇O2 or EC is used to quantify metabolic rate.