Table 2.

Peak exercise performance before and after a 24-week intervention consisting of either no-intervention control, land walking, or water walking (mean ± SD).

	Control			Land walking			Water walking
	Baseline	Week 24	Week 48	Baseline	Week 24	Week 48	Baseline	Week 24	Week 48
	(n = 22)	(n = 19)	(n = 18)	(n = 20)	(n = 19)	(n = 15)	(n = 25)	(n = 20)	(n = 17)
VO2max (mL/kg/min)*†	29.7 ± 4.41	28.0 ± 3.02	27.7 ± 2.99	28.4 ± 7.85	29.5 ± 6.71	26.4 ± 5.55	28.8 ± 5.05	30.1 ± 5.30	27.2 ± 3.16
VO2 (L/min)*†	2.19 ± 0.50	1.99 ± 0.42	2.02 ± 0.42	2.12 ± 0.73	2.19 ± 0.68	1.97 ± 0.58	2.19 ± 0.63	2.27 ± 0.76	1.97 ± 0.54
Exercise duration (s)*†	1046 ± 89	1071 ± 111	1095 ± 88	986 ± 236	1149 ± 203	1119 ± 210	992 ± 179	1074 ± 178	1059 ± 171
HRmax (beats/min)	166.0 ± 17.0	162.0 ± 13.4	169.0 ± 13.7	164.0 ± 21.0	167.0 ± 20.5	167.0 ± 20.1	166.0 ± 12.7	165.0 ± 14.4	165.0 ± 13.1

Notes: VO₂ in relative (mL/kg) and absolute (L/min) values, exercise duration, and HR_max at baseline (Week 0), following the intervention (Week 24) and after a further 24-week no-intervention period (Week 48).

^⁎†Mixed-models analysis revealed significant group × time interactions for these variables as discussed in the text (*intervention phase, 0–24 weeks; ^†follow-up phase, 24–48 weeks). Abbreviations: HR_max = maximum heart rate; VO₂ = volume of oxygen; VO_2max = maximal oxygen uptake.