Accuracy of the SenseWear Armband Mini and the BodyMedia FIT in resistance training

Objectives: To examine the validity and reliability of the SenseWear Armband Mini and BodyMedia FIT in comparison to the Cosmed K4b2 portable for assessing energy expenditure during resistance training. Design: Lab based validation and reliability study. Methods: Eleven males and 7 females (age=22.7±4.5 years) completed two resistance-training sessions. Total energy expenditure was simultaneously assessed by the SenseWear Armband Mini, BodyMedia FIT and Cosmed K4b2 portable. The resistance-training sessions involved 3 sets of 10 repetitions for 9 different exercises. The weight lifted was 70% of the participants 1 repetition max with 90-s rest intervals. Validity and re-test reliability was assessed using Pearson correlations and mean change (%)±90% confidence limits and log transformed typical error measurements (TEMCV%). Results: A very large correlation was identified for total energy expenditure (Kcal) from both the SenseWear Armband Mini and BodyMedia FIT in comparison to the Cosmed K4b2 portable (r=0.77 and r=0.78, respectively) and an almost perfect correlation was observed for total energy expenditure (Kcal) between the SenseWear Armband Mini and BodyMedia FIT (r=0.97). A small percent mean change for the SenseWear Armband Mini (23.7%) and a trivial percent mean change for the BodyMedia FIT (13.8%) was observed in comparison to the Cosmed K4b2 portable with a tendency to underestimate total energy expenditure. The SenseWear Armband Mini and BodyMedia FIT displayed an almost perfect correlation for total energy expenditure (Kcal) between sessions (r=0.96 and r=0.97, respectively) whilst TEMCV% of 5.1 and 4.3, respectively were observed. Conclusions: The SenseWear Armband Mini and BodyMedia FIT provide a valid and reliable measure of energy expenditure during resistance training. There was no significant difference in validity or reliability observed between the SenseWear Armband Mini and BodyMedia FIT.