EX significantly increased peak oxygen consumption ( EX , 26.77.0 mL/kg per minute ; UC , 23.96.6 mL/kg per minute ; P = 0.002 ) at 8 weeks , which persisted during maintenance exercise at 24 weeks ( EX , 26.97.7 mL/kg per minute ; UC , 23.46.0 mL/kg per minute ; P < 0.001 ) .