Martial Art Institute

Author Wai-Po Tang, 1997. Webpublish Dec 2001

The relationship of three laboratory anaerobic power tests and one anaerobic capacity field test

Introduction
There are many sports that require immediate rapid energy and is so common in short duration events such as 100 metre sprint, weight lifting or even a sudden change of direction as in football or initially getting up from a chair. This initial energy is metabolised through the anaerobic pathways by the alactic (adenosine triphosphate (ATP), Creatine Phosphate (CP)) and the lactic system. Approximately 5 millimoles (mmol) of ATP and 15 mmol of CP are stored within each kilogram of muscles (Hultman, op. cit. McArdle, Katch and Katch, 1996; p.121). This ATP-CP energy system provides 5-6 seconds of maximal effort in any exercises and the capacity to generate rapid energy is crucial to almost all sports (McArdle, Katch and Katch, 1996). Laboratory measurements of anaerobic power and capacity are obviously relevant to those athletes whose sports require significant contribution from one or both of the alactic and lactic pathways (MacDougall et al., 1991).

Vanderwalle et al. (1987) stated, 'The evaluation of physical fitness cannot be summarised by the measure of maximal oxygen uptake alone.' Assessing anaerobic power and capacity of an athlete to determine the type of sport or position on the field that would be beneficial in terms of tactical play. For example from the energy view point, if a boxer has an extremely high anaerobic power output and high capacity, the tactic should be short bursts of one-two combination and then move back quickly as opposed to a continuous paced bout. There are immediate problems in measuring anaerobic power in a laboratory. It is questionable whether it determines field performance, and the practicality of the method of the anaerobic tests.

Ramsbottom et al. (1997) reasoned that using needle biopsy technique to measure muscle and blood metabolities is too invasive, thus a lack of applicability to a wider population. There are tests that can be applied without the need for needle biopsy and least invasive. These are Margaria Staircase Test, 30 second Wingate Test, Sargent Jump Test and the 20m High intensity Shuttle Run Test (HISRT). Scott et al (1991); Ramsbottom et al. (1994) reported that there was a strong relationship between laboratory determined accumulated oxygen deficit and track 100m and 300m performances. This suggested that certain exercises can be prescribed for athletes to improve anaerobic power or capacity; and to recruit elite athlete of high anaerobic power to certain sports or position.. Vanderewalle et al. (1987:284) stated, 'The current anaerobic tests are probably valid and reliable enough to select 'gifted' subjects or to verify the effectiveness of a training programme because training effects are more marked than in elite athletes.

Davis, J.A. et al.(1992) found that there was no difference in power output between groups of soccer players on the Wingate 30s Test, the mean value for goal keepers being 14.79 ± 1.90 W kg-1, as opposed to 14.60 ±2.00 W kg-1 for the outfield players. However, Performance times on the 60 m shuttle sprint test revealed that goalkeepers and centre-backs (p<0.01), as well as full-backs (p<0.05), were significantly slower than the forwards, who were the fastest of all groups with a mean sprint time of 12.19 ± 0.3s. This suggest that the type of anaerobic test such as the Wingate 30s Test did not determine the players ability or position on the field. However, there was a significant difference in speed of the players in various positions (p<0.01). It appeared there was a need to establish whether there are correlation between some anaerobic tests and investigate whether peak power affects power capacity.

The is study objectives are to investigate into the relationship of three laboratory anaerobic power tests and one anaerobic capacity field test; and to consider any differences between men and women. A population of 101 university students were the subjects (men n = 70, women n = 31, mean age 22.17 ± 4.5) participated in the Wingate 30s Test, Margaria-Kalamen Stair Test, Sargent Jump Test and the High Intensity Shuttle Run Test (HIST). The former three tests measured anaerobic peak power and the HIST measured the anaerobic capacity by estimating the accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD). The subjects' final speed obtained from the previous study of the Progressive Shuttle Run Test was used to determine the speed for the HISRT. The results are compared among the four anaerobic tests and examined the differences between men and women.