A Glimpse into the Future of Rowing in Sri Lanka Through Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET)

Abstract

Rowing requires high physiological demand with metabolic contribution from both aerobic and anaerobic energy pathways. Hence VO2 Maxmeasurement is the most important physiological factor affecting rowing performance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cardiopulmonary fitness states of National rowers, National youth rowers, and rowers from General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), Sri Lanka who are at three different age categories and thereby to get a glimpse into the prospects of rowing in Sri Lanka. Twenty male and twenty-seven female rowers from the three groups were recruited and all the subjects performed incremental exercise tests on a Concept II rowing ergometer. All three groups achieved a heart rate of more than 90% of predicted. The best oxygen pulse (VO2/HR) was achieved by male youth rowers (15.52 L/min) followed by KDU rowers (14.53 L/min) and national rowers (11.48 L/min). Youth male rowers had the best delivery of oxygen which is 97.6% predicted. The highest average VO2 Max value obtained by male youth rowers was 43.84 ml/min/kg (87.5 % of the prediction of VO2). KDU male rowers achieved a VO2 Max of 40.33 ml/min/kg which is higher, than the national rowers with a VO2 Max of 36.23 ml/min/kg. The highest mean VO2 Max among females was 30.43 ml/min/kg (76% of the predicted) achieved by national rowers. Female KDU rowers achieved the lowest VO2 Max at 27.03 ml/min/kg (69% of the predicted) and female youth rowers achieved a VO2 Max value of 29.1 ml/min/kg. KDU male rowers had the lowest VO2 at anaerobic threshold (AT) indicating capacity to improve (27.34 ml/min/kg). The highest VO2 at AT among females, (21.65 ml/min/kg) was achieved by youth rowers. National female rowers also showed a VO2 AT of 21.02 ml/min/kg and The KDU female rowers achieved 19.49 ml/min/kg, indicating the need for improvement. Considering the age of national youth rowers and their respective VO2 Max and VO2 AT values, our finding suggests the national rowing federation of Sri Lanka should focus more on youth rowers to improve the future chances to bring international victories to Sri Lanka.