Effects of Excessive Body Weight on Wingate Test Performance

Abstract

Resistance loading is important to correct power determinations using the Wingate power output test. In football linemen who have very heavy body weights, much of which can be fat mass, the standard loading of 7.5% may result in a resistance too heavy for them to complete the test adequately. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine if excessive body weight will result in peak power output (PPO) and fatigue index (FI) not being accurately assessed at the standard resistance of 7.5% on the Wingate test. METHODS: Eleven division three collegiate football athletes (mean ± SD: age, 19.09 ± 0.54 yrs; height, 188.19 ± 3.51 cm; weight, 131.50 ± 14.33 kg; percent fat, 31.58 ± 4.29 %) participated in the current study. All subjects performed three, 30 second Wingate tests at the following resistances, 5.5%, 6.5%, and 7.5% in a randomized order to assess PPO and FI. Each Wingate test was performed on different days with at least four days’ rest between trials. RESULTS: PPO and FI were significantly different between the three resistance groups (p ≤ 0.05). The 5.5% resistance setting produced the lowest PPO (1038.3 ± 82.3 Watts) and fatigue index (15.29 ± 3.66 W/S). The 7.5% resistance setting had the highest PPO (1413.10 ± 125.64 Watts) and fatigue index (25.97 ± 5.27 W/S). At the 6.5% resistance setting, data were between the two other groups and different from the other groups. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, excessive body weight individuals should perform the standard resistance of 7.5% on the Wingate test instead of lower resistances to obtain a true peak power output and fatigue index.