RELIABILITY OF THE CYCLING FORCE-VELOCITY TEST

Abstract

An important characteristics to consider in the evaluation of a test is its reliability. The aim of this study was to examine therefore the reliability of the force-velocity test (FVTi). Twenty seven children (age: 10.3 ± 0.7 years) and 27 physical education (PE) students (age: 21 ± 1.5 years) performed five tests over a period of 18 days. Cycling peak power was calculated including the flywheel inertia of the device (CPPi). A familiarization session (3 min submaximal cycling plus 3 “all-out” sprints of 5 s) was provided for the subjects before the study. In children, the data of the two first trials were similar. In contrast, PE students improved their performance of about 4% between trials 1 and 2 (p < 0.01, see table below). These results may be explain by the fact that children have previously participated to a measurement session one year earlier, while PE students have only completed the familiarization session. Nevertheless, the latter maintained similar CPPi during trials 3, 4 and 5. The FVTi is therefore highly reliable in children and adults providing that a sufficient habituation session is included in the testing procedure. However, increasing weariness may explain the lower children's CPPi during trials 3 to 5 suggesting that it is necessary to maintain a high motivation when assessing children's anaerobic performance.Table