Abstract
Purpose: To investigate the test–retest reliability of physiological variables across four different test days and four different submaximal exercise intensities during seated upper-body poling (UBP).Methods: Thirteen abled-bodied, upper-body trained men (age 29±3years; body mass 84±12kg; height 183±5cm) performed four submaximal 4-min stages of seated UBP on four separate test days. The four submaximal stages were set at individual power outputs corresponding to a rating of perceived exertion of 9, 11, 13, and 15. The absolute reliability for pairwise test-day comparisons of the physiological variables was investigated with the smallest detectable change percentage (%SDC) and the relative reliability with the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC).Results: Absolute and relative reliability across test-day comparisons and submaximal stages were moderate to excellent for all variables investigated (V̇O2 – %SDC range: 5–13%, ICC range: 0.93–0.99; HR – %SDC range: 6–9%, ICC range: 0.91–0.97) other than blood lactate, for which absolute reliability was poor and relative reliability highly variable (%SDC range: 26–69%, ICC range: 0.44–0.92). Furthermore, absolute and relative reliability were consistent across the low-to-moderate exercise intensity spectrum and across test days.Conclusion: Absolute and relative test–retest reliability were acceptable for all investigated physiological variables but blood lactate. The consistent test–retest reliability across the exercise intensity spectrum and across test days indicates that a familiarization period to the specific exercise modality may not be necessary. For generalizability, these findings need to be confirmed in athletes with a disability by future large-scale studies.
Highlights
Aerobic endurance performance is determined by maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), oxygen uptake (VO2) at the anaerobic threshold, and exercise efficiency (Bosquet et al, 2002; Bentley et al, 2007; Joyner and Coyle, 2008; Poole et al, 2016)
While all physiological variables significantly increased with increasing intensity, there were no significant differences between test days at each submaximal intensity for any of the variables (p > 0.09) but heart rate (HR) (p = 0.001) (Figure 2)
Absolute and relative reliabilities were consistent across the low-to-moderate exercise intensity spectrum and across test days indicating that a familiarization period to upper-body poling (UBP) in trained athletes may not be necessary
Summary
Aerobic endurance performance is determined by maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), oxygen uptake (VO2) at the anaerobic threshold, and exercise efficiency (Bosquet et al, 2002; Bentley et al, 2007; Joyner and Coyle, 2008; Poole et al, 2016). In a sports context, testing should be performed in specific exercise modalities to ensure that the investigated variables are reflective of the demands of the sport in question (Pechar et al, 1974; Roels et al, 2005). This applies to sitting Para cross-country skiers, Para biathletes, and Para ice hockey players, for whom the seated upper-body poling (UBP) modality is sport-specific (Baumgart et al, 2017)
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