Tests for Anaerobic

Capacity

Dr. Asok Kumar Ghosh

Professor, Sports Centre, UM.
 Anaerobic sources of ENERGY
 Rest to exercise transition causes oxygen uptake to
increase rapidly; suggests impact of immediate energy
stores (ATP-CP) as generating ATP at onset of exercise;
this is followed by ATP synthesis being met by aerobic
metabolism

 During high intensity, short-term exercise of 2-20 seconds

(ATP-CP); >20 seconds predominately anaerobic
glycolysis; >45 seconds uses above in combination with
aerobic system to meet ATP needs

 Energy to perform prolonged exercise (>10 minutes) comes

primarily from aerobic metabolism
Field Tests Vs Lab Tests

 To control validity, reliability and repeatability

lab based tests are preferable.
 However, sometimes field based testing is
more appropriate for the athlete or athletes
you are working with.
 Therefore, the planning and execution of the
tests must be rigorous, to ensure accurate
and useful results are obtained.
Anaerobic Indices

 Not normally measured as an indication of

fitness since are not considered to be related
to health
 Are not used in day-to-day life
 Mainly important in the assessment of
athletes
 Defined as the ability to do short-term bursts
of high-intensity work.
Anaerobic Energy Production

 Without Oxygen
 1. ATP-PC
 2. Glycolysis
RECREATING ATP WITH PCr
ATP AND PCr DURING SPRINTING
 Anaerobic Power
Def. – maximal rate at
which energy can be
produced by the ATP-PC
system.
Measured by high
intensity tests
Muscle characteristic
independent of O2
Assessing Anaerobic Power

 1. Margaria-Kalamen
 2. Muscle Biopsy
 3. Anaerobic Sprint Test
 4. Sargent Jump Reach Test
 5. Wingate Test
Margaria Kalamen

 Measures the ability of a subject to climb

steps at maximal speed
 The time it takes to climb from the 3rd to the
9th step in a stairway (usually have switch
plates on the steps which determine the start
and stop times)
The Margaria Power Test
Margaria Kalamen

 Usually under 3 seconds so is a test of the

phosphagen system
 Power (kgm/sec) = Work ÷ Time = Force x
Distance ÷ Time
 Force = BW (kg)
 Distance = sum of step ht (meters)
 Time = amount of time to climb stairs (sec)
Muscle Biopsy

 Measure anaerobic enzymes

 Disadvantages
 painful
 expensive
 invasive
 possibly not representative of the entire muscle
Sprint Test

 Time to run a certain distance (usually 40-60

yards),
 Or any short distances can be covered <5
sec.
 Repetitive sprints measure the anaerobic
capacity.
Sprint Tests
Anaerobic Power

An a e ro b ic
Power

4 5 6 7 8 9
T im e to r u n 5 0 ya r d s
Series of 40-yard
Dashes to Test
Anaerobic Power
Sargent Jump Reach Test

 Maximal Vertical Jump Test

 Hard to account for BW so try to include a
rate constant for a falling body in the equation
 Power (kgm/sec) = 2.21 x BW (kg) x √jump
height (m)
Laboratory Tests of Anaerobic
Power
 Wingate Test
 Cycle ergometer
 30 s duration
 Count pedal revolutions
 Calculate peak power output, anaerobic fatigue,
and anaerobic capacity
METHOD
 The testing device is a mechanically-braked bicycle
ergometer.
 10 minute warm up
 The athlete is asked to pedal as fast as possible
without any resistance.
 Within 3 seconds, a fixed resistance is applied to the
flywheel and the athlete continues to pedal "all out"
for 30 seconds.
 An electrical or mechanical counter continuously
records flywheel revolutions in 5 second intervals.
METHOD

 Flywheel resistance equals 0.075 kg per kg

body mass.
 For a 70 kg person, the flywheel resistance would
equal 5.25 kg (70 kg * 0.075).
 Resistance often increases to 1.0 kg * body mass
or higher (up to 1.3 kg) when testing power and
sprint athletes.
CALCLATIONS
Peak Power Output (PP)
 The highest power output, observed during the first 5 sec of exercise,
indicates the energy generating capacity of the immediate energy system
(intramuscular high energy phosphates ATP and PC). PP is calculated as
follows:
 PP = Force * Distance (number of revolutions * distance per revolution) /
Time in minutes (5 secs = 0.0833 min).
Relative Peak Power Output (RPP)
 Peak power output relative to body mass is calculated as follows:
 RPP = PP / Body mass (kg)
Anaerobic Fatigue (AF)
 AF represents the systems total capacity to produce ATP via the immediate
and short-term energy systems. AF provides percentage decline in power
output and is calculated as follows:
 AF = Highest 5 sec PP - Lowest 5 sec PP / Highest 5 sec PP * 100.
Anaerobic Capacity (AC)
 Total work accomplished in 30 secs. AC is calculated as follows:
 AC = Sum of each 5 sec PP or
 AC = Force * Total distance in 30 secs.
Anaerobic Capacity

 Reflects glycolytic + phosphagen system

 Blood lactate levels increase in direct
proportion to the duration of anaerobic
exercise
 Glycogen depletion parallels exercise
intensity
Different ways of measuring anaerobic capacity

 By measuring
 oxygen debt,
 blood lactate and
 oxygen deficit
 There are accuracy problems when using oxygen
debt and blood lactate measures for anaerobic
capacity.
 Oxygen deficit is the most accurate measure of
anaerobic capacity still reports an unacceptable error
rate.
 Maximum
Accumulated
Oxygen
Deficit
(MAOD).
 Excess Post
Exercise
Oxygen
Consumption
(EPOC)/ or O2
Debt.
Maximum Accumulated Oxygen Deficit (MAOD)

 THE MAXIMAL AMOUNT OF ATP that can be

produced through anaerobic metabolism during a
supramaximal exercise bout has been defined as a
person's anaerobic capacity (AC)
 The maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD),
measured during 2-3 min of exhaustive exercise, is an
accurate method of quantifying an individual's AC
 The measurement of Oxygen deficit is done by
calculating the difference between the estimated
oxygen demand and the actual value that was
obtained for oxygen uptake after
 supramaximal work
 Anaerobic Capacity

The maximum amount of ATP that can be produced

through anaerobic metabolism during a
supramaximal exercise bout has been defined as a
person's anaerobic capacity.

As proposed by Medbo et al., (1988) the accumulated

oxygen deficit or AOD (also known as Maximal
accumulated oxygen deficit or MAOD), measured
during 2-3 min of exhaustive exercise, is an
accurate method of quantifying an individual's
anaerobic capacity.
Cont.

The measurement of
Oxygen deficit is done
by calculating the
difference between the
estimated oxygen
demand and the actual
of VO2 obtained during
supramaximal work
(accumulated oxygen
demand – measured
accumulated oxygen
consumption). (Medbo et
al, 1988)
 PHASE 1
Measurement of the VO2max for the subject

VO2max of each subject

was measured in the
laboratory following a
graded incremental
cycling protocol on an
Excalibur, Lode cycle
ergometer. The initial
load was 50W and was
increased by 16W
every 1 minute until
exhaustion.
PHASE 2

Submaximal tests at 60, 70, 80

and 90%VO2max
Cyclists performed four
submaximal exercise for 10
min on a cycle ergometer at
60, 70, 80, and 90%VO2max,
on separate days.

x a 2m
Oxygen demand and
x a 2m

x a 2m

x a 2m

x a 2m
supramaximal power
output was estimated
at 120% VO2max for
OV %06

OV %07

OV %08

OV %09

OV %021
each subject
Load (%) vs VO2

Relative VO2 vs Load (Load at 120% VO2 max extrapolated)

60

55
y = 0.2594x - 3.6569
2
50 R = 0.9697
VO2 (ml/kg/min)

45

40

35

30

25

20
100 120 140 160 180 200 220
Load (Watt)
O2 Deficit

 O2 deficit (ml/kg) = (Estmated VO2 at 120% for

the total cycling time) – (Actual VO2 for the
total cycling time) / Body wt. (Kg)