Evaluation of the Best-designed Graded Exercise Test to Assess Peak Treadmill Speed

Abstract

This study examined the influence of different speed increments during treadmill exercise tests on peak treadmill speed (V_peak) and its relationship with a 1-h treadmill running performance. 18 male recreational and amateur runners (10-km running pace: 10–15 km·h⁻¹) performed, in an alternate order, 3 continuous incremental exercise tests with different speed increments (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 km·h⁻¹) on a motorized treadmill to determine V_peak. Thereafter they undertook a 1-h time trial on a treadmill. V_peak was determined as either (a) the highest speed that could be maintained for a complete minute (V_peak-60 s), (b) the speed of the last complete stage (V_peak-C), or (c) the speed of the last complete stage added to the product of the speed increment and the completed fraction of the incomplete stage (V_peak-P). The V_peak values were highly influenced by the different speed-incremented rates and the V_peak-P determined during the protocol comprising speed increments of 1 km·h⁻¹ presented the highest correlation with 1-h time trial performance (r=0.89). The results suggest that a protocol with speed increments comprising 1 km·h⁻¹ and with a 3-min stage duration should be used as standard for the determination of V_peak to assess aerobic fitness and predict endurance performance in recreational runners. Furthermore, the V_peak-P should be used for the determination of V_peak.

Key words

physical endurance - running - exercise test - athletic performance - sports physiology

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