Prediction of maximal oxygen uptake from a 20-m shuttle run as measured directly in runners and squash players |
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| Authors: | A St Clair Gibson S Broomhead MI Lambert JA Hawley |
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| Institution: | MRC/UCT Bioenergetics of Exercise Research Unit , University of Cape Town Medical School, Sport Science Institute of South Africa , PO Box 115, Newlands, 7725, South Africa |
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| Abstract: | Abstract The aim of this study was to assess the validity of the multistage shuttle run test in predicting maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2 max) in athletes trained in sports with different physical demands. Over a 14-day period, 10 male long-distance runners (continuous high-intensity exercise) and 10 male squash players (intermittent high-intensity exercise) performed, in random order, the multistage shuttle run test and a maximal treadmill protocol of increasing elevation which elicited VO 2 max. Compared with direct measurement of VO 2 max, the shuttle run test significantly underpredicted the VO 2 max of the group of runners (n=10; P<0.01) and of the athletes as a whole (n=20; P<0.01). The correlation (r) between VO 2 max determined by the shuttle run test and by the treadmill protocol was 0.61 (P<0.05) for the squash players, 0.71 (P<0.05) for the runners and 0.67 (P<0.01) for the athletes as a whole. As the subjects represented athletes trained specifically in sports with different physical demands, this may explain why the correlations between the shuttle run test and direct measurement of VO 2 max are less robust than those reported in previous studies. Furthermore, our results indicate that there are sport-specific differences when predicting VO 2 max from the multistage shuttle run test. |
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| Keywords: | field test fitness heart rate |
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