Reliability and validity of an incremental cadence cycle VO2max testing protocol for trained cyclists

Abstract

Cycle tests for maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) have traditionally used incremental resistance protocols (RP) at a constant cadence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether an incremental cadence protocol (CP) using a constant resistance relative to gross body mass was as reliable and valid in eliciting VO2max as RP in trained cyclists. Ten male recreational cyclists aged 25.2 ± 6.8 years completed two CP and one RP trials in a randomized order over a 3-week period. The CP started at a workload of 2.75 W per kg body mass, with the cadence increased by 10 rpm each minute from 70 rpm. The RP started from 125 W with workload increased 25 W each minute with a constant cadence of 90 rpm. The results showed no significant differences between the CP (mean of the two CP trials) and RP for peak VO2 (3.9 ± 0.6 vs. 4.0 ± 0.8 L·min−1), peak ventilation (140.5 ± 22.8 vs. 143.0 ± 27.1 L·min−1) and post-exercise blood lactate (11.4 ± 2.1 vs. 11.9 ± 1.6 mmol·L−1), while peak heart rate (183.9 ± 10.5 vs. 187.5 ± 11.4 beats·min−1) and peak workload (319.9 ± 60.2 vs. 375.1 ± 67.3 W) were significantly less for the CP than the RP. For the two CP trials, the intraclass correlation coefficient for test–retest reliability was 0.96, the technical error of measurement (TEM) was 0.17 L·min−1, and the relative TEM was 4.35%. The results indicate that the CP is equally effective in eliciting VO2max as the RP and is a reliable method of measuring VO2max in trained recreational cyclists.