| Abstrakt: |
The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy and quality of a series of cycle ergometry tests used to estimate maximal aerobic capacity(VO2max). One-hundred nine males and 71 females participated in five tests: a maximal exercise test on the treadmill, three Air Force Cycle Ergometry Tests (AF1, AF2, AF3), and a Progressive cycle ergometry test(PROG). The VO2maxvalue measured during the treadmill test was compared with the VO2maxestimates from each ergometry test. The AF1, AF2, and AF3 results were used to determine reliability. The mean estimated VO2maxfor each, except the PROG, was significantly different (P< 0.05) from the measured VO2max. The AF1 and AF-avg tests underestimated VO2maxby 8.0 and 6.5 mL·kg-1·min-1, respectively, values which were 17.3 and 14.9% lower than the measured VO2max. Correlation coefficients between estimated VO2maxvalues and the measuredVO2maxranged from 0.59 to 0.80 with SEE ranging from 1.8 to 2.2 mL·kg-1·min-1. The PROG had the greatest sensitivity (82.2%), while the AF2 had the greatest specificity (70.6%). Additionally, 23.4% of the VO2maxestimates from the PROG were within ± 5% of the measured VO2maxcompared with 9.9% for the average of the Air Force tests. The intraclass correlation coefficient for the three AF tests or the reliability for a single AF test was 0.26. In sum, the Air Force test provides an estimate of VO2max, and hence aerobic capacity, which is unreliable and underestimates the trueVO2maxby approximately 15%. |
