Measurement of Maximal Power Output in Isokinetic and Non-Isokinetic Cycling. A Comparison of Two Methods

The main goal of the study was to compare maximal power output and power output at different pedalling frequencies obtained during isokinetic all-out tests with maximal power output obtained during a single all-out sprint (against the same braking force for every subject). Sixty healthy male subjects participated in the study. The ergometer system used in this study has three operating modes: the isokinetic mode (maintaining pedal crank velocity constant at a present level), a revolution dependent mode and a revolution independent mode. In all three operating modes the effective forces are monitored by means of strain gauge. All subjects performed a single all-out sprint against a braking force of 20 Newton and an all-out isokinetic cycling test consisting of ten 10 s bouts of maximal cycling at speeds ranging from 50 rpm to 140 rpm. In both tests, irrespective of which test mode was used, the mean power for a complete crank revolution showed parabolic relationships to crank velocity. For the isokinetic test, the subjects showed a peak power (IsoW_peak) of 15.3 ± 1.7 W/kg corresponding to an optimal velocity of 115 ± 8.6 rpm. For the force-velocity test NonisoW_peak (the highest power obtained at any time during the test) was 14.4 ± 1.9 W/kg and was achieved at a pedalling rate of 127 ± 14 rpm. IsoW_peak was significantly higher than NonisoW_peak (p < 0.001) but there were no significant differences between NonisoW_peak and IsoW_max (maximal mean power for each full crank revolution) for the revolutions from 90 rpm to 140 rpm. Though, NonisoW_peak and IsoW_peak are significantly different, there was a strong relationship between NonisoW_peak and IsoW_peak (r = 0.7158, p < 0.001). There was also a strong relationship between NonisoW_peak and IsoW_max for the revolutions from 50 rpm to 120 rpm (p < 0.001) and at 130 rpm (p < 0.01).

Key words:

Isokinetic cycling - force-velocity test - optimal velocity - maximal power - limb symmetry-index

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