Criterion Validity of Force and Power Outputs for a Commonly Used Flywheel Resistance Training Device and Bluetooth App

ABSTRACT Flywheels are a resistance training device that can increase lean body mass, strength, and power. However, due to their unique design and the inertia from the concentric portion directly relating to the force that is applied during the eccentric portion, monitoring the training stimulus can be difficult. Consequently, the aim of this study was to assess the validity of the kMeter app for quantifying force and power at a range of different isoinertial loads from a flywheel training device when compared against a criterion measure. Eleven subjects volunteered to take part in this study, with subjects completing between 5-35 repetitions of the harness squat with 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 kg·m2 isoinertial load. A synchronised dual force plate and tri-camera optoelectronic setup was used as the criterion measure to calculate force and power output, while the kMeter app was used as the practical measure. Very large to nearly perfect relationships were observed between the two measures, with trivial to moderate bias reported. Additionally, typical error of the estimate (TEE) was found to be <10% at all isoinertial loads. These findings suggest that the kMeter app, when used in conjunction with the kBox flywheel device, demonstrate acceptable levels of validity. However, due to the TEE, the kMeter app may not be able to accurately detect small differences and therefore be suitable for research purposes. These findings suggest that the kMeter app is an acceptable method of monitoring flywheel resistance training. Furthermore, it is advised that practitioners utilise mean power rather than mean force. Keywords: Flywheel; Validity; kBox; kMeter; Force; Power