Wingate anaerobic testing with a modified electromagnetically braked elliptical trainer. Part I: Methodological considerations

The aim of this study was to modify an elliptical trainer and determine a suitable test load with it in order to perform Wingate anaerobic testing (WAnTet). Modifications were made to an electromagnetically braked elliptical trainer. Study participants were forty-eight physically active male college athletes (mean age 20 ± 1 years). Two pilot studies (n = 8) were administered to determine electrical signalling errors and to select the range of potentially suitable test loads (between 0.5 to 1.3 watt/kg). The 1.0 watt/kg WAnTet load was determined to be the most suitable for WAnTet applications amongst 0.8 to 1.1 watt/kg loads (n = 40; p< 0.05). Test-retest results using the 1.0 watt/kg load for peak power (PP) (1477 ± 258 and 1484 ± 271 watts), average power (AP) (1134 ± 209 and 1120 ± 208 watts), fatigue index ratio (FI%) (49 ± 10% and 49 ± 10%) and change in lactate levels (12.6 ± 1.7 and 12.4 ± 2.1 mM) were highly correlated (r: 0.94, 0.94, 0.80 and 0.74, respectively; p< 0.001). An electromagnetically braked elliptical trainer may be used to measure anaerobic power and anaerobic capacity of athletes and may be substituted for the usual Wingate anaerobic test performed on a cycle ergometer.