Edinburgh Napier University

  Introduction:
To accurately quantify the influence of an intervention, it is important to know the typical variance in test performance. Current data on the performance reliability of cycle sprinting suggests that reliability data from one sprint duration should not be applied to sprints of different durations, and that reliability data generated from males should not be applied to females. However, the performance reliability of the same group of males and females performing the 6 and 30 sec Wingate anaerobic tests has not been evaluated. This study assessed the performance reliability of the 6 and 30 sec Wingate tests in males and females.

Methods:
Participants completed four trials each comprising of a single 6 sec cycle sprint against 7.5% body mass resistance, a 15 min seated recovery, and a single 30 sec cycle sprint against the same resistance. Peak power output (PPO) and mean power output (MPO) were calculated for each sprint. Participants consumed a light meal at least 2 h before testing, and refrained from strenuous exercise for at least 24 h before each trial. Within participants, trials were completed at the same time of day.

Results:
For both sprints, there was no significant difference in PPO or MPO between any pairs of trials for either gender. For males, PPO in both sprints demonstrated ICCs ≥ 0.91 and CVs ≤ 3.9% in all between trials pairwise comparisons. For MPO, ICCs ≥ 0.89 and CVs ≤ 2.9% were found in all comparisons. For females, PPO demonstrated ICCs ≥
0.87 and CVs ≤ 6.5% in all comparisons. Random variation in MPO in the 6 sec sprints fluctuated between comparisons. For the 30 sec
sprint, MPO was more stable, with ICCs ≥ 0.93 and CVs ≤ 5.0% in all comparisons. Females improved PPO reliability across the trials for
both sprints, whereas males were more consistent across trials. Females showed more variability in 6 sec MPO compared to males, but both genders produced consistent 30 sec MPO.

Discussion:
The consistent PPO and MPO of the males in both sprints conflicts with previous research suggesting the requirement for at least one familiarisation trial (Barfield et al., 2002; Mendez-Villanueva et al., 2007). The progressive improvement in reliability for 6 and 30 sec PPO in females indicates that at least one familiarisation trial may be required, supporting the suggestion that females are less reliable than males (Hopkins et al., 2001). The greater reliability of females in the 30 sec vs. 6 sec sprint may reflect the greater number of pedal revolutions cancelling out fluctuations in force and cadence in individual revolutions (Hopkins et al., 2001).

References:
Barfield et al. (2002) J Strength Cond Res, 16, 472-473.
Hopkins et al. (2001) Sports Med, 31, 211-234.
Mendez-Villanueva et al. (2007) J Sci Med Sport, 10, 323-326.