Exercise, Training & Health

Abstract

Purpose: Incremental step tests are defined by constant duration, increment, and constant mechanical power output (P) within each step. P is not externally adjustable on air-braked rowing ergometers like the Concept-2 (C2), hence variability of P depends on the rower. The actual variability of P is currently unclear. To this end, we evaluated it during rowing ergometer testing in elite rowers.Methods: Twenty-three elite rowers of the German National squad (10 female; age: 24.53.5 years) performed an incremental step test on a C2 rowing-ergometer modified with an external reference system (REF) allowing evaluation of stroke-to-stroke variability during rowing ergometer testing.Results: The coefficient of variation (CV) for PREF was 4.7% (95% CI [4.3, 5.3]). CV was significantly lower in male vs. female rowers (4.0% [3.4, 4.6] vs. 5.5% [5.0, 6.1]; p < 0.001). When the first three strokes were excluded, total CV decreased to 3.0% [2.7, 3.3] and variability was similar between male vs. female (3.0% [2.7, 3.3] vs. 3.0% [2.6, 3.3]; p = 0.822). The highest differences between individual CVs were found in step 1, ranging from 2.9% to 11.8%.Conclusion: Stroke-to-stroke variability during rowing ergometer testing amounts to 4.7%, which is probably higher than during testing on externally controllable bicycle ergometers, where resistance is controlled as a function of cadence. We observed considerable inter-individual differences even within this homogenous groups of elite rowers.Key Words: High-Performance, Concept 2, Indoor Rowing, Step Test