Field test validation for wheelchair basketball players’ aerobic capacity assessment

Abstract

The aim of this study was to prove the validity of a shuttle run, multistage type maximum continuous incremental field test in wheelchair basketball players (WBP) for estimating individual peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) from the distance covered on the basketball court. Seven male elite players performed a laboratory maximum incremental ergospirometric laboratory test on a wheelchair treadmill until volitional exhaustion. For field test, mean data were: distance covered 1562.7 m (s = 323.0), maximal heart rate (HRmax) 179.2 beats×min-1 (s = 11.7), total time test 11 min 01 s (s = 1 min 47s) and maximum velocity 11 km×h-1 (s = 0.8). For the laboratory test, mean data were: absolute VO2peak 2.9 l×min-1 (s = 0.4), relative VO2peak 40.6 ml×kg-1×min-1 (s = 7.2), HRmax 182.2 beats×min-1 (s = 12), total time test 10 min 4 s (s = 1 min 57 s) and maximum velocity 10.8 km×h-1 (s = 1.0). Pearson product rank correlations between variables for both tests were high, with special consideration for the relationship between VO2peak measured in the laboratory (40.59 ml×kg-1×min-1; s = 6.92) and the distance covered in the field test (1562.67 m, s = 323.96; r = 0.854; p<0.01). The results suggest that the test designed is a valid predictor of VO2peak as an indicator of aerobic performance in elite WBP.