Wingate test: power and fatigue
The Lactic and Alactic energy systems capacity is a direct factor that determine performance for intermittent activities such as hockey, soccer, or short distance sprints.
The Wingate Anaerobic test is arguably one of the most famous laboratory fitness tests. It measures:
1- Total Anaerobic capacity
2- Anaerobic Power output
3- Muscles fatigue rate (Fatigue Index)
Anaerobic capacity is the total amount of energy from the anaerobic (without oxygen) energy systems, that is the combined amount of output for the ATP, phospho-creatine and lactic acid systems (see Energy Systems blog post).
The anaerobic system is maximally stressed in short-duration high-intensity activities, generally between 30 and 60 seconds depending on type of activity (figure 1-3).
Figure 1. Wingate test 30-sec on a bike
Figure 2. Wingate 45-sec on a slide board
Figure 3. Wingate jump 60-sec
How to interpret the test
Basically, each energy system can be improved by specific type of interval training. If you are a 100m sprinter you want improve your Lactic energy system. If you are a 400m runner you need to get Alactic energy system at its best. If you are a hockey player you probably need to improve overall anaerobic capacity (Lactic + Alactic) for shorts sprints and to sustain power over the 45-seconds shift (figure 4).
Figure 4- Results from Wingate test
The Fatigue Index can tell how long can you sustain maximal power within the muscle, and how fatigue develops over time.
Smaller the slope of the liner fit over time means lower Fatigue Index and better capacity of the muscles to sustain workload (figure 5).
Figure 5. Power over time for different soccer players
In figure 5 player 9 has greater rate of power output development, consequently greater Lactic system capacity. Player 9 also has greater drop in power over time, indicating greater fatigue rate over time.
