Determination of Critical Power Using Different Possible Approaches among Endurance Athletes: A Review

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This publication doesn't include Faculty of Medicine. It includes Faculty of Sports Studies. Official publication website can be found on muni.cz.
Authors

LIPKOVÁ Lucie KUMSTÁT Michal STRUHÁR Ivan

Year of publication 2022
Type Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
MU Faculty or unit

Faculty of Sports Studies

Citation
Web https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/13/7589
Doi http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137589
Keywords critical work; methods; performance analysis; endurance athletes
Description Critical power represents an important parameter of aerobic function and is the highest average effort that can be sustained for a period of time without fatigue. Critical power is determined mainly in the laboratory. Many different approaches have been applied in testing methods, and it is a difficult task to determine which testing protocol it the most suitable. This review aims to evaluate all possible tests on bicycle ergometers or bicycles used to estimate critical power and to compare them. A literature search was conducted in four databases (PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science) published from 2012 to 2022 and followed the PRISMA guidelines to process the review. Twenty-one articles met the eligibility criteria: records with trained or experienced endurance athletes, bicycle ergometer, a description of the testing protocol, and comparison of the tests. We found that the most widely used tests were the 3-min all-out tests set in a linear mode and the traditional protocol time to exhaustion. Some other alternatives could have been used but were not as regular. To summarize, the testing methods offered two main approaches in the laboratory (time to exhaustion test andthe 3-min all-out test with different protocols) and approach in the field, which is not yet completely standardized.

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