Aerobic and anaerobic power of Canadian wheelchair track athletes

Abstract

The aerobic and anaerobic capabilities of six wheelchair track athletes were determined on a wheelchair ergometer prior to their competition in the 7th World Wheelchair Games. The sample included two male tetraplegics, one female paraplegic, and three male paraplegics, each in different competitive classifications. The evaluation of the anaerobic capabilities of the athletes involved determination of the total work accomplished during a 30-s all-out effort and the peak power output (PO) during a 5-s interval of this test. Aerobic capability was determined as the peak oxygen uptake and associated PO over a 1-min time period during a continuous progressive intensity test to exhaustion. Peak oxygen uptakes ranged from 1.00 to 3.43 1 X min-1 (16.9 to 50.7 ml X kg-1 X min-1) and aerobic PO from 19 to 120 W. Peak anaerobic PO was 21 to 70% higher (31 to 148 W) than aerobic PO, and total work in 30 s ranged from 740 to 4345 J. The male paraplegics displayed the highest values while the class 1A tetraplegic had the lowest. These laboratory findings were in general agreement with the athletes' performances in their track events.