VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF A NOVEL PERFORMANCE TEST TO DETERMINE METABOLIC CRITICAL POWER IN TEAM SPORTS

Abstract

Background: This research examined the validity and reliability of a novel field-based test for determining Metabolic Critical Power (CPmet) in team sport players. Study Design and Methods: Validation and reliability study using a repeated-measured design. 15 sub elite young male soccer players performed two trials of a novel performance test incorporating a 3 min and a 12 min running time trial (TT), around a course with frequent changes of direction. Players also performed a YoYo Intermittent Recovery (YYIR) test to estimate maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max). Bland Altman plots, intraclass correlation, and students t-tests were used to assess reliability, while Pearson product moment correlation was used for construct validity. Results: Intraclass correlation between trial 1 and 2 was 0.89 for CPmet and 0.73 for W′met. The difference in CPmet (p = 0.08) between trials 1 and 2 was not statistically significant (14.9 W.kg-1 vs 14.2 W.kg-1 respectively). Similar ICC values were also found for critical velocity (CV) and d, however mean CV was significantly lower in trial 2 (2.96 W.kg-1) than trial 1 (3.11 W.kg-1; p = 0.04), whereas d′ increased from 116 to 148 (p = 0.02). CPmet and CV were strongly correlated (p < 0.001), whereas there was only a poor correlation between CPmet and estimated VO2max (p = 0.74). Conclusion: The novel CPmet test was simple to implement in the field in a single training session and exhibited good reliability. There was some evidence of a learning effect however with better performance on the anaerobic domain metric W′met. A strong correlation with CV suggests the test contains ecological validity, but there was poor relationship with estimated VO2max from the YYIR. Future research should aim to establish the validity of this approach against a criterion measure of the maximal metabolic steady state.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	HBKU College of Health & Life Sciences