Effect of Different Starting Cadences on Wingate Anaerobic Test Indices in Recreationally Active Males

Abstract

Background The lack of a standardized starting cadence for the acceleration phase makes comparing results challenging, in non-elite participants. Objective The aim of this study was to determine the impact of different starting cadences on the Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT) indices. Methods Twenty-four recreationally active males participated in the study. WAnT protocols consisting of different starting cadences of 60 (WAnT(60rpm)), 80 (WAnT(80rpm)), 100 (WAnT(100rpm)), and 120 rpm (WAnT(120rpm)) were randomly applied on different days. Differences between variables were determined using repeated measures ANOVA (LSD) analysis. An alpha value of p < 0.05 was considered significant. The effect size (ES) was calculated using Cohen's d. Results WAnT(80rpm) trial produced significantly higher peak power output (PPO) in comparison to WAnT(100rpm) (WAnT(80rpm) vs. WAnT(100rpm )= 948 +/- 129 W vs. 888 +/- 112 W, p = 0.002, ES = 0.50) and WAnT(120rpm) (WAnT(80rpm) vs. WAnT(120rpm )= 948 +/- 129 W vs. 878 +/- 139 W, p = 0.000, ES = 0.51) trials. The average power output (AvPO) values in the WAnT(60rpm) and WAnT(80rpm) trials were significantly higher than those in WAnT(100rpm) (WAnT(60rpm) vs. WAnT(100rpm )= 592 +/- 76.4 W vs. 574 +/- 76.5 W, p = 0.001, ES = 0.23; WAnT(80rpm) vs. WAnT(100rpm )= 589 +/- 83.9 W vs. 574 +/- 76.5 W, p = 0.007, ES = 0.17) and WAnT(120rpm) (WAnT(60rpm) vs. WAnT(120rpm )= 592 +/- 76.4 W vs. 573 +/- 85.3 W; p = 0.002, ES = 0.23; WAnT(80rpm) vs. WAnT(120rpm )= 589 +/- 83.9 W vs. 573 +/- 85.3 W, p = 0.007, ES = 0.18). Conclusions This study suggests that starting the WAnT test when 60 or 80 rpm reached by recreationally active participants during the acceleration phase may be more suitable to achieve higher peak power and average power outputs. This study emphasizes the need to reconsider the standard starting cadence for the WAnT in anaerobically untrained individuals.