Relationship of Field Tests to Laboratory Tests of Muscular Strength and Endurance, and Maximal Aerobic Power

摘要

This study evaluate the relationship between established laboratory tests of selected physical fitness components and a field tests battery (EXPRES) presently used annually to evaluate the physical fitness of Canadian Force personnel. Muscular strength, muscular endurance and maximal aerobic power were evaluated in 33 male personnel. The EXPRES test battery included isometric handgrip dynamometry as an indicator of strength, pushups and situps as indicators of muscular endurance, and maximal aerobic power was predicted from the heart rate response to a submaximal step-test. The laboratory measures of strength consisted of maximal isokinetic and isometric contractions of the body's large muscle groups performed on a computerized strength evaluation system. Maximal power generated during a 30 s cycle ergometer sprint (Wingate Test) was used as the laboratory measure of muscular endurance. Maximal aerobic power was measured directly during exhaustive cycle exercise. When correlation coefficients were calculated for the various field and laboratory tests, the values range from 0.46 - 0.67 for muscular strength, 0.49 - 0.58 for muscular endurance, and 0.65 for maximal aerobic power. All correlation coefficients were statistically significant (pless than 0.01), but the standard errors about the regression lines were quite large. The EXPRES test battery is considered appropriate for the gross fitness evaluation for which it was designed, but users should be made aware of the rather large room for error in fitness evaluation. Seventeen of the subjects performed the EXPRES and the laboratory tests before and after 12 weeks of hydraulic resistance weight training.