ABSTRACT
Theoretically, the Critical Power (CP) cycle ergometer test estimates three parameters of physical working capacity: 1–4 (1) the maximal power output that can be maintained for an extended period of time without fatigue, called the CP; (2) the total amount of work that can be accomplished using only stored energy sources (creatine phosphate, glycogen, and oxygen bound to myoglobin) within the activated muscles, called the anaerobic work capacity (AWC); and (3) the time to exhaustion, or time limit (TL), during continuous cycle ergometry at any power output. The CP test uses linear mathematical modeling of the relationship between the total work accomplished at different power outputs and the corresponding TL values to simultaneously estimate the CP, AWC, and TL at any power output (figure 11.1).
