ABSTRACT
University of Porto, Faculty of Sport, Cifi2d, Portugal 36.1 INTRODUCTION Performance measures scaling is one fundamental procedure to carry out before making comparisons. For instance, when force or power measures are assessed, weight is often used as a normalization factor. Although, this need for the normalization of the force and power values is not a finished discussion, and the use of the body weight is not unanimously accepted. Indeed, it has not yet been answered if the possible insufficiency of the weight parameter as a normalization factor is independent of performance, especially regarding the test used. Besides weight, other normalization factors like height, limb mass and body mass index (obtained from skin folds, bioimpedance or DEXA) were successfully used (e.g. Mochizuki et al., 2003; Nishio et al., 1992; Raftopoulos et al., 2000). Wingate test is probably the most widely used method for anaerobic performance evaluation (Van Praagh, 1996) from which are obtained absolute and normalized weight power values. Normalization using body weight is well accepted in these standardized tests. Nowadays, the adequacy of this scaling factor when Wingate Tests are performed seems not to be discussed. The present work intends to reflect about that thematic, starting on the idea that effects obtained after weight normalization were similar for Wingate test performed by the same subjects in arm cranking and cycloergometer. 36.2 METHODS Ninety swimmers of three maturational states (30 pre-pubertal, 30 pubertal and 30 post-pubertal, being 15 males and 15 females in each group) participated in the present study performing two 30s Wingate tests in consecutive days. One of the tests was performed in an adapted arm cranking and the other was the traditional cycloergometer Wingate Test. An ANOVA test was used to compare maximal
(max), mean and minimum (min) power (P) values between the three maturational groups and an independent samples t-test was used to compare the same values between genders. Significance was established at 5%. The total number of differences obtained using absolute values was compared with the total number of differences obtained using relative values. Comparisons were made both for absolute and relative values. 36.3 RESULTS The number of comparisons established for both arm cranking and cycloergometer Wingate Test, using absolute and weight normalized values, could be observed in Table 36.1.
