ABSTRACT
Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is made available by both aerobic and anaerobic means with proportional involvement dependent upon how rapidly it is required. While all world-class athletes are incredible performance machines, the Olympic decathlete is the most remarkable when physiological traits responsible for athletic success are considered. Given its relative importance, it stands to reason that athlete assessment should include tests that measure aerobic capacity. Test implementation field tests are used to assess an athlete's capacity to perform intermittent exercise requiring maximal activation of the aerobic system or the ability to recover from repeat exercise with a high contribution from anaerobic energy turnover. When a decathlete throws a javelin or puts a shot, the rate of ATP hydrolysis and immediacy with which it is required conspire to make anaerobic ATP production the "exclusive" provider of energy. Collectively, substrate-level means that well-developed aerobic capacity is important for every athlete with the possible exception of those who perform the most fleeting singular efforts.
