The 10-min cycle ergometer test: A body-mass adjusted test of maximal aerobic power

Military service academies have used an all-out low torque cycle ergometer test to assess aerobic fitness for injured subjects on a friction-braked ergometer (FBE). While accurate, the FBE-based test calls for a very fast pedal rate for fit subjects with large body mass and a very slow pedal rate for smaller or less fit subjects. This study examined the validity of a 10-min cycle ergometer test (10-MCET) on (V) over dotO(2) peak prediction using an air-braked ergometer (ABE) and applied allometric scaling to create an index of aerobic fitness, TW10 . KG(-a) that adjusts for differences in body mass. Results revealed that in a sample of 46 college-age men and women, the 10-MCET was highly predictive of (V) over dotO(2) peak and that for another sample of 149 college-age women and men, TW10 . KG(-0.66) was the appropriate body-mass scaled index of aerobic fitness. Furthermore, the ABE's 65- to 96-rpm pedal rate range was more within comfortable limits than that reported in similar testing on the FBE (57-126 rpm).