Influence of body mass on resistive force selection during high intensity cycle ergometry: interrelationships between laboratory and field measures of performance

The purpose of this study was to compare high intensity performance measures obtained from field tests with high intensity cycle ergometry power values when resistive forces were determined from total body mass (TBM) or fat free mass (FFM). Male soccer players (N = 11) volunteered as subjects. Cycle ergometry testing involved subjects cycling maximally for 6 s duration against resistive forces using a TBM or FFM protocol in conjunction with the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences recommended resistive force guidelines (BASES) for male soccer players of 80 g/kg. The field tests examined consisted of a 30 m sprint, and both horizontal and vertical jump tests. Significant correlations existed between cycle ergometry peak power outputs (PPO) using both the TBM and FFM protocols and all field measures of performance (p < 0.01). PPO pedal revolutions (PR) were significantly greater when the FFM protocol was compared to the TBM method of resistive force selection (p < 0.01). Significant reductions in resistive forces were observed for the FFM protocol (p < 0.01). The time to reach PPO significantly deceased (p < 0.05) using the FFM protocol. These findings suggest that increases in PPO are observed during high intensity cycle ergometry when resistive forces reflect the active muscle tissue utilized during the test. The findings also suggest that the cycle ergometry tests are highly related to field measures of high intensity ability. Coefficient of determination values (R²) demonstrated that more of the variance in performance between the field tests and the cycle ergometer protocols was accounted for using the FFM method of resistive force selection. The sprinting and jumping tests were also significantly related (p < 0.01) indicating that they may be used interchangeably as predictive measures of high intensity performance.