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BTL CardioPoint CPET CLIN Treadmill Load Protocol For Athletes EN100

The document describes a treadmill load protocol for evaluating the maximum aerobic capacity and anaerobic threshold of athletes. The protocol involves a constant 3% grade with speed increases of approximately 1 kph every 30 seconds, starting at 5-7 kph. This allows most athletes to reach VO2max in 5-10 minutes. Safety precautions are emphasized when testing athletes due to risks of falling. The protocol can be modified by decreasing speed increments or extending stage durations for less fit athletes.

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253 views

BTL CardioPoint CPET CLIN Treadmill Load Protocol For Athletes EN100

The document describes a treadmill load protocol for evaluating the maximum aerobic capacity and anaerobic threshold of athletes. The protocol involves a constant 3% grade with speed increases of approximately 1 kph every 30 seconds, starting at 5-7 kph. This allows most athletes to reach VO2max in 5-10 minutes. Safety precautions are emphasized when testing athletes due to risks of falling. The protocol can be modified by decreasing speed increments or extending stage durations for less fit athletes.

Uploaded by

stoicea catalin
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Treadmill load protocol for athletes

Purpose Type of the protocol


Determination of the maximum aerobic Incremental (ramp)
capacity and anaerobic threshold for fitness
evaluation

Picture

Description
In this protocol, the treadmill grade is set to a constant value of 3%. This grade better simulates a
real, outside environment and also increases athlete’s comfort during the test. The speed
progressively increases in 30-seconds intervals by approx. 1 kph. The starting speed might be set
to approx. 5 - 7 kph (walking speed - slow running speed). As a result, the athlete will most likely
reach his maximum in 5 - 10 minutes with a VO2max value of 50 - 70 ml/min/kg (according to
formulas in [1]). A short warm-up of 3 - 5 minutes might be incorporated into this protocol before the
onset of an exercise phase. It will allow the athlete to get used to the CPET lab, used equipment
and the test itself. The treadmill speed for a recovery phase may be set to approx. 5 kph and may
last approx. 3 - 5 minutes (providing the athlete is not experiencing any complications). Obviously,
the parameters of the test (speed increments, starting speed) might be modified to match the
athlete’s profile.

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Important note!
Safety first!!! Monitor your patient carefully during the complete test, even during the recovery
phase. Pay extra attention to the athlete at a peak exercise and be ready to help in case the athlete
falls down on a running belt. Position the treadmill in your lab appropriately to minimize possible
injuries in case the athlete will fall down on a running belt. Use either the BTL Treadmill Sport or
Athlete model, not the Clinical one. The BTL Treadmill Clinical is designed for patients only. It is too
short to support a run of an athlete.

Setting up the protocol in the BTL CardioPoint

Pretest phase
Pretest phase might be set with a speed of 5 - 7 kph. Duration is irrelevant as the test only starts
after the user clicks the button Exercise in the software. Elevation might be set already to 3%.

Exercise phase
Exercise phase consists of short 30-seconds stages. The speed increases by 1 kph from a starting
speed of 5 - 7 kph, while the elevation remains 3% throughout the complete test. It is
recommended to uncheck the BP option at every stage. This way, no BP measurement will be
automatically initiated and no pop-up window asking for the BP data will appear during the test.

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Recovery phase
Finally, the recovery phase should allow the patient to recover, hence the slow walking speed and
no elevation.

Protocol modifications
Athletes with a lower level of aerobic fitness might better be tested with a less demanding protocol.
To make the above described protocol less demanding, you may decrease the speed 30-seconds
increments e.g. to 0.5 kph. Eventually, you may keep the increments at 0.5 kph and only make their
duration longer (e.g. 1 minute).

Literature
[1] ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 10th edition

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