Open AccessAIR-BT, a new badminton-specific incremental easy-to-use test
Author(s) -
Javier Abián-Vicén,
Alfredo Bravo-Sánchez,
Pablo Abián
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0257124
Subject(s) - vo2 max , anaerobic exercise , treadmill , mathematics , incremental exercise , limits of agreement , zoology , simulation , physical therapy , medicine , heart rate , computer science , nuclear medicine , blood pressure , biology
Background Badminton is a highly demanding sport characterized by intermittent efforts with energy being provided by both the aerobic and anaerobic systems. To date, no incremental badminton field test has been developed that can be easily used by badminton coaches that requires accessible material for anyone. Objectives The purpose of this study was to develop a practical and reliable easy-to use intermittent endurance badminton test for estimating maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2max ). Methods Thirty six Spanish badminton players (age: 24.1±10.3 years) performed, on different days of the same week, four incremental protocols to exhaustion in randomized order: a treadmill incremental test, a Yo-Yo intermittent recovery level 1 test (Yo-Yo IR1) and twice the Abian intermittent recovery badminton test (AIR-BT). Oxygen uptake was determined with a breath-by-breath gas analyzer during the incremental treadmill test, and performance in the Yo-yo IR1 and AIR-BT was recorded. Results Significant correlations (p<0.001) for Pearson’s product moment coefficient were found between the performance in the AIR-BT and the two non-specific incremental tests (VO 2max in the Treadmill Test: r = 0.87, distance in the Yo-Yo IR1: r = 0.86). The regression equation to calculate the VO 2max from the AIR-BT time [VO 2max = 0.023*(AIR-BT time in seconds)+31.334] showed an adjusted R 2 of 0.76 and a SEE of 3.34 ml·kg -1 ·min -1 . There was no significant difference between VO 2max obtained by the incremental treadmill test and VO 2max calculated using the regression equation (p = 0.644). A paired t-test reported no significant differences between day 1 and day 2 in the AIR-BT time (p = 0.753), the Pearson correlation coefficient between both days was: r = 0.88 (p<0.001) and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.875. Conclusions The AIR-BT is a valid and reliable on-court test for assessing VO 2max in badminton players and may be utilized by coaches and physical trainers for cross-sectional comparison of players and for evaluation of longitudinal changes.