EFFECT OF WORKBOUT DURATION ON THE PHYSICAL WORKING CAPACITY AT FATIGUE THRESHOLD (PWCFT) TEST

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to determine the effect of increasing the duration of the workbout at each power output during th e physical working capacity at fatigue threshold (PWCFT) test from 2 t o 3 or 4 min, and (2) to examine the time to exhaustion during continu ous workbouts at the PWCFT. Twelve adult males (<(chi)over bar> +/- SD = 22.4 +/- 3.0 years) volunteered to perform three PWCFT tests using workbout durations of 2, 3, and 4 min. Following the determination of the PWCFT values, nine of the subjects performed continuous workbouts at PWCFT2 and PWCFT4 for as long as possible. The mean PWCFT value usi ng 4-min workbouts (PWCFT4 = 168.8 +/- 45.1 W) was significantly less (p < 0.05, 19.1%) than that using 2-min workbouts (PWCFT2 = 208.9 +/- 59.0 W). However, only two subjects were able to complete 60 min at PW CFT4, and none of the subjects were able to complete 60 min at PWCFT2. Therefore, although increasing the duration of the workbout at each p ower output resulted in a lower PWCFT4, these findings do not support a recommendation for a change in the PWCFT test protocol.