Anaerobic cycling performance characteristics in prepubescent, adolescent and young adult females

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the relationships betwee n short-term power and body dimensions in young females were similar whatev er the age of the individuals. A cohort of 189 prepubescent (mean age 9.5 y ears), adolescent (mean age 14.4 years) and young adult (mean age 18.2 year s) females performed three all-out sprints on a friction-loaded cycle ergom eter against three braking forces corresponding to applied loads of 25, 50 and 75 g(.)kg(-1) body mass (BM). For each sprint, peak power including fly wheel inertia was calculated. Results showed that a braking load of 75 g(.) kg(-1) BM was too high for prepubescent and adolescent girls. Therefore, wh en measuring short-term cycling performance in heterogeneous female populat ions, a braking load of 50 g(.)kg(-1) BM (0.495 N(.)kg(-1) BM) is recommend ed. During growth, cycling peak power (CPP; defined as the highest peak pow er obtained during the three sprints) increased, as did total BM, fat-free mass (FFM) and lean leg volume (LLV) (P < 0.001). Analysis of covariance re vealed that the slopes of the linear relationships between CPP and biometri c characteristics were similar in the three groups (P > 0.7 for the CPP/BM and CPP/FFM relationships, and P > 0.2 for the CPP/LLV relationship). Howev er, the adjusted means were always significantly higher in young women (P < 0.001) compared with both of the other groups. Although differences in per formance during anaerobic cycling in growing females are primarily dependen t upon body dimensions, other as yet undetermined factors may be involved d uring late adolescence.