working in partnership with Addenbrookes NHS Trust

Wingate Exercise Test

• The Wingate test, also known as the Wingate Anaerobic Test (WANT), was developed at the Wingate Institute, in Israel, during the 1970s.

• It is a very popular assessment for peak anaerobic power, anaerobic fatigue and total anaerobic capacity.

• The Wingate test requires the subject to pedal a mechanically braked bicycle ergometer , for 30 seconds, at an "all out" pace.

• A counter is used to record revolutions of the flywheel in 5-second intervals.

• Although the actual Wingate test is performed in a 30-second time span, the individual is advised to complete a warm-up , followed by a recovery cool down.

• On commencing the test, the individual pedals "all out" with no resistance. Within 3 seconds, the predetermined fixed resistance is applied to the flywheel and remains there for the duration of the 30-second test.

• Resistance
  The bicycle ergometers we use for the Wingate test is a modified Monark ergometer.   Monark ergometer resistance = 0.075 kg per kilogram of body weight.

• For power athletes and sprint athletes, resistance is often increased to values in the range of 1.0 kg per kilogram of body weight to 1.3 kg per kilogram of body weight.

• So on the Monarch ergometer a 70kg athlete the flywheel resistance would equal 5.25kg (70 x 0.075).

• Test Scores
  Calculated measures from the Wingate test include:

• 1. Peak Power (PP)
  Peak power is ideally measured in first 5-second interval of the Wingate test and is expressed as follows:

Force x Total Distance (Time in minutes)

Force is the amount of resistance (kg) added to the flywheel. Total distance is the number of revolutions x the distance per revolution. Time is 5 seconds or 0.0833 minutes. The result for peak power is expressed in watts (W).

• 2. Relative Peak Power (RPP)
  Relative peak power is determined simply by dividing peak power by body mass and is expressed as W/kg

• 3. Anaerobic Fatigue (AF)
  Anaerobic fatigue is calculated as follows:

Highest 5-second peak power output - Lowest 5-second peak power output ( Highest 5-second peak power output. Then multiply by 100 to get the percentage decline.

• 4. Anaerobic Capacity (AC)
  Anaerobic capacity is expressed as kilogram-Joules (1 kg-m = 9.804 J) and is calculated by adding together each 5-second peak power output over the 30 seconds.

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