Abstract: | Field tests of running and laboratory tests were performed in La Paz high altitude (HA), 3700 m] and in Clermont-Ferrand low altitude (LA), 300 m] to investigate their validity at HA. Prepubertal boys of mean ages 10.6 years (HA1,n = 16; LA1,n = 28) and pubertal boys of 13.7 years (HA2,n = 12; LA2,n = 41) took part in the study. All the boys performed a 30-m sprint (v
30m), a 30-s shuttle run (v
3os) and a progressive shuttle run test until their maximal aerobic velocity (v
maxsRT). Maximal oxygen consumption was extrapolated from the last test.
. In the laboratory, the boys performed a force-velocity test (P
max), a Wingate test (P
Wing) and a graded test to measure maximal oxygen consumption
; direct method) on a cycle ergometer. At similar ages, there was no significant difference between HA and LA boys forv
30m andP
max. Thev
30s of HA boys was 3%–4% lower than those of LA boys (P<0.05); there was no significant difference forP
Wing. Significant relationships were observed at both altitudes betweenP
max (watts per kilogram) andv
30m (HA:r=0.76; LA:r=0.84) and betweenP
Wing andv
30s (HA:r=0.67; LA:r = 0.77); the slopes and the origins were the same at HA and LA. The
,v
maxSRT and
were lower by 9%, 12% and 20%, respectively, at HA than at LA (P<0.05). However, the relationships between
and
(litres per minute) at HA (r=0.88) and at LA (r=0.93) were identical. In conclusion, chronic hypoxia did not modify performance in very short dash exercises. The influence of HA appeared when the exercise duration increased and, during a maximal shuttle run test, performance was reduced by 10% at HA. Moreover, it was possible to assessP
max,P
Wing and
at HA as well as at LA from field tests. |