POWER PROFILING

Wattbike is already a trusted training partner within elite sport across the globe. But taking testing and benchmarking a step further, Thomson Remo, Wattbike’s Lead Performance Educator with US distributor, Woodway, has been busy presenting to the PBSCCS (Pro Baseball Strength Coaches) in Chicago during the NBA Combine and SCAPH (Pro Hockey Strength Coaches) in Buffalo during the NHL Combine on the topic of fine-tuning athletic potential and performance through Power Profiling.

POWER PROFILING

Power Profiling involves Remo’s 10-Second Protocol test (a top 10 second power output), using the Wattbike as a dynamometer, the same tool to measure horsepower and torque in a vehicle. From this, coaches can use the Wattbike to ‘tune’ their athletes’ performance, similar to the way in which a mechanic would tune a car.

This protocol tests whether an athlete is strong (high-torque), fast (high-rpm) or hybrid (high-horsepower). From a preliminary test, a coach can identify an athlete’s bias to being strong, fast or hybrid, and can create an immediate action plan or dig deeper into secondary testing.

FAST, STRONG OR HYBRID

Athletes with the highest power outputs against heavy resistance levels would be considered ‘strong’, whereas athletes with the highest power outputs against light resistance levels would be considered ‘fast’.

Once a coach has determined this, they can hone in on the optimal power-producing velocity by performing additional tests using resistance levels slightly above and highest power output recorded in the first test.

This secondary test can identify two key things:

• an athlete’s true top power output, and,
• how the athletes’ raw power compares, relative to sport or position-specific performance benchmarks.

UTILISING THE DATA

From the results, coaches can predict an athlete’s performance in anaerobic capacity tests, as well as guide testing parameters for aerobic fitness assessments.

“This form of profiling can give coaches a vital snapshot but without making the athlete unnecessarily nauseous or uncomfortable as is common in alternate testing methods, such as the Wingate test. Using the Wattbike means zero impact, fixed range of motion and continuous time under tension making it a great tool for a wide range of testing duration capabilities and for assessing both aerobic and anaerobic qualities.”

Findings can also be used to gauge an athlete’s readiness, effort or mechanical movement by evaluating top power outputs to personal best performances.

“As an athlete gets stronger or faster, their ‘optimal’ resistance will continue to shift slightly.” Remo explains. “Using the Wattbike, a coach can identify this and manipulate the rest of their training, to make sure they continue to boost power appropriate to their chosen sporting discipline. The 10-Second Protocol applies to all sports, rehabilitation programmes and general fitness. So, this is just the beginning…”

VALIDATED PREDICTIVE CAPABILITY

The predictive capability of Remo’s Power Profiling protocol has been validated by a pilot study performed by Arizona State University and is set to undergo a full peer-reviewed analysis in Autumn 2023.