Hockey
Fitness Testing Assignment: Hockey - by Tania Ashfield
Contents
- Introduction
- Indications for Physiological Testing
- Body Type
- Energy Systems
- Physiological Testing of Hockey Players
- Fitness Testing Procedures
- References
Introduction
Hockey is a sport widely played in Australia. Games are comprised of two 35 minute halves and players perform repeated sprint efforts with a high level of sport specific skills. Therefore, the hockey player is required to have a large aerobic and anaerobic capacity in addition to ball and stick skills.
Indications for Physiological Testing
Physiological testing provides an objective measure of sports performance and enables the effects of training to be assessed. It can be used for any active person to provide a general profile of fitness. For the competitive athlete it enables assessment of the sports specific components required for optimal performance. Identification of athletic strengths and weaknesses allows specific training regimens to be tailored for the individual. Reassessment at regular intervals provides the athlete and coaching staff with an objective assessment of the effect of the training that was implemented.
Choice of tests must be specific to the physiological characteristics that are analysed to be critical components of athletic performance. Specificity must include the energy systems used and the muscle action that is sports specific. Validity of the test is reduced if it does not include the sports specific action of the athlete.
Standardised protocols for testing are applied to maximise reliability and validity of the test results. The test must be reproducible and measure what it is designed to measure. Standard protocols include those components that relate to the athlete's preparation and the environment and equipment that are involved in the testing procedure (Draper et al 1991, MacDougall et al 1991). The protocols attempt to control the infinite number of variables that may influence athletic performance and aim to maximise the quality of the result of physiological test procedures.
Body Type
Elite hockey players are not identified by specific physical characteristics. Generally, back line players require power and may therefore tend towards a heavier weight in comparison to a midfield player who is required to perform frequent repeated sprint efforts. However, these characteristics are not indicators of hockey skill potential and as such the physical profile of elite hockey players varies between individuals (Rechichi 1998).
Energy Systems
Energy systems do not occur in isolation but integrate to provide the total energy demands of the body. Energy systems are either anaerobic or aerobic. Anaerobic systems can be further categorised into the ATP-CP (adenosine triphosphate - creatine phosphate) and lactate systems.
The ATP-CP system provides the immediate energy when exercise is commenced. ATP is the form of energy that is used for muscle activation and nerve transmission and it is replenished by CP. Both ATP and CP contain high energy phosphate bonds. ATP is broken down to ADP and supplies the initial two to four seconds of energy in maximal effort exercise (with the potential to increase duration to 15 seconds with training). CP reestablishes ATP from ADP. However this system is limited and anaerobic alactic energy generally has the capacity of ten seconds duration.
ATP is then supplied by the lactate system or the aerobic system. The lactate system involves anaerobic glycolysis to release ATP and produce lactic acid. It has it's greatest contribution in relatively brief tasks of 60 to 180 seconds duration however it is also limited due to the accumulation of lactic acid within the muscles.
The aerobic system replenishes ATP by aerobic metabolism of carbohydrate and fat. Aerobic capacity is virtually unlimited and is active in exercise of more than a few minutes duration. The time frames in which the different energy systems are active determine the physiological test that apply to each ATP source (MacDougall et al 1991, McArdle et al 1996).
Critical components of game performance are both the aerobic and anaerobic capacity of the hockey player. The duration and the pace of hockey requires a high aerobic fitness level for players (Cibich 1991, Rechichi 1998). Cibich (1991) found that in game situations, hockey mid field players performed at or above their anaerobic threshold for 70% of the game time on average. Sustained high intensity is necessary with recovery time being only 12.25% of total game time (including warm up and half time) for Centre Half and Inside Forward players and 20% for Backs (Cibich 1991). It is also recognised that hockey involves multiple sprint repetitions throughout a game and as such there is a large anaerobic component of the sport (Fitzsimons et al 1993, Dawson et al 1991).
Physiological Testing of Hockey Players
The current protocol for physiological testing of Australian elite hockey players by the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS) is as follows (Rechichi 1998):
A standardised warm up of 10 - 15 minutes light cycling is performed followed by stretching. Testing is performed in the following order and laboratory (Tests 1 - 4) and field tests (Tests 5 - 7) are performed on different days. VO2 max tests (Test 8) are not performed at every testing session.
- Skin fold measurements
- The sites from which measurements are taken are triceps, subscapularis, biceps, supraspinatus, abdominals, anterior thigh and medial calf. The target sum of the measurements for males should be between 45 and 65mm and 60 and 80mm for females. These values correspond with the desirable values documented by Lawrence et al (1991) of less than 66mm and less than 76mm for males and females respectively.
- Vertical jump test
- Standing reach height of the athlete is measured by a chalk mark of the highest reaching fingertip on a "jump and reach board" which is marked in one centimetre increments. Warm up jumps are permitted. The athlete is then instructed to perform a maximal jump and mark the "jump and reach" board at the maximum height of the jump. The height of the jump is recorded as the height of the jump minus the standing reach height. Target values are 50cm for females and 60cm for males which compare to the desirable values outlined by Lawrence et al (1991) of greater than 55cm and 60cm respectively.
- 10 second Tri level test
- This test will be presented in detail in the following text.
- 5 x 6 Second Repeated Effort Test (Cycle Ergometer)
- This test will be described in detail in the following text.
- Acceleration and Speed test
- Single sprint efforts are timed with timing gates for distances of 10m, 30m and 40m. The athlete begins at the starting line in a crouched position and in their own time sprint through the 40m finish line. The protocol by Lawrence et al (1991) suggests a minimum of two trials with two minutes rest between trials. Scores are recorded for the 10m time (acceleration), 30m (speed) and 40m (combined). A desirable score is less than two seconds for a 10m sprint (Rechichi 1998) which is in contrast with the with a desirable score of less than 0.75 seconds reported by Lawrence et al (1991). A combined score of less than 5.70 seconds for females is reported by Lawrence et al (1991) and there are no male scores or speed scores available.
- Agility test (505 Test)
- The athlete is required to sprint 15m, touch the "O" line with their foot and return to the start point. Timing gates are set five metres from the "O" line and the agility score is recorded as the time to complete the five metre approach, touch and five metre return from the "O" line. A minimum of two trials with two minutes rest should be given (Lawrence et al 1991).
- Shuttle test
- This test will be discussed in depth in the following text.
- VO2 max test
- WAIS and the AIS utilise a treadmill VO2 max test with gas collection apparatus. The protocol of the test is outlined by Lawrence et. al. (1991) and involves progressive increments of running speed and inclination of the treadmill. VO2 max is the highest minute score and either heart rate plateau with increasing workload, minute VO2 plateau or R>1.15. Desirable scores (ml.kg-1.min-1) are greater than 63 and 68 for females and males respectively.
The current protocol does not include flexibility testing. In preference to performing the "sit and reach" test, athletes are assessed by a physiotherapist and a stretching regimen is implemented as indicated (Rechichi 1998).
Fitness Testing Procedures
Pre test protocol
Pre test protocol (Draper et al 1991) minimises the effect of the many variables that influence the outcome of physiological testing and attempts to maximise the test validity within and between subjects. Standard pre test preparation of the athlete involves familiarisation, informed consent, medical clearance, controlled activity and diet prior to testing and appropriate attire. On each test day, the order of testing, warm up, rest periods, time of day and the environment in which the tests are performed should be standardised as much as possible. Specific pre test conditions should be observed prior to physiological testing. Training that involves fatigue should be avoided for the 24 hours prior to testing and no food, alcohol or cigarettes should be consumed in the two hours preceding testing (Lawrence et al 1991). Equipment preparation is critical and includes calibration and competency of the tester.
20 metre Shuttle Run Test - Aerobic testing.
The shuttle run test measures the "functional aerobic fitness" (Draper et al 1991) of the athlete. It is considered a more specific test for sports which require repeated efforts of short duration (5-7 seconds) maximal sprints over an extended period of time (70-120 minutes) (Fitzsimons et al. 1993).
Protocol
This field test requires a flat, even running surface. Environmental variables, including wind and heat, should be minimised as much as possible and ideally the test should be performed on an indoor surface. The timed "beeps" are measured on a pre recorded CD and therefore the test requires a CD player. Markers are set 20m apart and the field must be at least 22m to provide an adequate run through area.
The CD player is started and the test instructions at the start of the CD instruct the athlete(s) to position themselves at the start point. The actual test commences after the triple beep. The aim is to complete the 20m track at a pace that coincides with the next single "beep". After each minute the pace increases and is signaled by a triple "beep". The athlete is advised to pace themselves with speed of the "beeps". Participants only need to put one foot over the line before turning (Australian Sports Commission 1998).
The athlete should continue the test as long as they can match the pace of the CD and the test is completed when the athlete can not reach the end of the 20m track before the next "beep" sounds.
Measurement
The British version of recording the 20m Shuttle Test is recommended by the Australian Sports Commission (1998). Scores are a product of the level and the number of successful shuttles completed for that level and is reported to be a more refined scale for estimation of VO2 max.
Normative Data
Normative data is reproduced from the Australian Sports Commission (1998) CD (Table 1) and the predicted VO2 max values (Table 2) from Ramsbottom et al (1988). Personal communication from Rechichi (1998) reported desirable values of level 12 for females and level 13-14 for males.
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Critical evaluation of the 20m Shuttle Run Test.
The 20m Shuttle Run test was originally devised by Leger and Lambert (1982) (cited in Ramsbottom et al 1988, Paliczka et al 1987) as a field test to predict VO2 max.
The reported advantages of the shuttle test are that it is inexpensive, has high reliability (r=0.975), partially eliminates the need for self pacing that is a feature of other aerobic tests, is incremental and therefore will produce a gradual rise in HR and that large numbers of subjects can be tested simultaneously (Paliczka et al 1987, Grant et al 1995). In general, field tests are not as reliable as laboratory tests however they have the advantage of simulating the specific sport and are therefore more valid (MacDougall et al 1991)
Researchers have investigated the correlation between VO2 max as measured on a treadmill with gas analysis and the predicted value from performance in the 20m shuttle Run test. Correlations of 0.93, 0.92 and 0.86 have been reported by Paliczka et al (1987), Ramsbottom et al (1988) and Grant et al (1995) respectively. However Grant et al (1995) reported a systematic underestimation of VO2 max as predicted by the Shuttle Run test and therefore extrapolation of the shuttle sore to estimate VO2 max may be inappropriate. It is recommended that the raw score of the standardised 20 metre Shuttle Run Test is more accurate for intra and inter-athlete evaluation (Draper et al 1991).
The change of direction at the end of the 20m shuttle was found by Grant et al (1995) to be a factor in test performance and postulated that athletes who were more economical in their turning skill achieved higher Shuttle Run scores. It also includes an anaerobic component in the "aerobic" test as the athlete is required to decelerate then reaccelerate after each shuttle. They identified hockey and soccer as sports where the ability of the athlete to change direction was a feature of the sport and therefore is appropriate to include in a fitness test.
In summary, the 20m Shuttle Run test has the advantage of high sports specificity to hockey and therefore highly validity. Researchers investigating the application of results suggest that the raw score of the shuttle test is more accurate than predicting a VO2 max score and can be used for intra and inter athlete comparison.
10 second Tri - level test - Anaerobic testing.
The Tri - level Profile is a series of three tests which are performed on a front entry cycle and involve a submaximal cycle effort, a 10 second maximal effort and a 30 second maximal effort. These results provide an aerobic index, alactic power and work index and a lactic work index. The AIS and WAIS hockey players use only the 10 second maximal effort test (Rechichi 1998) as a measure of anaerobic and alactic capacity.
Protocol
The test is performed on a front entry Exertech Cycle ergometer (Rechichi 1998). The subject stands on the pedals with the cranks at approximately 45° to maximise starting power. The work monitor is reset to zero from previous tests and the "high" range. On "Go", the athlete is instructed to maximum speed and maintain this within the ten second time frame which is timed by the stopwatch. The last five seconds may be counted if the athlete desires. Joules and watts are recorded on the work monitor.
Measurement
The values of watts is divided by the athlete's weight to give watts.kg-1 as a measure of the alactic power index. Similarly, the joules.kg-1 value is a measure of alactic work index.
Normative Data
Expected scores and ranges are reproduced from the Test Methods Manual (Lawrence et al 1991) (Table 3). The AIS and WAIS athletes are expected to achieve results of greater than 16W.kg-1 and 20W.kg-1 for females and males respectively (Rechichi 1998). These results are comparable to the values recorded by Lawrence et al (1991) of greater than 17.5 and 20 for females and males respectively. Desirable values for work output (Lawrence et al 1991) are greater than 140 J.kg-1 for females and 165 J.kg-1 for males.
| Work Output (J.kg-1) | Peak Power (W.kg-1) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ratings | Females | Males | Females | Males |
| 1. Poor | < 109 | < 140 | < 13.4 | < 16.5 |
| 2. Fair | 110-124 | 140-149 | 13.5-15.4 | 16.6-18.0 |
| 3. Adequate | 125-139 | 150-164 | 15.5-17.4 | 18.1-19.9 |
| 4. Desirable | > 140 | > 165 | > 17.5 | > 20 |
Critical evaluation of the 10 second Tri - level test.
Team sports including hockey involve multiple short sprint efforts of five to ten seconds duration (Dawson et al 1991). CP and ATP stores are completely exhausted within the first ten seconds of exercise after which the lactate energy system begins to contribute to energy production (Telford and Minikin 1987, Green 1995). Therefore the anaerobic alactic capacity of the hockey player is an important factor of sports specific performance.
Evaluation of anaerobic alactic capacity by work on a cycle ergometer has the advantage of being in a laboratory setting and the environment can be standardised. Telford and Minikin (1987) formulated the Tri - level test to provide a profile of the athlete that was not skill based and as such could be applied to a variety of athletes. However, Telford and Minikin (1987) concede that specificity is essential for the elite athlete and, as cycling is not sports specific to a running sport such as hockey, a cycle ergometer test is not optimal (Fitzsimons et al 1993). As a non specific test, the 10 second Tri - level test may not be sensitive to physiological changes as a result of sports training (Lawrence et al 1991). The limitation lies within the difficulty of measuring work output by a treadmill. Motorised treadmills do not permit accurate calculation of work output and it is necessary to have a treadmill that the athlete propels however anaerobic tests using this technology are not yet available (Green 1995). As such the cycle ergometer is an alternative to the ideal situation and standardised protocol allows valid comparison of the athletes' scores.
In summary, the 10 second Tri - level test is appropriate to assess anaerobic alactic performance of the hockey athlete and allow comparison with in and between athletes. However, development of a running anaerobic test would allow more accurate assessment of the running athlete's capability.
5 × 6 Second Repeated Effort Test (Cycle Ergometer)
This test measures anaerobic capacity and fatigue as a indicated by total work (J.kg-1) and percentage decrements in work and power.
Protocol
This laboratory test involves five repetitions of six second maximal sprint efforts with a 24 second rest time between each effort. The sprint commences each thirty seconds. The subject starts the sprint on the cycle ergometer (Exertech) (Rechichi 1998) with the pedal cranks at 45° with the preferred leg uppermost for maximal push off. The starting position is the same as the 10 second Tri-level test and is resumed prior to each sprint effort.
Standard starting commands are given before each sprint effort and should include "Ready" and "Go". Two stopwatches are started at the beginning of the first sprint. One to record continuous time. The other stopwatch records each sprint effort and is started at the "Go" command or when the subject begins pedaling (whichever is first) and reset at the end of each sprint repetition. The subject is required to sprint maximally for six seconds, then is allowed to sit down and pedal slowly until the command is given to resume the starting position five seconds prior to the next sprint effort. The first sprint should be within 0.2J of the first six seconds of the 10 second test to confirm maximal effort. If this is not achieved, the test is discontinued and recommenced after a two minute break.
Measurement
Work and peak power for each sprint is measured and recorded. Total work done by the subject is recorded in J.kg-1 BW. Average power is calculated as the mean of the five sprint power scores. Work and power decrements are calculated as a percentage decrease of the first maximal sprint effort.
Normative Data
Expected scores and ranges are reproduced from the Test Methods Manual (Lawrence et al 1991). Performance decrement is calculated by the sum of the percentage decrease of each effort relative to the best effort (Table 4). The AIS and WAIS calculate performance decrements by the sum of the five sprint efforts divided by the best sprint effort multiplied by five, converted to a percentage and subtracted from 100 (Rechichi 1998 and Fitzsimons 1993). The aim of the test is to achieve less than 10% performance decrement (Rechichi 1998). Dawson et al (1991) stated that a percentage decrement score less than 20% was a representative of good repeated sprint ability (RSA) as calculated by the same method as the AIS and WAIS. The work decrement score is considered the critical variable (Lawrence et al 1991). However, the optimal result is a high total work score and a low percentage work decrement. This indicates a high level of anaerobic work that is sustainable over repeated efforts. A low total work score with a low work decrement indicates the ability to sustain a level of work that is less than the target rate and the need for anaerobic training. High total work and a high percentage decrement reflects the inability to sustain maximal work output over repeated efforts.
| Total Work (J.kg-1) | Work Decrement (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ratings | Females | Males | Females | Males |
| 1. Poor | <299 | <364 | >46 | >46 |
| 2. Fair | 300 - 399 | 365 - 395 | 35 - 45 | 35 - 45 |
| 3. Adequate | 340 - 379 | 395 - 424 | 26 - 35 | 26 - 35 |
| 4. Desirable | >379 | >424 | <25 | <25 |
Critical evaluation of the 5×6 Second Repeated Effort Test (Cycle Ergometer)
Hockey requires multiple repeated sprint efforts with short recovery time within the period of a game. Higher sports performance would be anticipated with the ability to repeat sprint efforts at or near maximal intensity (Fitzsimons et. al. 1993, Dawson et. al. 1991). The 5×6 Second Repeated Effort Test attempts to challenge the energy systems in a manner that more closely replicates the game and objectively measure the athlete's game performance.
The two components of the 5×6 Second Repeated Effort Test, ie. total power and percentage decrement measure different aspects of performance with low correlation between the two scores (r = 0.20) (Fitzsimons et al 1993). The power of the athlete and the speed over the repeated tests reflects the rate at which the anaerobic systems can replenish ATP (Fitzsimons et al 1993, Dawson et al 1991). Wadley and Rissignol (1998) and Fitzsimons et al (1993) reported high levels of blood lactate at the end of RSA testing. While the individual sprint efforts are less than the capacity of the ATP-CP energy system (10 seconds), the recovery time is inadequate for replenishment of high energy phosphate bonds. In 30 seconds only 50% of the ATP would be recovered (McArdle et al 1996). Therefore the lactate energy system would be required to contribute more energy to each successive sprint effort (Dawson et al 1991). As lactate indicates involvement of the glycolytic energy pathway which is the major contributor to anaerobic capacity, the lactic anaerobic capacity of the athlete is a major component of the test. However, the ability to perform repeated sprint efforts as required by 5×6 Second Repeated Effort Test is dependent upon replenishment of creatine phosphate (CP) stores, rate of ATP production, muscle oxidative capacity and removal of lactate. These are oxygen dependent processes and the ability of the athlete to sustain repeated sprint efforts is therefore dependent on aerobic capacity.
The energy systems involved and the athlete's muscle fibre type explains the trend of results between athletes. Athletes with a high absolute power and fast initial sprint time show a higher percentage decrement. Conversely, subjects with good endurance and low percentage decrements have low power scores (Fitzsimons et al 1993, Wadley and Rissignol 1998). These characteristics may be extrapolated to hockey positions. It is desirable that Backs have a high power score but they are required to perform less repeated sprints and a high percentage decrement would be acceptable for these players. In contrast, Centre Half and Inside Forwards require high endurance RSA (Cibich 1991) which necessitates a low percentage decrement and power is not the critical score.
The choice of five repetitions of the six second sprint is justified by the research. While Fitzsimons et al (1993) used six repetitions, they reported fatigue evident between repetitions two and six. Dawson et al (1991) similarly recorded onset of fatigue between three to five repetitions. Fitzsimons et al (1993) postulate that a maximum of eight repetitions to test RSA may be indicated for the elite athlete if fatigue was not induced.
As with the 10 second Tri-level test, the cycle ergometer is obviously not sports specific to a running sport such as hockey however this limitation is partially addressed by the use of a standing test using a front entry cycle (Rechichi 1998). Fitzsimons et al (1993) suggest the use of a cycle ergometer test for a running athlete when it is not possible or practical to perform a field test. Once again, it has the advantages that the conditions in which the test is performed are standardised. However, correlation between cycling and running RSA tests is only moderate (r = -0.684 for power scores J.kg-1 and r = 0.622 for percentage decrement in performance) and cycling RSA tests are recommended as a second preference of testing method for running athletes which includes hockey players (Fitzsimons et al 1993). A 6×40m RSA is an alternative form of testing that is sports specific to hockey players (Fitzsimons et al 1993).
In summary, the 5×6 Second Repeated Effort Test (Cycle Ergometer) is a sports specific measure of power and fatigue, although in ideal situations this should be performed as running RSA test for hockey players.
Physiological testing is a valuable tool for athletes and the off field team. Sport specificity of the tests maximises validity and reliable testing procedures enable national and international comparisons of athletes. Refinement of the tests available to date will continue to improve the results derived from physiological assessment.
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