The Conconi Test is a

sports medicine Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise. Although most sports teams have employed team physicians for many years, it is only since the ...

test intended to measure an individual's maximum

anaerobic Anaerobic means "living, active, occurring, or existing in the absence of free oxygen", as opposed to aerobic which means "living, active, or occurring only in the presence of oxygen." Anaerobic may also refer to: *Adhesive#Anaerobic, Anaerobic ad ...

and

aerobic Aerobic means "requiring air," in which "air" usually means oxygen. Aerobic may also refer to * Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity * Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise * Aerobic respiration, the aerobic process of cellu ...

threshold

heart rate Heart rate is the frequency of the cardiac cycle, heartbeat measured by the number of contractions of the heart per minute (''beats per minute'', or bpm). The heart rate varies according to the body's Human body, physical needs, including the nee ...

s. The test measures a person's heart rates at different loads (e.g. faster speeds on a treadmill). The points are plotted on a graph with heart rate on one axis and power (or some correlated measurement such as running speed) on the other axis; the graph's deflection point indicates the

aerobic threshold Lactate inflection point (LIP) is the exercise intensity at which the blood concentration of lactate and/or lactic acid begins to increase rapidly. It is often expressed as 85% of maximum heart rate or 75% of maximum oxygen intake. When exercisin ...

. The heart rate increases (approximately) linearly up to the deflection point, where the heart rate reaches AT (also known as LT,

lactate threshold Lactate inflection point (LIP) is the exercise intensity at which the blood concentration of lactate and/or lactic acid begins to increase rapidly. It is often expressed as 85% of maximum heart rate or 75% of maximum oxygen intake. When exercisin ...

, in more modern nomenclature). The test continues for a while, under increasing load, until the subject has gone well past the

anaerobic threshold Lactate inflection point (LIP) is the exercise intensity at which the blood concentration of lactate and/or lactic acid begins to increase rapidly. It is often expressed as 85% of maximum heart rate or 75% of maximum oxygen intake. When exercisin ...

Accuracy

Two studies from the mid 90s showed the Conconi test to be inaccurate and impractical in assessing the anaerobic threshold, while other recent studies are disputing or have disputed this contention, and still others proposed modifications to improve the test.

References

* Peak Performance - Issue 23 {{DEFAULTSORT:Conconi Test Sports medicine tests

Accuracy

See also

References