Comparison of Aerobic and Muscular Power Between Junior/U23 Slalom and Sprint Paddlers: An Analysis of International Medalists and Non-medalists

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the aerobic power (treadmill running) and muscle power (bench press and bench pull) of Junior/U23 paddlers from Slovakia who won medals in international championships with that of those who did not take the podium. Forty-three Slovak Junior/U23 paddlers (sprint = 24, medalists = 8, non-medalists = 16; slalom = 19, medalists = 11, non-medalists = 8) were tested in 2018 and 2019 after the world championships. The maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and the velocity at maximal oxygen uptake (vVO2max) were determined by the incremental running protocol (0% slope and 1 km⋅h–1 increments every minute until volitional exhaustion). Mean maximal power from the entire concentric phase was recorded during bench press and bench pull exercises by the validated TENDO weightlifting analyzer. No interaction was obtained between medal and canoe discipline for VO2max (p = 0.069, F = 3.495), vVO2max (p = 0.552, F = 0.361) and absolute (bench press: p = 0.486, F = 0.495; bench pull: p = 0.429, F = 0.640) or relative (bench press: p = 0.767, F = 0.089; bench pull: p = 0.696, F = 0.155) mean maximal power. Conversely, a significant effect for the medal on the bench press (absolute p = 0.017, F = 6.170; relative p = 0.043, F = 4.384) and the bench pull (absolute p = 0.041, F = 4.470) mean maximal power were observed. Our study indicates the absolute mean power on the bench press as a prerequisite for success in international Junior/U23 championships of slalom and sprint canoeing. However, the mean power on bench pull seems to have a deeper influence on sprint paddlers when compared to slalom athletes. Regarding the aerobic power, the data from the treadmill testing did not reveal outcomes between medalists and non-medalists. This result can be associated with the lack of specificity of the incremental treadmill testing for canoeing, and future studies are encouraged to propose specific protocols to compare the aerobic power of medalists and non-medalists in international slalom and sprint championships.

Association Between Mechanical, Physiological, and Technical Parameters With Canoe Slalom Performance: A Systematic Review

“…Bielik et al (2019) compared the power (paddling) and velocity (running) at maximum oxygen uptake (VO 2max ) from Slovakian medalists and non-medalists in Olympic games and observed considerable raw differences in Rio 2016 for paddling and London 2012 for running. The same group observed similar mean power on bench press/pull and velocity at VO 2max between medalists and nonmedalists in the 2018/2019 Junior/U23 European and World championships (Bielik et al, 2020) (Table 2). Vieira et al (2015) observed a moderate to strong inverse correlation between physiological parameters measured during (i.e., maximum, mean, and minimum heart rate) or after (i.e., blood lactate concentration peak) the simulated task and the race time, although this was not significant.…”

“…After the removal of duplicates (66 studies), 59 articles were checked at the title and abstract level, of which 38 were excluded. Finally, 21 full-texts were screened, and eight (Hunter et al, 2008 ; Messias et al, 2015 ; Vieira et al, 2015 ; Ferrari et al, 2017 ; Bielik et al, 2019 , 2020 ; Macdermid et al, 2019 ; Baláš et al, 2020 ) reached the eligibility criteria ( Figure 1 ). The eligible study's mean quality was high (92.9 ± 2.9%) and classified as having excellent methodological quality according to the 16-item checklist.…”

“…One study evaluated athletes from the C1 category (Baláš et al, 2020 ), while the other four studies included the K1 category (Messias et al, 2015 ; Vieira et al, 2015 ; Ferrari et al, 2017 ; Macdermid et al, 2019 ). The remaining three tested athletes from K1/C1 (Hunter et al, 2008 ) and K1, C1, and C2 (Bielik et al, 2019 , 2020 ). Body mass and height were measured in 87.5% of the included studies (72.6 ± 4.8 kg; 177.6 ± 3.5 cm), and body fat was calculated in three reports (10.2 ± 1.4 %).…”

“…Research on the physiological parameters of slalom athletes has provided important data for coaches and athletes. Except for the incremental running test in two studies (Bielik et al, 2019(Bielik et al, , 2020, all reports adopted distinct ergometers and tools to assess the physiological parameters of slalom athletes. The weak and non-significant correlations of Vieira et al (2015) regarding heart rate/blood lactate and race time can be explained by the low number of athletes tested in this study.…”

“…On the other hand, the aerobic metabolism demand is also considerable (Zamparo et al, 2006) and related to performance (Ferrari et al, 2017). These factors, however, may not increase the chances of winning medals according to Bielik et al (2019Bielik et al ( , 2020.…”