Comparison between seated medicine ball throw test and Wingate test for assessing upper body peak power in elite power sports players

Abstract

Objectives: Upper limb explosive power is an important motor quality for sporting performance and indicates use of anaerobic energy systems. The Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT) has been considered to be a valid and reliable tool for the assessment of anaerobic power and functional performance of elite athletes. However, it is expensive and a lab based test and requires skilled manpower. The seated medicine ball throw test (SMBT) is inexpensive, easy to assess and since equipment required is minimal, it can be easily used as a field test. Hence, the purpose of the study was to determine if the SMBT method could be used as an alternative for WAnT test so that a reliable and inexpensive test is available for athlete monitoring and talent identification screening. Materials and Methods: Male elite athletes aged 18–30 years (n = 100), who were involved in national level competition of three sports discipline, namely, Boxing (n = 34), Wrestling Greco-Roman (GR) (n = 36), and Wrestling Freestyle (FS) (n = 30), were tested on crank-arm ergometer for WAnT and SMBT to measure an peak power or explosive power for the upper body. Results: SMBT test results were significantly positively correlated with upper body peak power measured by WAnT in all sportsmen (r = 0.55, P = 0.0002). One sample t-test results showed that the mean difference between SMBT and peak power is close to zero among Boxers (P = 0.13) and FS wrestlers (P = 0.89) and GR Wrestlers (P = 0.49). Overall, 97% pairs of SMBT and peak power were within the limits of agreement among all sportsmen, showing that results using both the tests were agreeable. Conclusion: This study suggests that SMBT tests could be used as an alternative field test to measure anaerobic power in Wrestlers, Boxers, and sports where the involvement of upper body muscles take place predominantly. In addition, the SMBT protocol used in this study provides an easy way for the coaches to assess the athletes on the field during talent identification and also to evaluate their training program.