BACKGROUND: Practice based improvement (PBI) should be minimized in studies associated with evaluation and interpretation of tests intended for measuring cycling peak power (PP).
OBJECTIVE: To assess the required number of 5-second Wingate All-out Test (5 s WAT) trials to obtain a stabilized PP in a single test session and to find out whether a single session is enough to avoid any PBI.
METHODS: Twenty-four well-trained male athletes (PP: 14.2 ± 1.6 W ⋅ kg - 1) participated in two testing sessions separated by 5-8 days. In each session, participants performed nine 5 s WAT trials. The highest PP in the first ``n'' trials (1 ≤ n ≤ 9) was regarded as the representative PP.
RESULTS: Only eight participants (≈ 33.3%) reached their real PP in the first five trials both in the first and second session. No statistically significant difference was found in the highest PP between sessions (p = 0.35, Hedge's d = -0.07, difference of 1.04%). Therefore, a single familiarization session including extensive number of short sprints seemed to be sufficient for avoiding the effect of PBI on PP. Based on comparison of mean values, sequential estimation procedure, and number of participants having performance improvement greater than the smallest worthwhile change score, ≥ 5 trials were required in both sessions to have a stabilized PP.
CONCLUSIONS: Trainers and researchers should use ≥ 5 trials of 5-second sprints to assess accurate cycling PP of their athletes/participants whether they are familiarized with short cycling sprints or not.
