Determining the Optimal Workrate for Cycle Ergometer Verification Phase Testing in Males with Obesity

The aim of the present study was to assess the validity of verification phase (VP) testing and a 3 min all-out test to determine critical power (CP) in males with obesity. Nine young adult males with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg·m^-2 completed a cycle ergometer ramp-style VO_2max test, four randomized VP tests at 80, 90, 100, and 105% of maximum wattage attained during the ramp test, and a 3 min all-out test. There was a significant main effect for VO_2max across all five tests (p = 0.049). Individually, 8 of 9 participants attained a higher VO_2max (L/min) during a VP test compared to the ramp test. A trend (p = 0.06) was observed for VO_2max during the 90% VP test (3.61 ± 0.54 L/min) when compared to the ramp test (3.37 ± 0.39 L/min). A significantly higher VO_2max (p = 0.016) was found in the VP tests that occurred below 130% of CP wattage (N = 15, VO_2max = 3.76 ± 0.52 L/min) compared to those that were above (N = 21, VO_2max = 3.36 ± 0.41 L/min). Our findings suggest submaximal VP tests at 90% may elicit the highest VO_2max in males with obesity and there may be merit in using % of CP wattage to determine optimal VP intensity.