Design and Validation of Functional Cardiorespiratory Exercise Field Tests in Women Volleyball Players: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: Volleyball requires high anaerobic and aerobic capacity, so to evaluate this important issue, there are various tests such as Bruce maximal test. There is no standard field test to measure cardiovascular function for women volleyball according to exercise mode. Objectives: This study aimed to design and validation of functional cardiorespiratory exercise field tests in women volleyball players. Methods: In a diagnostic value study, 64 competitive female volleyball players with three years of playing experience (Age: 27 ± 6) were voluntarily selected from Tehran’s first division league. To evaluate VO2max, the Bruce test and the newly designed test, which was fully explained in the methodology section, were used. Data were analyzed using the ROC curve test. Results: The results showed that the area under the curve exceeded 0.71%, and the sensitivity and specificity values were 70.8% and 75%, respectively. The PPV obtained in this study was 89.5, and also the NPV values were 46.2, indicating relatively good reliability for screening. Conclusions: The present study shows that the newly designed test for women volleyball players, which uses a special exercise mode in modeled volleyball, has relatively good reliability. This test may be used as an efficient and inexpensive field test to measure the VO2max in women volleyball players.