Research Paper: Difference in Power Outputs in Exercise Tests

On Earth, all living things need energy because it’s an essential and important part of life. It can have the potential to change or modify work that is important to survive. The human body changes energy in two ways during exercise. The two ways that the human body changes energy are anaerobically and aerobically. There are three main energy systems that the human body changes during exercise. Anaerobic energy does not require oxygen, while aerobic energy does require oxygen to function properly. The first energy system that is anaerobic, is called the Adenosine Triphosphate Creatine Phosphate or ATP-CP system. The ATP-CP system fuels the body for about 4-8 seconds. It is beneficial for athletes that are involved in short duration exercises like doing sprints or long jumps. The second energy system is called Anaerobic Glycolysis and it can fuel the body for about 20-60 seconds. This system is mostly used for athletes who perform in events such as the 400 meter sprint. The last energy system is called Oxidative Phosphorylation and it’s an aerobic energy system that is mostly used for athletes who perform long duration exercises such as 5K runs, 10K runs, or marathons. A variable of energy that can be measured to change to do the work is called power. There are two types of power outputs. The first type of power output is called absolute power, and the second type is called relative power. Absolute power is work performed in a certain amount of time. Relative power is when you take the body weight into account. The type of power that can be used to calculate when exercising is called Absolute power. Absolute power is the intensity of an exercise by an individual’s weight which can be measured in the units of watts (W). Relative power is measured by the peak power and the body mass of an individual in the units of W/Kg.

The ATP-PC systems of Adenosine Triphosphate Phosphocreatine or ATP. This energy system gives energy immediately through the breakdown of stored energy in phosphates. This system gives energy for maximum intensity and short duration exercises for about 10-15 seconds before fatigue occurs. According to Powers and Howley (2017) the ATP-PC system produced energy to get ATP. It was the only energy that was used by the cells. ATPase or Adenosine Triphosphatase was used to breakdown ATP. Therefore, this resulted in Adenosine Diphosphate, and inorganic phosphate, and free energy to be used. When CP is stored, the body uses the energy for ATP resynthesis. Glucose can be stored in the blood or in the muscles as glycogen. Glucose 6-phosphate converts into 6-fructose because of the phosphate isomerase enzyme. Fructose 6-phosphate is then phosphorylated with the phosphofructokinsse enzyme which produces ADP and fructose 1.6-diphosphate. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide also known as NAD will attach itself to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate. Since this happens, this turns NAD into NADH+H which forms 1.3-diphosphoglycerate. The final step of this process is when enzyme lactate dehydrogenase ends up causing pyruvate to react with NADH+H. The result of the accumulation of hydrogen in pyruvic acid is that it turns into resynthesis of 4 ATP moles and 2 net ATP moles. Oxidation of glucose from blood tends to be a slower process compared to glucogen storage that is found in muscles. Oxidative phosphorylation occurs in the mitochondria of the cell that needs oxygen. High concentration of pyruvate can cause it to diffuse into the mitochondrial membrane when pyruvate is not converted into lactate. This will then be the start of the Krebs Cycle and the Electron Transport Chain. This type of aerobic system can produce thirty-three or thirty-two mols of ATP whether it is glycolysis or glycogenolysis.

Power output can be found in runs like the 40 meter sprint, the Margaria Power Test, and the Vertical Jump Test. These three tests all have the same physiological rationale that depends on splitting ATP and CP. They are dependent on bridge formation rates between the two filaments called myosin and actin because they are high velocity tests. Of the two filaments, myosin is the thick one where actin is the thin filament. There are three types of major muscle fibers in the human body. The first one is called Type I and it’s known as slow oxidative. The second type is called Type IIa and it’s known as slow glycolytic. The third type is called Type Iix and it’s known fast glycolytic. The muscle fiber that produces the highest amount of force but fatigues the fastest is Type Iix. The purpose of this study is to see which anaerobic exercise has a stronger relationship to the 40 meter sprint. The hypothesis is that the Margaria Power Test will be the better predictor of the 40 meter sprint.

Results

Figure 1: The above chart represents that Abs 40m vs Abs MPT has no relationship of r=0.09. Abs MPT is on the x axis while Abs 40m is on the y axis.

Figure 2: The above chart represents that Abs 40m vs  Abs VJT has no relationship of r= -0.10. Abs VJT is on the x axis while Abs 40m is on the y axis.

Discussion

The purpose of this study was to determine which type of exercise had a stronger relationship to the 40 meter test. The hypothesis was that the Margaria Power Test would have a stronger relationship with the 40 meter test. The results of this hypothesis turned out to be false. The r value of the 40 meter test and Margaria Power Test is 0.09 which is closer to 0. This results in a weaker relationship whereas the r value for the Vertical Jump Test is -0.10. The r value for the Vertical Jump Test is further from 0 but closer to -1. Since the r value for the Vertical Jump Test is 0.10 this rejects the hypothesis. Absolute power can be decided by the muscle mass, muscle contractions, and the different types of fiber. The rate of phosphagen was being utilized for muscular strength as well as the rate of the myosin/actin bridge formation. Both of these processes have an impact on the absolute power for these high intensity exercises. When discussing about the different types of fiber, Type Iix actions create a strong force and rapid fatigue muscle contractions. An example of this is with figures 1 and 2 with one r value= 0.09 for the Margaria Power Test and the other r value= -0.10 for the Vertical Jump Test. This shows that only 9% of the Margaria Power Test and -10% of the Vertical Jump Test can be found. The results for this data shows to be below the threshold of 0.5 or 50%.

In a study that was conducted by Tramel, Lockie, Lindsay, and Dawes (2019) explores the relationship between speed and power measured by volleyball tests at the national level Division II in college volleyball players. A vertical jump test, modified t test, repeat jump, block vertical jump, approach vertical jump, agility test, single leg hop test, and a deadlift was used to determine absolute and relative strength. The purpose of this study is to determine if a relationship exists between absolute and relative strength and measures of power and CODS (Change Of Direction Speed) in collegiate volleyball players. The researchers hypothesis was that both absolute and relative strength would be significantly correlated to all measures of power and CODS. There was a strong relationship that was observed between absolute, relative, and CODS modified t test. There was also a strong relationship between relative, repeat jump ability, and the agility test. The block vertical jump jump and approach vertical jump tests were not correlated with strength. These results show that increasing absolute and relative lower body strength can help improve CODS and the repeat jump ability test in college volleyball players. To have the ability to change directions quickly and correctly is important to succeed in volleyball. There was significant relationships that was found in both absolute and relative strength. The results were similar to what the researchers Andersen, Lockie, and Dawes found. They found there was a moderate to strong relationship between the absolute and relative strength.