Six-minute rowing test: a practical tool for training prescription, from ventilatory thresholds and power outputs, in amateur male rowers

BACKGROUND: The 6-minute rowing ergometer test (6-min(RT)) is valid and reliable for establishing maximal aerobic power (MAP) in amateur male rowers. However, ventilatory thresholds (VTs) have not yet been established with their mechanical correspondence in this test. OBJECTIVE: The primary objective was to determine the VTs in the 6-min(RT) achieved by amateur male rowers, while the secondary objective was to determine the correspondence between ventilatory, mechanical, and heart rate (HR) outcomes of the 6-min(RT). METHODS: Sixteen amateur male rowers were part of the study. All participants were instructed to perform an incremental test (IT) and a 6-min(RT). Determination of the ventilatory parameters for the first ventilatory threshold (VT1), the second ventilatory threshold (VT2), and 6min(RT)VO(2max) were performed by correlating the outcomes of VT1, VT2, and VO(2max) obtained in the IT, with the outcomes of 6-min(RT). For these purposes, Pearson’s test was used, with the following criteria: trivial, <0.1; small, 0.1–0.3; moderate, 0.3–0.5; high, 0.5–0.7; very high, 0.7–0.9; or practically perfect, >0.9. The significance level was p < 0.05. RESULTS: The IT analysis determined that VT1 and VT2 correspond to 55 and 80% of VO(2max), respectively. A high correlation was observed between IT outcomes in VT1, VT2, and VO(2max), with the outcomes of 6-min(RT) (r > 0.6). CONCLUSION: Based on IT ventilatory parameters and concordance analysis, VT1 and VT2 of 6-min(RT) are determined at 55 and 80%, respectively, of both ventilatory parameters and their corresponding mechanical outcomes and HR.