Home » Blog » Joule incremental test by MagneticDays: the new Conconi!

Joule incremental test by MagneticDays: the new Conconi!

  25 July 2018

---

Joule incremental test by MagneticDays represents a new version of Conconi test, that intended to measure an individual’s maximum anaerobic and aerobic threshold heart rates. The test measures a person’s heart rates at different loads (e.g. faster speeds on a treadmill). The points are plotted on a graph with heart rate on one axis and power (or some correlated measurement such as running speed) on the other axis; the graph’s deflection point indicates the aerobic threshold. The heart rate increases (approximately) linearly up to the deflection point, where the heart rate reaches AT (also known as LT, lactate threshold, in more modern nomenclature). The test continues for a while, under increasing load, until the subject has gone well past the anaerobic threshold.

And the same thing happens in the Joule incremental test by MagneticDays. Currently, our incremental test protocol (made in collaboration with a few Italian Universities) starts from a value in the amount of 50% of own reference value. MD System improves the Power of 1 Watt per 6 seconds with RPM free. This test ends when the user/athlete has reached maximum effort and therefore cannot proceed further with the test. However, this protocol entails a work that grows step by step, considering that the Power data and time are unvaried.

Joule incremental test: the protocol by MagneticDays

The new incremental protocol (we are the one and only to make it) was realized and based on the previous protocol, with the goal to show overlapping data values. The most important difference lies in the workout, expressed in Joule (and agreed upon with the MD Coach), and fact that the it is kept constant during the test. Therefore, we have choosed a value in the amount of 2700 Joule as “indicative value” that represents in general the most common phisyological condition for the users/athletes. Every step of each workout  improves the Power of 2 Watt.

EXAMPLE: 150 Watt for 18 seconds, 300 Watt for 9 seconds

The Joule value is kept constant, whereas is the value of time to adapt to keep Joule constant, so with a variation in terms of time we have a variation in terms of Watt (expressed). If the Watt value increase, less time is necessary to keep the workout to that value, and balance the same result in Joule. Considering that the Watt value is not fixed (the incremental test protocol is based on an increase of the Watt value), Time is the value that must change.

Joule incremental test will be a variable test and JARVIS will control all the workout automatically, increasing the Watt value gradually and reducing the exposure time to that value, in order to balance the same result in Joule. In the Joule test (real Conconi) the workout don’t change during the time and every step at high wattage of each workout has a lower exposure (in terms of time) compared with the precedents.