Estimation of aerobic and anaerobic performance using a novel intermittent reactive agility test – An exploratory correlation study

Separate tests are usually used to assess an athlete's ability to meet the aerobic and anaerobic demands of ball sports. These tests often compromise ecological validity by relying on linear runs and sprints rather than multidirectional reactive agility. This study investigated the correlations between a novel motor-cognitive reactive agility (RA) test and aerobic and anaerobic performance indices. Twenty-two trained participants (V˙O2max: 56 ± 6.4 ml ∙ kg-1 ∙ min-1) performed a treadmill ramp test to determine maximum oxygen uptake (V˙O2max), a running-based anaerobic sprint test (RAST) to determine peak power output (PPO), average power putput (POAV), fatigue index (FI) and anaerobic capacity (AC) and a motor-cognitive RA test on the SKILLCOURT. The RA test required participants to perform four 150 m maximal multidirectional change of directions runs with a break of 30 s. Running time, heart rate and power output were determined for all runs and correlated to V˙O2max and anaerobic performance indicators. Running time of the 4th SKILLCOURT run was correlated to V˙O2max (r20 = -0.80, p < 0.001) and a strong relation was found between PPO determined in the RAST and SKILLCOURT test (r20 = 0.72, p < 0.001). The SKILLCOURT RA test provides a promising tool for sport coaches to monitor aerobic and anaerobic performance indices, considering reactive agility. This needs to be validated in future studies.