Wingate:

Test your explosive power, anaerobic capacity, and fatigue resistance with the CHAMP Center’s Wingate assessment and receive precise, actionable insights to guide your training and track progress.

Wingate: What It Is

The Wingate Test is a short, high intensity cycling assessment that measures explosive power, anaerobic capacity, and fatigue resistance. It is performed on a stationary, mechanically braked bike with resistance tailored to the participant’s body weight, typically around 7.5% of body mass. Seat, handle, and pedal positions are adjusted for comfort and optimal biomechanics.

The 30-second all-out sprint challenges the body’s anaerobic energy systems, drawing on stored ATP and phosphocreatine to generate maximal force. Testing typically lasts 10–15 minutes, including warm-up sprints and a light cooldown. Further preparation details can be found on the CHAMP Center Prepare Page.

At the CHAMP Center, the Wingate Test is conducted on the Monark 894E Peak Bike, fully integrated with Anaerobic Testing Software. Trusted worldwide in research, sports science, and performance testing, its patented weight basket and pre-calibrated resistance ensure precise, repeatable measurements, while its adjustable design maintains comfort during maximal effort.

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Wingate: Why It's Important

The Wingate Test evaluates the body’s ability to generate and sustain power during maximal, short-duration efforts, by measuring peak power, anaerobic capacity, and fatigue resistance. Results reveal strengths, limitations, and areas for targeted improvement.

Understanding Wingate results allows participants to:
• Measure maximal power output during explosive efforts
• Assess fatigue resistance under high-intensity stress
• Identify performance bottlenecks to guide training
• Track changes in anaerobic performance over time
• Inform sprint, interval, or power-based programming

Whether the goal is athletic performance, high-intensity fitness, or maintaining functional power with age, the Wingate Test provides precise insight into anaerobic capability.

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Wingate: Who Should Do It

The Wingate Test measures peak anaerobic power, capacity, and fatigue resistance during short, high-intensity efforts. This assessment benefits anyone looking to understand explosive performance, anaerobic fitness, and fatigue resilience, including:

Team-Sport or Explosive Athletes: Optimize repeated sprint ability, rapid recovery, and power output during short bursts relevant to field, court, or track sports.
Recreational or High-Intensity Fitness Enthusiasts: Assess anaerobic performance, monitor progress in HIIT, CrossFit, or interval training, and identify areas for improvement in short, intense efforts.
Strength and Power Athletes: Quantify peak force, speed of force production, and fatigue resistance to guide short-burst training and track performance adaptations in lifting, jumping, or explosive movements.
Longevity or Function-Focused: Evaluate muscular power to support mobility, independence, and safe participation in high-intensity activity.

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Wingate: Interpreting Results

Your Wingate test provides a snapshot of anaerobic power and fatigue resistance, how quickly your muscles can produce force and how well they can sustain it during short, maximal efforts. This test reflects performance in activities like sprinting, jumping, rapid accelerations, and repeated high-intensity bursts.

Unlike aerobic tests that measure endurance over time, the Wingate focuses on speed-strength, explosiveness, and resistance to fatigue over a 30-second all-out effort. Your results help identify strengths, limitations, and opportunities for improvement related to performance, functional power, and metabolic health.

Key Metrics Include:

Test Duration
Brake Weight
Peak Power Metrics x3
Average & Minimum Power Metrics x4
Power Drop Metrics x5
Max Speed Metrics x3
Decline in Power
Anaerobic Capacity & Fatigue (upon request)

View the other tabs to read more on each metric.

Peak Power Metrics:

Peak Power metrics show how much power you can produce and how quickly you can produce it. This reflects your ability to generate explosive force during short, all-out efforts and is one of the clearest indicators of anaerobic performance. How hard can you go, and how fast can you get there?

Metrics:

Peak Power (W):
The highest power output reached at any point during the 30-second effort. Higher values indicate greater explosive capability and are associated with fast-twitch muscle fiber recruitment and efficient neuromuscular activation.

Peak Power (W/kg):
Peak Power expressed relative to body mass, allowing fair comparison between individuals of different sizes. Relative power often predicts real-world performance better than absolute power in weight-bearing and movement-based activities. Higher values indicate more power for your size, translating to improved acceleration and overall explosiveness.

Time to Peak Power (ms):
Measures how quickly peak power is achieved after the test begins. Shorter times reflect faster force development, which is critical for starts and sprints, quick reactions, and explosive movements. Two individuals may reach the same peak power, but the individual who reaches it faster demonstrates greater explosive capability.

Brake Weight:

Wingate outcomes are heavily influenced by resistance and duration, so understanding this metric ensures your results are valid, comparable, and meaningful.

Metrics:

Brake Weight (kg or % Body Mass):
Brake weight is the resistance applied to the flywheel during the Wingate test. It is typically set at 7.5% of body mass (measured in kilograms), which has been shown to balance maximal power output with sustainable effort over 30 seconds

How to interpret it:

Appropriately set brake weight allows you to reach true peak power quickly without excessive early fatigue.
Too light: artificially high cadence but underestimated power.
Too heavy: delayed acceleration and suppressed peak power.

Why it matters:
Brake weight directly influences peak power, time to peak power, and fatigue rate. Consistent brake weight across tests is essential for tracking progress over time. CHAMP Center staff can alter the resistance weight based on training experience and history for a fully customized experience.

Average & Minimum Power Metrics:

Average and Minimum Power metrics describe how well you sustain power over the full 30-second effort. While Peak Power shows your explosive ceiling, these metrics reveal your anaerobic endurance, fatigue resistance, and ability to maintain output once fatigue sets in.

Metrics:

Average Power (W):
The mean power output across the entire 30-second test. Higher values indicate a greater ability to sustain high-intensity effort over short durations, reflecting anaerobic capacity and fatigue resistance.

Average Power (W/kg):
Average Power expressed relative to body mass, allowing comparison across individuals of different sizes. Higher values suggest stronger relative anaerobic endurance and better performance in repeated sprint or high-intensity efforts that require sustained output.

Minimum Power (W):
The lowest power output recorded during the test. This metric highlights how much performance declines as fatigue accumulates. Higher minimum power indicates better ability to resist fatigue and maintain force production under metabolic stress. Large gaps between Peak and Minimum Power may indicate rapid fatigue or limited anaerobic endurance.

Minimum Power (W/kg):
Minimum Power relative to body mass. Higher values reflect better relative fatigue resistance and functional power maintenance, particularly relevant for movement-based sports and daily functional capacity.

Power Drop Metrics:

Power Drop metrics describe how quickly and how much your power declines during the 30-second test. While Peak Power shows what you’re capable of at your best, these metrics reveal how well you tolerate fatigue once anaerobic energy systems are stressed.

Metrics:

Power Drop (W):
The absolute decrease in power from Peak Power to Minimum Power. Larger drops indicate greater performance loss under fatigue, while smaller drops suggest better fatigue resistance.

Power Drop (W/kg):
Power decline relative to body mass. This allows fair comparison across individuals of different sizes and highlights how efficiently power is maintained during fatigue in movement-based tasks.

Rate of Power Drop (W/s):
Measures how quickly power decreases over time. A faster rate indicates rapid fatigue accumulation, while a slower rate reflects better anaerobic conditioning and pacing ability.

Rate of Power Drop (W/s/kg):
Rate of decline relative to body mass. Lower values suggest stronger relative fatigue resistance and improved efficiency under high metabolic demand.

Power Drop (%):
Represents the percentage decrease from Peak Power to Minimum Power.
- Lower percentages = better fatigue resistance
- Higher percentages = quicker performance breakdown
- This is one of the most commonly used Wingate fatigue indicators.

Max Speed Metrics:

Max Speed metrics reveal how fast your legs can move and the power generated at that velocity. While Peak Power shows the magnitude of your engine, Max Speed tells you how quickly it can turn over, essential for sprints, quick accelerations, and explosive movements in sports or functional tasks.

Metrics

Maximum Speed (rpm):
The highest pedaling cadence reached during the test. Higher rpm indicates faster leg turnover and better neuromuscular coordination at high speeds.

Power at Maximum Speed (W):
The power output achieved at the point of peak cadence. High values indicate the ability to generate force efficiently even at very fast movement speeds.

Time at Maximum Speed (ms):
How long you can maintain your peak pedaling speed. Longer durations reflect better anaerobic endurance and the ability to sustain high-speed performance. Shorter times suggest rapid fatigue or limited ability to maintain explosive movement.

Decline in Power:

Decline in Power shows how much your power drops during the 30-second Wingate test, revealing your ability to maintain force under fatigue. While Peak Power shows your maximum output, Decline in Power highlights anaerobic endurance and fatigue resistance.

How It’s Calculated:

Using metrics from the test:

Peak Power (W): Highest power output
Final Power (W): Final power output

Decline in Power (W) = Peak Power − Final Power

This gives the absolute drop in watts during the effort.

How to Interpret It:

Lower Decline: Muscles sustain power well reflecting better fatigue resistance
Higher Decline: Power drops quickly indicating reduced anaerobic endurance

Why it matters:

Shows ability to maintain high-intensity effort
Identifies endurance limitations affecting sprints, jumps, or repeated bursts
Tracks improvements in anaerobic capacity over time

How to Use Your Results:

Identify strengths and weaknesses in short-burst power and fatigue resistance
Track progress and training effectiveness over time
Inform sprint, HIIT, and anaerobic conditioning programs
Monitor early declines in power output (especially with aging or return-to-play)
Pair with:
- Biodex: Connect power output to joint-specific strength
- Vertical Jump/5-10-5: Translate cycling power to ground-based explosiveness
- DEXA: Understand how lean mass supports power production

Test Duration:

Wingate outcomes are heavily influenced by resistance and duration, so understanding this metric ensures your results are valid, comparable, and meaningful.

Metrics:

Test Duration (sec): The standard Wingate test lasts 30 seconds, which is long enough to:
- Capture peak anaerobic power
- Assess short-term power sustainability
- Reveal fatigue resistance

How to interpret it:

The full 30 seconds is required to accurately calculate average power, minimum power, and power drop.
Shortened tests may overestimate power and underestimate fatigue.

Why it matters:

Maintaining a consistent test duration ensures that changes in performance reflect true physiological adaptation, not altered testing conditions.

Anaerobic Capacity (W) & Fatigue (%) :

These metrics provide deeper insight into fatigue resistance and total anaerobic work capacity during the Wingate test. While they are derived from standard Wingate data, they are not automatically generated by the software and can be calculated on request by CHAMP Center staff.

Anaerobic Capacity:

Anaerobic Capacity represents the total amount of work completed during the test duration, reflecting your ability to sustain repeated high-intensity output.

How It’s Calculated:

Anaerobic Capacity = Sum of Peak Power Output (PPO) for each 5-second interval

This captures total anaerobic energy production, not just peak performance.

How to Interpret It:

Higher AC: Greater ability to sustain intense effort across the full 30 seconds
Lower AC: Power production drops earlier, limiting total work output

Why It Matters:
Anaerobic capacity is especially relevant for:

Repeated sprint efforts
Team and field sports
High-intensity functional work
Assessing power sustainability beyond peak output

Anaerobic Fatigue (%):

Also known as the Fatigue Index, this metric reflects how quickly power declines relative to your peak output, expressed as a percentage.

How It’s Calculated:

Fatigue Index (%) = [(Peak Power − Lowest Power) ÷ Peak Power] × 100

How to Interpret It:

Lower %: Better fatigue resistance and anaerobic efficiency
Higher %: Faster power loss and reduced fatigue tolerance

Why It Matters:
Two individuals may have similar peak power, but the one with a lower fatigue index can maintain performance longer under maximal effort.

Benchmarks :

Normative data for the Wingate test is most commonly based on Peak Power, Mean Power, and Fatigue Index. These variables provide standardized benchmarks for comparing anaerobic power, sustained output, and fatigue resistance across populations, sports, and age groups.

Peak Power (W and W/kg): How high can you go? Reflects your maximal explosive output; the higher it is, the greater your ability to generate force quickly.

Mean Power (W and W/kg): How long can you stay there? Shows your capacity to maintain power over the full 30-second effort, reflecting anaerobic endurance.

Fatigue Index (%): How fast do you fade? Indicates the rate at which your power drops during the test, showing fatigue resistance and your muscles’ ability to sustain high-intensity effort.

These three metrics are favored because they:

Are highly reliable
Are consistently reported across research studies
Capture power output, sustainability, and fatigue
Allow meaningful comparison across age, sex, sport, and training status