Five-meter rope-climbing: a commando-specific power test of the upper limbs.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the concurrent validity and absolute and relative reliabilities of a commando-specific power test.


METHODS
21 antiterrorism commandos.


METHODS
All participants were assessed on a 5-m rope-climbing test (RCT) and the following tests: pull-ups, push-ups, estimated-1-repetition-maximum (est-1RM), medicine-ball put, and handgrip-strength test. The stopwatch method related to the execution time (ET) was validated by comparison with video motion analysis. The best individual attempt of 3 trials was kept for analysis, and the performance was expressed in absolute power output (APO) and body-mass relative power output (RPO).


RESULTS
Stopwatch assessment had an excellent criterion validity (r=.99, P<.001), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC3,1) of .98, standard errors of measurement (SEM%) of 1.19%, bias±the 95% limits of agreement of 0.03±0.26 s, and minimal detectable change (MDC95) of 0.51 s. The ET, APO, and RPO were significantly correlated (P<.05) with all cited tests (absolute-value r range .55-.98), while est-1RM was not significantly correlated with the other tests. Test-retest reliability coefficients were excellent for ET, APO, and RPO (ICC3,1>.90). The SEM% values for the ET, APO, and RPO were all under 5% (range 3.73-4.52%), all being smaller than the corresponding smallest worthwhile change. The coefficients of variation for the ET, APO, and RPO were all under 10%. %MDC95 ranged from 10.37% to 12.53%.


CONCLUSIONS
Considering the strong concurrent validity and excellent test-retest reliability, the RCT is simple to administer, has ecological validity, and is a valid specific field test of upper-body power for commandos and, in addition, can be accurately assessed with a stopwatch.
Tunisian Research Laboratory "Sport Performance Optimisation", National Center of Medicine and Science in Sports (CNMSS), Tunis, Tunisia.
Wissem
W
Dhahbi
Anis
A
Chaouachi
Johnny
J
Padulo
David G
DG
Behm
Karim
K
Chamari
D000328:Adult; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D005082:Physical Exertion / Q000502:physiology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013177:Sports / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014142:Track and Field / Q000502:physiology; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000502:physiology*; D014741:Video Recording; D055815:Young Adult