The objective of the study was to compare intensities of respiratory compensation point (RCP), anaerobic threshold at onset blood lactate accumulation (OBLA3,5), and anaerobic threshold at lactate abrupt increase (AnT LAC) determined in four different ergometers. Hence, eleven table tennis players (19±1 years) performed graded exercise tests on cycle ergometer, arm cranking ergometer, treadmill and specific table tennis test. The respiratory response and lactatemia were measured during the tests. We did not find significant differences among RCP, AnT LAC and OBLA3,5 in arm cranking ergometer (63.4±4.8W, 66.9±4.5W and 64.5±6.1W, respectively), treadmill (11.4±0.4km.h-1, 11.3±0.3km.h-1 and 11.1±0.3km.h-1, respectively), and specific table tennis test (40.5±1.8bolas.min-1, 42.6±3.6bolas.min-1 and 42.8±5.6bolas.min-1, respectively). However, the OBLA3,5 (131.9±6.6W) was significantly lower than RCP (149.3±4.9W) and AnT LAC (149.3±4.7W) in the cycle ergometer. Strong and significant correlation coefficients were found in the specific test for all methods (r range 0.83 to 0.95), in arm cranking ergometer between RCP and OBLA3,5 (r=0.78), and on treadmill running between OBLA3,5 and AnT LAC (r=0.76). Therefore, we conclude that RCP, OBLA3,5 and AnT LAC seem to correspond to the same physiological phenomenon, mostly during specific table tennis test.
Aerobic capacity; Anaerobic threshold; Blood lactate; Ergometry; Respiratory compensation point
