Determinant factors of peak treadmill speed in physically active men.

Background: The aim of the present study was to determine whether physiological factors and maximal dynamic strength are able to determine the peak treadmill speed (PTS) in physically active individuals.

Methods: One hundred and fifty physically active healthy males voluntarily visit the laboratory on three separate occasions and underwent the following activities: first visit - IPAQ (short version), anthropometric measurements, and a maximal incremental test performed for physiological variables (maximal oxygen uptake [V̇O2] and respiratory compensation point [RCP]); second visit - constant speed test for running economy (RE) measurement, and familiarization with the Maximum Dynamic Strength (1RM) Test in the leg press exercise; third visit - 1RM test.

Results: The stepwise multiple regression model selected four independent variables to predict PTS (RCP, V̇O2, RE, and 1RM). RCP explained 59% (P<0.001) of variance in PTS, whereas V̇O2, RE and 1RM accounted for additional 8% (P<0.001), 4% (P<0.001), and 1.4% (P=0.038), respectively.

Conclusions: In conclusion, the results of the present study demonstrate that PTS, an important predictor of endurance performance, is determined by both physiological (i.e., RCP, V̇O2, and RE) and muscular (1RM) parameters in healthy active individuals. These results demonstrate that, during a physical evaluation, PTS is able to represent physiological and muscular parameters of physically active individuals. This has the advantage during aerobic fitness evaluations of not requiring expensive equipment and specialized software.