The Deflection Test: Dissecting the Fitness Qualities Needed to PR

Any DEUCE student will recognize the Deflection Test from their Intro Session. It’s a measure of work capacity typically done on the bike. We have men start at 52 RPMs and women start at 46 RPMs. Each minute the output requirement goes up by two RPMs. 

What’s Happening Behind the Scenes:

For all participants the test begins as an aerobic effort, which is an oxygen-fueled effort somewhere below 65% of output potential. The first part of the test becomes a measure of aerobic capacity, which will show how much work the participant can do in this lower output “gear” of the body. 

If the participant wears a heart monitor for the test, they would observe a mostly steady, unchanged heart rate until it spikes. This spike signals the anaerobic threshold, where the body utilizes a different energy source called ATP. This is a higher output, more muscular effort. 

Some people are more capable than others in their aerobic gear or this anaerobic gear, but one thing is for certain. No one can spend a ton of time at an anaerobic output. 

How many minutes one can strain and deliver the output required in this aerobic state would be an indicator of their anaerobic capacity. 

How to Ace the Next Test:

What makes the Deflection Test interesting is that it isn’t just a snapshot of one’s work capacity. It can be improved by developing aerobic capacity and/or anaerobic capacity. Those who become more aerobically fit will delay the inevitable anaerobic threshold. Those who improve their anaerobic engine will be able to tolerate the intensity of those later minutes before failure. 

Both improve? You’ve got a double whammy of a new personal record opportunity.