View source for Margaria–Kalamen power test

The '''Margaria–Kalamen power test''', or '''Margaria–Kalamen stair climb''' is a short exercise intended to measure an athlete's lower body peak power by having the athlete run up stairs.

==Purpose==
The Margaria–Kalamen test is an assessment that monitors athlete’s strength and power of lower extremities and helps coaches to see if the athlete’s training program is effective. This test was introduced by J Kalamen (1968)<ref>J Kalamen, "Measurement of maximum muscle power in man", ''Ohio State University, Columbus'', 1968</ref> and is a variation of the original Margaria step test developed by Rudolfo Margaria (1966).<ref>R Margaria, P Aghemo, E Rovelli, [http://jap.physiology.org/content/21/5/1662 "Measurement of muscular power (anaerobic) in man"], ''Journal of Applied Physiology'', vol. 21, no. 5, pp. 1662-1664, 1 September 1966.</ref>

The test is of very short duration, lasting less than five seconds, so is both [[Anaerobic exercise|anaerobic]] and alactic.<ref name=PlowmanSmith/>  The Margaria–Kalamen test has been a standard test for determining peak power for some time, and at one time was thought to be a measure of the power of the pure alactic anaerobic system.  However, it is now thought that even on such a short test, there is still a significant contribution from the lactic anaerobic system.<ref>Morc Coulson, David Archer, ''Practical Fitness Testing: Analysis in Exercise and Sport'', p. 183, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015 {{ISBN|1408195844}}.</ref>

==Procedure==
The test is conducted by having the athlete run up a flight of at least nine steps.  Each step is around 17.8 cm (7 inches) tall, but it does not have to be exact, the height is taken into account in the calculation of power.<ref>Thomas R. Baechle, Roger W. Earle, ''Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning'', p. 258, Human Kinetics, 2008 {{ISBN|0736058036}}.</ref>  The athlete starts six metres from the bottom of the steps and then runs up them three at a time, stepping on the third, sixth and ninth steps.  The interval between the athlete placing a foot on the third and ninth step is timed.  This time interval is very small (of the order of one second), and it is difficult to get accurate results with a [[stopwatch]].  Because of this, in a professional setting, it is usual to place pressure mats on the third and ninth steps and use these to respectively start and stop an electronic timer.<ref name=PlowmanSmith>Sharon A. Plowman, Denise L. Smith, ''Exercise Physiology for Health Fitness and Performance'', p. 68, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2013 {{ISBN|1451176112}}.</ref>

The power, ''P'', exerted by the athlete is calculated by,

:<math> P = {m g h \over t} </math>
:where,
:''m'' is the mass of the athlete
:''h'' is the vertical height between the third and ninth steps
:''t'' is the time between stepping on the third and ninth steps
:''g'' is acceleration due to gravity, approximately 9.81 m/s<sup>2</sup>

To obtain power in units of [[watt]]s, that is, [[SI units]], the mass must be expressed in [[kilogram]]s and the time in [[second]]s.

[[American football]] coaches use a slight variation of this test.  In the '''football stair climb test''' the athlete runs up twenty steps four at a time.<ref>Nick Draper, Helen Marshall, ''Exercise Physiology: For Health and Sports Performance'', p. 276, Routledge, 2014 {{ISBN|1317902602}}.</ref>

==References==
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[[Category:Sports medicine tests]]