Contribution of muscular strength in cardiorespiratory fitness tests

Aim. Reports from laboratory-based studies have revealed a relationship between resistance training and endurance performance in both trained and untrained individuals. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the contribution of lower extremity muscular strength levels in performing cardiorespiratory fitness tests in laboratory, as well as field-based settings. Methods. Within 2 weeks 38 healthy males (age 21.6 +/- 2.5 years, body mass index-BMI-24.4 +/- 2.2) performed three maximal oxygen uptake ((V) over dot O-2max) assessments using the 20 m multistage shuttle run test (MSR), the 20 m square shuttle run test (SSR), and a maximal treadmill test (MT) to exhaustion. Data were also obtained from knee flexion and extension isokinetic dynamometry at 60 degrees.s(-1). Results. MSR performance correlated with the peak torque generated from both legs at r=0.63 (P0.05). Stepwise regression analyses revealed that the inclusion of leg strength parameters increased the coefficient of determination by 9% (P<0.001) and 4% (P