Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40186256›Full record

ArticleBMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation2025

Performance with an additional load: formula-based predictions for controlling the load intensity when carrying backpacks.

Saskia Klughardt, Bettina Schaar

Abstract read
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Article in BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Saskia KlughardtInstitute for Sports Science, Faculty of Humanity, University of the Bundeswehr Munich, Werner-Heisenberg-Weg 39, Neubiberg, Munich, 85577, Germany. saskia.klughardt@unibw.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0000-3321-4695
Bettina SchaarInstitute for Sports Science, Faculty of Humanity, University of the Bundeswehr Munich, Werner-Heisenberg-Weg 39, Neubiberg, Munich, 85577, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionEndurance-specific activities in diverse terrains, including alpine regions, necessitate the transportation of supplementary equipment, thereby necessitating an adaptation of the load intensity. To ascertain the impact of these loads on acute endurance performance and load intensity, it was essential to conduct tests with additional loads to predict the individual reaction to carrying additional loads on performance. The formulas derived in this study facilitate the prediction of exercise adaptation when carrying additional loads. PURPOSE: This study aimed to develop and validate a formula-based prediction of performance adaptation when carrying additional loads to guide load intensities and training instructions.

methodsThe 105 participants, 54 male and 51 female, had a mean age of 23.7 years, a mean height of 174.0 cm, a mean weight of 71.7 kg, and an aerobic capacity of 48.6 mL/kg/min-1. Two treadmill ramp tests were conducted in a laboratory setting, with and without additional loads, to assess the adaptation of cardiopulmonary parameters. Both tests were conducted at 4 km/h and an incline of 1%, with the speed increasing by 1 km/h each minute until the subject reported feeling exhausted. The statistical analysis was conducted via stepwise linear regression. The formulas were validated with an independent t-test on an additional dataset, and the equivalence was determined with a two-sided test (TOST).

resultsBased on these tests, regressions were calculated for speed (p < 0.001) and heart rate (p < 0.001) with additional loads, and formulas were derived to predict the adaptations of heart rate and speed to additional loads. The results revealed that the backpack weight, sex, and individual parameters without load were the most accurate predictors of performance with additional load carriage (p < 0.001). The validation of the formulas, using a sample of N = 64, was statistically equivalent.

conclusionThe formulas can predict the adaptation of running speeds and heart rates at the ventilatory thresholds with different additional loads. This is useful for controlling optimal load intensities in endurance performance with additional loads, to prevent overstraining. This is particularly relevant in mountain sports or military marches, where optimizing loads and mitigating falls due to overstraining is crucial.

Indexed as

BackpackFormulaLoad carriageLoad intensityMilitaryMountaineeringPerformancePrevention

Identifiers

PMID40186256
PMCPMC11969823

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.