Science for practice

Assessing Weightlifters' Work Capacity with the Stange Pressor Test

V. F. Ulchenko, Cand. Sc. (Biology), senior lecturer, Dnipropetrovsk Institute of Railway Transport Engineers

English summary of Tyazhelaya Atletika. Ezhegodnik 1982 (Moscow: Fizkultura i Sport, 1982), pp. 44–47: the text is paraphrased, not translated; data tables are given in full with English labels.

Problem

• Loads are very high, but recovery is poorly studied and coaches cannot tell when the first functional decline — the start of fatigue, overfatigue and overtraining — sets in. Overt signs (malaise, lethargy, breathlessness, persistently raised blood pressure, reluctance to train) appear late.
• Tests from other sports do not suit weightlifting's short efforts. The author chose the Stange (breath-hold) pressor test (O. Würberg, 1953, Leipzig), which assesses the heart muscle and mimics lifting strain.

Method

• Procedure: maximal inhalation, 15–20 s breath-hold, then a 2-s forced expiration with the nose pinched, sharply raising intrathoracic pressure and cutting venous return.
• Reading: blood pressure (BP) before (indicator 1), right after (2) and 2 min after (3). Normal contractility: a brief fall of 5–10 mm Hg; impaired regulation: a marked systolic rise persisting into recovery.
• Schedule and subjects: weekly for two preparatory months with submaximal loads; test 1 before training, test 2 at peak loads. First-class lifters, CMS and MS, Dnipropetrovsk Olympic training centre.
• Ratings: excellent — BP falls after test 1 or is unchanged after test 2; good — rise ≤ 5 mm Hg after test 2, recovered in 2 min; satisfactory — rise of 5–7 mm Hg, recovery up to 5 min; unsatisfactory — rise ≥ 10 mm Hg, persisting.

Table. Mean blood pressure (mm Hg, systolic/diastolic) over two months of the preparatory period

Indicators 1–3 as defined above. Domnich's final “0”: no total (see text). Stray OCR marks after 66.9 and 71.4 dropped.

Case studies

• S. Kapitsa: early in the period test 1 gave 130/70 → 140/75 → 135/70 (+10 mm Hg), test 2 140/66 → 160/70 → 142/70 (+20) — both unsatisfactory, likewise at the next two sessions, though he felt “good” after clean pulls and squats. The plan was corrected; later tests were satisfactory, one good. His total did not improve; nor did those of V. V. Eppel and E. Klusov, whose plans were not corrected in time.
• L. Omelchuk (CMS): similar load, good and excellent ratings; +10 kg snatch, +7.5 kg clean-and-jerk, Master of Sport standard met.
• Ratings matched competition results except for V. Domnich, who opened the snatch at 125 kg with a best of 115.

Conclusions

• Straining, breath-holding and emotional stress aggravate even minor cardiovascular disorders, and weakened contractility may underlie lost work capacity; regular BP checks and the pressor test help coaches match loads to the athlete's state.
• Large post-test BP swings, frequent in poorly trained or badly peaked lifters, signal fatigue and call for immediate plan changes or better recovery.
• The test detects cardiac overstrain early and helps prevent overtraining.