Overview
The McMaster University sport specific educational seminars are designed for competitive athletes of all ages who are serious about their sport and wish to maximize their performance. Seminars are approximately 3 hours in length and will introduce athletes to commonly used tests of human performance testing and body composition. These seminars are led by PHD students in the Department of Kinesiology who have several years of experience educating and testing a variety of high performance athletes, including NHL and OHL, varsity, rep and club athletes from a variety of team and individual sports.
The tour follows this general schedule. Exact times depend on the number of athletes.
- 30 minutes – Get settled in the lab, introductions, overview of testing schedule.
- 1 hour – Testing block #1 with the High-Performance Team.
- 1-1.5 hours – Physiological and metabolic testing.
- Last 30 minutes – Data collection recap, education, and Q and A period.
Seminar Cost (Revised August 2020):
Cost is $60 plus tax ($67.80) per athlete. Payment can be made by cash or cheque (Payable to McMaster University) the day of the seminar.
Please ensure that you are selecting dates and times that you can attend.
An administration fee of $50.00 will be applied for requested date changes after the seminar has been confirmed.
Seminar Application:
Sport Specific Educational Seminar And Testing Application
Test Descriptions
VO2max Test: Determines the maximal amount of oxygen that can be utilized by the body, and is considered the “gold standard” measure of cardiorespiratory fitness. It is the most commonly used test of performance for athletes who compete in endurance sports (eg, cycling and running). The test involves exercising at progressively higher workloads on a stationary cycle or treadmill while breath samples are collected through a mouthpiece.
Wingate Test: Determines maximal power output during a 30 second “all out” sprint on a specialized cycle ergometer. The Wingate Test is extremely demanding and maximally stresses the body’s aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. It is the most commonly used test of performance for athletes who compete in strength and power sports, or those who perform short repeated bursts of activity (eg, hockey, rugby, soccer).
Body Composition Test: Measures a person’s body mass, using a very accurate electronic scale, and body volume, which is determined while sitting inside the BOD POD chamber. The BOD POD provides information on fat and fat-free mass, resting metabolic rate, and an estimate of a person’s daily energy (calorie) requirement.