Cunningham and Faulkner Test
The Cunningham and Faulkner Test is a maximal effort anaerobic fitness test performed on a treadmill (Cunningham & Faulkner, 1969). The participant runs on a treadmill at 8.0 mph and at an incline of 20% for as long as possible.
equipment required: treadmill capable of increasing to 20% gradient, stopwatch.
pre-test: Explain the test procedures to the subject. Perform screening of health risks and obtain informed consent. Prepare forms and record basic information such as age, height, body weight, gender, test conditions. See more details of pre-test procedures.
procedure: A warm-up on the treadmill for a few minutes at about 10 km/hr at 0% incline is performed, to familiarize the athlete with test procedure and equipment. Some short practice starts getting onto the treadmill at the test speed can also be performed. After a break and some stretches, the treadmill is set at 8.0 miles/hr (12.9 km/hr) speed and incline of 20%. The time starts when the athlete starts running unsupported, and finishes when they grab the handrail. The test continues until exhaustion, meaning that the athlete is not able to maintain the speed required. Strong encouragement is required throughout the test.
scoring: The time completed before exhaustion is
the score. Record time to the nearest 0.5 seconds. Maximal blood
lactate values may also be taken after the test to gain further
information about the anaerobic capacity of the athlete.
reference: Cunningham, D.A. and Faulkner, J.A. (1969) The effect of training on aerobic and anaerobic metabolism during a short exhaustive run. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 1 (2), p. 57-64
Similar Tests
- Maximal Anaerobic Running Test (MART) — 20 sec sprint/100 sec recovery, on a treadmill
Related Pages
- Other anaerobic capacity tests
- About Intermittent Sports Fitness Testing
- Other fitness tests conducted on treadmills
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