Engine tests

Four tests that measure your engine

Your first MaxCals block ends with these four tests, in this order. Together they measure your top-end power, how long you can hold a hard effort, how well you recover between repeated sprints, and your aerobic base, and they set the starting point for everything after.

After that, MaxCals keeps going in regular blocks, and a block can focus on one part of your engine, such as your aerobic base or your top-end speed. You can run the tests on any of the five machines MaxCals supports; use the same machine each time so results compare like with like.

These are maximal efforts. If you have a health condition or any doubt about training this hard, check with a doctor first, and stop if you feel unwell.

P1

60-second sprint

The session

  1. 10 min warm-up with 3 × 10 s at RPE 9–10, 90 s easy between
  2. 60 s maximal all-out effort
  3. 10 min easy cool-down

Effort

RPE 10 for the full 60 seconds. No pacing, no holding back.

Pacing

Go from the first second at absolute maximum and don't let up. The first 10 seconds feel achievable; seconds 30 to 60 won't, and that fade is part of what is measured. Everything after the sprint is cool-down, not a second attempt. Stay on the machine until your heart rate is back below 100.

What to record

Concept2 Rower and SkiErg
total metres, average 500 m split, average watts, average heart rate
BikeErg and Watt Bike
peak watts, average watts, total kJ, average heart rate
Air bike (Assault, Echo)
total calories, average RPM, average heart rate

What it tells you

Your top-end power: the most you can produce when duration doesn't matter.

P3

10-minute max

The session

  1. 12 min warm-up with 2 × 3 min at RPE 7–8, 3 min easy between
  2. 3 min easy
  3. 10 min maximal sustained effort
  4. 10 min easy cool-down

Effort

RPE 7–8 for the first 2 minutes, building to RPE 9 by minute 3, then hold it.

Pacing

This test rewards a thorough warm-up. Settle at RPE 8–9 by minute 3 and hold it; you shouldn't reach RPE 10 until the final 90 seconds. If you blow up at minute 5, you went out too hard. A controlled build always beats a fast first half that falls apart.

What to record

Concept2 Rower and SkiErg
total metres, average 500 m split, stroke rate, average heart rate
BikeErg and Watt Bike
average watts, average heart rate, total kJ
Air bike (Assault, Echo)
total calories, average calories per minute, average heart rate

What it tells you

The hardest effort you can sustain for 10 minutes. Set against the 30-minute test, it gives your aerobic profile ratio.

P4

Tabata

The session

  1. 10 min warm-up with 3 × 10 s sprints, 60 s easy between
  2. 8 × [20 s on / 10 s off]
  3. 5 min easy cool-down

Effort

RPE 10 in every 20-second effort, and a complete stop in every 10-second rest.

Pacing

The 10-second rests are fixed: don't extend them. Record round 1 and round 8 as well as the total, because the gap between them is the point. Stay on the machine after round 8 and note your heart rate; how fast it drops is part of your profile.

What to record

Concept2 Rower and SkiErg
total metres, average 500 m split, round 1 and round 8 metres, average heart rate
BikeErg and Watt Bike
average watts, peak watts, round 1 and round 8 average watts, average heart rate
Air bike (Assault, Echo)
total calories, round 1 and round 8 calories, average heart rate, average RPM

What it tells you

How well you recover between repeated maximal efforts, read as the Tabata decay index.

P2

30-minute time trial

The session

  1. 10 min warm-up with 2 × 2 min at RPE 7, 2 min easy between
  2. 2 min easy
  3. 30 min maximal sustained effort
  4. 10 min easy cool-down

Effort

RPE 6–7 for the first 5 minutes, RPE 8 by minute 10, hold RPE 8 to minute 25, then RPE 9 for the final 5.

Pacing

The longest test, and the one most punished by bad pacing. The first 5 minutes should feel almost too easy. Your average over the full 30 minutes is the number that matters: a fast first 10 minutes that collapses scores worse than a steady effort all the way through.

What to record

Concept2 Rower and SkiErg
average 500 m split, total metres, stroke rate, average heart rate
BikeErg and Watt Bike
average watts, average heart rate, total kJ
Air bike (Assault, Echo)
total calories, average calories per minute, average heart rate

What it tells you

Your aerobic base: the output you can hold for half an hour.

Reading the results

Aerobic profile ratio

Your 10-minute output set against your 30-minute output. On the BikeErg and Watt Bike it is 10-minute average watts over 30-minute average watts; on an air bike, 10-minute calories per minute over 30-minute calories per minute. On the Rower and SkiErg it is your 30-minute split over your 10-minute split, a ratio of speeds, which MaxCals cubes to compare it as power.

MaxCals reads the power ratio in three bands. Below 1.06 is a small gap: your aerobic base is strong, so there is room to build top-end speed. From 1.06 to 1.12 is a balanced gap. Above 1.12 is a big gap: your top end is ahead of your aerobic base. These bands are how MaxCals sets the focus of your next block, not population norms.

Tabata decay index

Round 8 as a share of round 1. Higher means you held your output across the eight rounds; lower means it faded. The score card shows it next to your Tabata average, because a high index from a cautious first round is not the aim.

MaxCals sets every session from the results you send back, block after block. Your first session is free.

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