Purpose. Development of a test that would: a) eliminate the factor of motivation on the result, b) objectively assess aerobic endurance, c) reduce fatigue level from its execution, d) be potentially used repeatedly over the duration of a season to control the dynamics of aerobic conditions.
Subjects. 64 professional ice hockey players from the KHL.
Conclusion. In the process of analyzing the scientific literature (Godik, MA, Platonov, VN, Altug, Z, Cooper, KH, Earle, RW, Foran, B, Gledhill, N) a lack of tests that objectively evaluate aerobic endurance, but not require maximum effort and motivation was found. This made it clear that a new test needs to be developed. As a result of theoretical analysis and experimental studies, the test "3.000 meters run at a heart rate (HR) 160 beats per minute (bpm)" was created. The test is based on the assumption of a high correlation between the anaerobic treshold (AT) and the performance of an athlete: with an identical HR a subject with a higher anaerobic treshold level will demonstrate a higher speed of running. HR of 160 bpm corresponds to the mean value of the AT of professional ice hockey players, which was determined in a laboratory setting with participation of 64 KHL players. Using graphical-analytical method, data fitting of AT, VO2max and the test execution time was determined. The levels of AT and VO2max in ml/min x kg were determined as reference points and a 2nd order polynomial was used as an approximating function. The approximation was carried out using the Gauss-Newton method. As a result, the formulas for estimation of AT and VO2max based on the result of the "3.000 meters run at HR 160 bpm" were obtained. The use of this test allows to eliminate the factor of motivation on the result, objectively assess aerobic endurance and reduce the fatigue level from its execution. The test can be used repeatedly over a season without the risk of overtraining.