Common trends in time series of exercise testing (WAnT)

In this paper we analyze time series related to pediatric exercise tests. A group of young athletes with two years of training practice were assessed in exercise laboratories in order to measure their anaerobic power output. The 30-s all-out Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT) was applied to assess performance of peak muscle power and local muscle endurance for both upper and lower limbs. Our objective in WAnT time series is detecting possible common trends. Dynamic factor analysis (DFA) is a technique especially designed for time series data, which enables underlying common patterns to be identified. This methodology allows to model short and nonstationary series, like 30-s all-out WAnT. The classical approach in the physiological field compare performance parameters (Peak Power, Average Power, Power Drop) between independent groups. This paper applies for the first time DFA to exercise tests results.