For the RMR Assessment the Athlete was required to lie still on a bed in the supine position for 30 minutes in a dimly lit room. There was no visual or auditory stimulation throughout this period. The Exercise Test was completed ~15 minutes after the RMR assessment. This was based on the protocol described previously by Achten and colleagues [13] with the starting speed and inclination of the treadmill (HP Cosmos, Jaeger, Nussdorf Traunstein, Germany) set at 3.5 km/h and 1%, respectively. The treadmill speed was increased by 1 km/h every three minutes until the respiratory exchange ratio (RER) reached 1.00. At this point the treadmill gradient was increased by 1% every minute until volitional exhaustion. Heart rate was measured continuously throughout testing using a heart rate monitor (Polar FT-1, Finland) and was recorded during the final 30 seconds of each exercise stage.