Sport Performance Centre
Our services
Led by our sport and exercise science students, under the supervision of qualified sport and exercise scientists, the clinic provides data and reports to inform your training.
We have purpose-built facilities for assessing performance across a range of sports, including exercise physiology and biomechanics labs, a strength and conditioning suite and environmental chamber. Sport scientists aim to optimise athletic performance, promote health, and contribute to the advancement of sports and exercise-related knowledge through research and evidence-based practices.
Typical assessments include:
- VO2 max (running, cycling) - measures your maximal oxygen uptake and maximal heart rate
- lactate threshold testing - a submaximal test which evaluates your metabolic response to various exercise intensities to allow training intensities to be determined
- environmental chamber acclimation sessions - our environmental chamber simulates nearly all conditions on earth to prepare for events in challenging environments from intense dry heat (deserts) or hot and humid locations to extreme cold conditions such as those experienced during mountain climbs and can replicate the physiological effects of altitude with a hypoxia generator
- sport performance masterclasses and workshops - for example, running masterclasses, designing a training plan, making sense of training data, injury risk reduction (including some practical components).
We can cater for most tests due to the bespoke nature of our offering, so please ask.
The centre is open to the public, including children aged 16+ (under 18s must be accompanied by a parent/guardian), and accepts direct self-referrals for all assessments.
What to expect
Students perform some basic pre-assessment screening procedures, which cover aspects of medical history and sport training experience.
Students record physiological measurements from the tests you undertake. You are provided with a brief verbal outline of your results, plus a detailed written report and interpretation of the findings, which includes personalised training zones.
Depending on the test procedures you have selected, the session can last between one and two hours.
There is no cost for Teesside University staff and students. For Teesside University graduates and the public, a combined lactate threshold and VO2max test is £35, while a standalone test (either LT or VO2max) is £30.
Due to the specialist nature of the environmental chamber, one-hour acclimation sessions are £50, but a pre-booked block of five hours is £225, and a pre-booked block of ten hours is £400. Please email exerciseclinic@tees.ac.uk to book environmental chamber sessions.
How to make an appointment
Clinics run throughout the year, except over Christmas and for two weeks in September, with reduced appointment availability during the students' summer break.
Contact us
Sport Performance Centre
School of Health & Life Sciences
Olympia Building (room OLY1.09)
Teesside University
Middlesbrough
TS1 3BX