The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of three postexercise heart rate parameters from 3-min step test to estimate VO2max. Thirty-one college male subjects (M±SD=19.77±1.20 years; 173.31±6.62 cm; 64.34±8.91 kg) had VO2max (M±SD=47.08±3.39 ml•kg^(-1)•Min^(-1)) measured by Bruce treadmill test. Subjects performed three step tests (24 ascents/min) with stepping height were 30, 35, and 40 cm, respectively. Direct measurements of VO2max obtained from the treadmill test were correlated with 5 to 20-sec postexercise heart rate (PHR15), 60-sec postexercise heart rate (PHR60), and Cardiorespiratory Endurance Index (CEI) calculated after three different step test protocols. Linear regression analysis used to determine the estimate VO2max deviated from the measured VO2max. An alpha level of .05 was selected. Results indicated the CEI from performing 3-min step test with 40 cm of stepping height and 24 ascents/min of stepping cadences was seemed to be a more effective (r=.50) and lower standard error of estimates (SEE=2.94 ml•kg^(-1)•Min^(-1)), which was practical field test to estimate the aerobic fitness of college males.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of three postexercise heart rate parameters from 3-min step test to estimate VO2max. Thirty-one college male subjects (M±SD=19.77±1.20 years; 173.31±6.62 cm; 64.34±8.91 kg) had VO2max (M±SD=47.08±3.39 ml•kg^(-1)•Min^(-1)) measured by Bruce treadmill test. Subjects performed three step tests (24 ascents/min) with stepping height were 30, 35, and 40 cm, respectively. Direct measurements of VO2max obtained from the treadmill test were correlated with 5 to 20-sec postexercise heart rate (PHR15), 60-sec postexercise heart rate (PHR60), and Cardiorespiratory Endurance Index (CEI) calculated after three different step test protocols. Linear regression analysis used to determine the estimate VO2max deviated from the measured VO2max. An alpha level of .05 was selected. Results indicated the CEI from performing 3-min step test with 40 cm of stepping height and 24 ascents/min of stepping cadences was seemed to be a more effective (r=.50) and lower standard error of estimates (SEE=2.94 ml•kg^(-1)•Min^(-1)), which was practical field test to estimate the aerobic fitness of college males.