Evaluating Aerobic Fitness

1. Evaluating Aerobic Fitness How’s your wind?

2. Facts About Aerobic Fitness • Major component of both adult and youth fitness • Low aerobic fitness is associated with increased risk of mortality • Depends upon, and is limited by, the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to the working muscles • Aerobic exercise is the most efficient form of exercise for developing aerobic fitness (duh) and expending energy (calories) • Important for weight control and reduction of risk of CHD

3. Aerobic Fitness • Aerobic fitness includes the lungs, heart, blood, circulatory system, and working muscles

4. Definitions • Oxygen Uptake: The volume of oxygen used under given conditions (at rest, during submaximal exercise, during maximal exercise) • VO2 max: The volume of oxygen used during maximal exercise • METS: A measure of how much oxygen is being used above the resting state OR a very bad baseball team

5. Oxygen Uptake (VO2) • Expressed in milliliters of oxygen used per minute per kilogram of body weight ( ) VO2 L/min x 1000 VO2 (ml/kg/min) = Weight in kg

6. VO2 Max vs. VO2 Peak

7. Aerobic Fitness • Depends on: efficient lungs, heart, blood vessels, quality and quantity of blood (red blood cell count, blood volume), cellular components that help the body utilize oxygen during exercise

8. Measuring Aerobic Fitness • Laboratory tests • Field tests • Maximal tests • Sub-maximal tests • Non-exercise tests

9. Aerobic Fitness and Health

10. Aerobic Fitness and Health • Low aerobic fitness is associated with higher mortality rates • Going from low to moderate levels of fitness significantly drops mortality risk • For good health, it is not critical to be an elite athlete, just moderately fit • Moderate fitness can be achieved by walking 3 miles per day

11. Evaluating Aerobic Fitness

12. ACSM Standards for VO2 Max for Men

13. ACSM Standards for VO2 Max for Women

14. Fitness Evaluation vs. Stress Test • Fitness evaluation evaluates only aerobic fitness • Stress test provides both medical and fitness data • Stress test “stresses the heart” to look for myocardial ischemia (restricted blood flow) to the heart muscle • Monitors EKG, blood pressure, HR, shortness of breath, chest pain

15. Who Needs a Stress Test? • Sedentary men over the age of 35 and postmenopausal sedentary women • Anyone who has chest pains or a history of heart disease • Anyone who has significant cardiovascular disease risk factors

16. Risk Factors • A strong family history of cardiovascular disease, particularly with early onset • History of high blood pressure • History of elevated cholesterol, particularly with low HDL • History of diabetes • Smoker, particularly if sedentary • Abnormal EKG

17. Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) • Has your doctor ever said you have heart trouble? • Do you frequently suffer from pains in your chest? • Do you often feel faint or have spells of severe dizziness? • Has a doctor ever told you that you have a bone or joint problem, such as arthritis, that has been aggravated by exercise or might be made worse with exercise?

18. Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) • Is there a good physical reason not mentioned here why you should not follow an activity program even if you wanted to? • Are you over age 65 and unaccustomed to vigorous exercise? Answering “yes” to any of these questions, disqualifies an individual from beginning exercise without medical supervision

19. Laboratory Tests of Aerobic Fitness • Treadmill tests • Cycle ergometer tests • Assess oxygen consumption with linear increases in power output • Done by increasing speed, grade, or resistance

20. Maximal Aerobic Fitness Tests • Systematically increases exercise intensity until the subject reaches exhaustion • Volume of oxygen used at the level of exhaustion is VO2 max • Borg’s Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale (RPE)

21. Balke 10% of tests given in the U.S. use Balke Begins at 0% grade Increases to 2% grade at 2nd minute Grade increases by 1% each minute Constant speed (3.3 mph) Bruce 71% of tests given in the U.S. use Bruce Begins at 10% grade Increases 2% at each 3-minute stage Increase speed at each 3-minute state Balke vs. Bruce Protocols

22. Bruce vs. Balke Protocols

23. Balke VO2 Max = 14.99 + (1.44 x T) Bruce VO2 Max = 17.5 – (0.30 x T) + (0.297 x T2) – 0.0077 x T3) Calculating VO2 Max from Time on the Treadmill

24. Submaximal Exercise Tests • Uses the slope of an individual’s HR response to exercise to estimate VO2 max Based on these exercise physiology principles: • HR increases in direct proportion to the oxygen being used during aerobic exercise • VO2 max is reached at maximum HR • A less fit person will have a higher HR at any submaximal level than someone who is more aerobically fit

25. Aerobic Fitness Field Tests • Useful for testing large numbers of subjects • Maximal run/walk tests • Submaximal walk/run tests

26. Maximal Tests – Distance Runs • 1 mile run test (time) • 1.5 mile run test (time) • 12 minute run test (distance) • Subjects walk, jog or use a combination to achieve the best score • Subjects should be reasonably exhausted at the end of the test

27. Submaximal Walking and Jogging Tests The Rockport Walk Test • Walk 1 mile as quickly as possible • Take HR immediately after the walk VO2 max = 132.85 – (0.39 x Age) – (0.08 x weight in lbs) – (3.26 x Time) – (0.16 x HR) + (6.32 x Gender) Gender: 1 = Male 0 = Female Limitation: Highly fit individuals cannot elevate their HR enough by walking to get valid estimates

28. Submaximal Walking and Jogging Tests The BYU Jog Test • Jog at a steady pace for 1 mile (> 8 minutes for males, and > 9 minutes for females) • Exercise HR < 180 bpm • Take HR immediately after the walk VO2 max = 100.5 – (0.164 x weight in kg) – (1.438 x Time) – (0.193 x HR) + (8.344 x Gender) Gender: 1 = Male 0 = Female