Aerobic endurance has been related to risk for a variety of major health problems and is primarily determined by one's maximum ability to consume oxygen. It is normally expressed in milliliters of oxygen consumed per kilogram of body weight per minute, since people only need to handle their own bodies, and values below 35 and 42 mL/kg/min suggest increased disease risk for females and males respectively. Maximum oxygen consumption is a reflection of the heart's ability to pump blood, the blood's ability to carry oxygen, the vessels' abilities to deliver oxygen, and the muscles' abilities to extract and use oxygen. It is directly measured by collecting and analyzing exhaled air during maximal physical effort, but it can be estimated from a variety of submaximal and maximal tests that do not require sophisticated equipment. In addition, good estimates are generally obtained from consideration of the personal factors that most influence aerobic endurance: a person's habitual activity level, age, gender, and body mass index or composition:
Circle the number below that corresponds with the best description of your GENERAL LEVEL of physical activity during the PREVIOUS MONTH. This will allow us to provide an (effortless) estimate of aerobic fitness via the University of Houston Non-Exercise Test to use for comparative purposes:
DO NOT PARTICIPATE REGULARLY
IN PROGRAMMED RECREATION SPORT OR HEAVY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
0 Avoid walking or exertion, e.g., always use elevator, drive whenever possible instead of walking.
1 Walk for pleasure, routinely use stairs, occasionally exercise sufficiently to cause heavy breathing or perspiration.
PARTICIPATE REGULARLY IN RECREATION OR WORK REQUIRING
MODEST PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, SUCH AS GOLF, HORSEBACK RIDING,
CALISTHENICS, TABLE TENNIS, WEIGHT LIFTING, YARD WORK, ETC.
2 10 to 60 minutes per week
3 Over one hour week
PARTICIPATE REGULARLY IN HEAVY PHYSICAL EXERCISE SUCH AS
RUNNING, SWIMMING, CYCLING, TENNIS, OR SIMILAR AEROBIC ACTIVITY
4 Run or equivalent activity < 30 minutes per week.
5 Run or equivalent activity 30-60 minutes per week.
6 Run or equivalent activity 1-3 hours per week.
7 Run or equivalent activity > 3 hours per week.
ONE MILE WALK TEST PREPARATION
For an appointment call x 2081. For more info, call Bob Weathers x2082
Maximum Oxygen Consumption (Vo2 max) is determined by the ability of 1) the heart to pump blood, 2) the blood to carry oxygen, 3) the vessels to deliver it, and 4) muscles to use it. It is generally used as the definition for aerobic fitness, which is associated with physical work capacity and risk for a variety of major health problems including coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, and some cancers. Sophisticated laboratory equipment and a maximal effort on your part are required to ACTUALLY MEASURE your maximum oxygen consumption, but the Rockport Walking Test appears to provide more valid ESTIMATES than do most other tests.
Pleases come to the lab having completed our consent form (or prepared to ask questions before signing it ) and ready to walk as "fast as possible" for one mile on a treadmill. Your heart rate will be monitored and used along with your age, gender, and time for the one-mile walk to evaluate your aerobic fitness.
Age______yr Height______in Weight_________lb Activity code_______
Mile Walk Time _________min Mile Walk Heart Rate _________bpm
Estimated Vo2 max (Houston) ________mL/kg/min (Rockport)______mL/kg/min
Fitness Classification by Maximum Oxygen Consumption (mL/kg/min)
(Higher numbers suggest better aerobic fitness.)
FEMALE MALE
HIGH AVG. LOW HIGH AVG. LOW
AGE
18-21 >45.3 42.7-41.0 <39.4 >56.1 52.4-54.1 <49.8
20-29 >40.9 36.7-33.8 <30.6 >48.2 44.2-41.0 <37.1
>38.6 34.6-32.3 <28.7 >46.8 42.4-38.9 <35.4
30-39
40-49 >36.3 32.3-29.5 <26.5 >44.1 39.9-36.7 <33.0
50-59 >32.3 29.4-26.9 <24.3 >41.0 36.7-33.5 <30.2
60+ >31.2 27.2-24.5 <22.8 >38.1 33.6-30.2 <26.5