Physiology, Health & Exercise
Lesson 11
The Principles of Exercise Testing
Principles of exercise testing
Include:
 Use of maximal and sub-maximal tests
 VO2 max
 Exercise stress testing
 Cardiac patient rehabilitation
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Why measure physiological
fitness?
 To monitor effectiveness of a training
programme for an athlete
 To monitor recovery from MI
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How to determine aerobic
fitness?
 Measure maximum rate at which the body is
able to take up and use O2  maximal testing
 Called VO2 max
 Measured in cm3kg-1min-1
 Higher VO2 max the greater the aerobic
fitness of the individual
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VO2 max
 Measured by getting the person to run on a
treadmill whilst breathing in a measured gas
supply
 As intensity of exercise increased
(increasing speed or gradient of treadmill)
more O2 taken in until it reaches a maximum
level that does not change even if exercise
intensity increased further.
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VO2 max
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VO2 max
 Only suitable for evaluating the fitness of
competitive athletes
 Also requires expensive lab equipment,
technical personnel & medical back up
 Instead use sub-maximal tests
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Sub-maximal testing
 Relies on 2 assumptions:
 There is a linear correlation between VO2 max, HR
& intensity of exercise
 That an individuals maximum HR = 220 - their age
 Involves exercise at much lower intensities
than maximal testing
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Sub-maximal testing
 Pulse rate & O2 uptake are measured at
various levels of activity
 This data used to draw a graph of pulse rate
v O2 uptake
 Straight line is drawn and then extrapolated
to max HR for that age of person
 VO2 max then predicted from graph
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Sub-maximal testing
 Graph here pulse v vo2 max
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Sub-maximal testing
 2 sources of error with sub-maximal testing:
 other factors than exercise affect HR e.g.
temperature, anxiety, emotions, previous meal etc
 220- age = maximum HR is not necessarily
accurate for everyone as it is only an average
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Typical VO2 max values
 top endurance athletes usually have a very
high VO2 max around 70ml/kg/min
 average person has a VO2 max around 35
ml/kg/min
 a low VO2 max < 25ml/kg/min usually means
you would be poor at endurance events
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Typical VO2 max values
 Can enter your own time and distance into
BBC Sport Academy Fitness test website to
get your own VO2 max. For accuracy you need
to have covered a distance greater than 1Km
 link to VO2 max
 Fitness test
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Examples of Sub-maximal
tests
 Examples of sub-maximal tests are:
 Step tests
 20-metre shuttle run
 shuttle walking test
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Step Tests
 simplest & most commonly used
 uses steady-state exercise HR or recovery
HR to evaluate efficiency of cardiovascular
response to exercise
 several different protocols but all based on
same physiological principles
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Step Tests
 subject steps up & down from a bench or step at a
fixed rate for several minutes (3-5 mins)
 height of step & rate of stepping (set by a
metronome) vary with different protocols
 at end of exercise HR measured for 15-30secs at
1 min intervals for 4 mins after exercise stops 
recovery rate
 fitter subject is, lower HR will be immediately
after exercise & faster return to resting level
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Step Tests
 can also measure HR continuously during
exercise by wearing an HR monitor
 can repeat same test after e.g. an exercise
programme to indicate an improvement in
fitness levels
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20-metre shuttle run




commonly used field test of aerobic fitness
however it is maximal & exhaustive
only suitable for moderately fit individuals
subjects run between markers positioned 20
metres apart at a pace determined by a prerecorded tape
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20-metre shuttle run
 test starts at a fairly slow pace which
increases every minute
 subject runs between the 2 markers until
they cannot keep up the pace
 the number of completed shuttles is
recorded and used to predict VO2 max
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Shuttle walking test
 similar to shuttle run, however subject walks
 more suitable for less fit individuals
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Exercise stress testing
 often patients with chronic CHD have normal ECG
traces at rest but abnormal ECG traces during
exercise
 some heart rhythm abnormalities are triggered by
exercise
 carry out stress tests on a treadmill, when workload
increased at an incremental level, while monitoring
their ECG
 most commonly used protocol is the Bruce Protocol
 Bruce protocol
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Cardiac patient rehabilitation
 supervised aerobic exercise sessions are included in
all cardiac rehabilitation programmes
 also offered advice on diet, smoking, alcohol, stress
& relaxation
 exercise programmes designed to allow patients to
improve their physical fitness levels so that they can
cope with the demands of everyday life
 each patient will have a tailor made programme based
on their ECG but all follow same type of profile
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Cardiac patient rehabilitation
 initially will start with gentle walking about 1
week after the heart attack or surgery
 4-6 weeks later slightly more vigorous
activity can be started & muscle
strengthening exercises included
 shown that this leads to better recovery and
survival rates
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Question
Homework
 Describe the effects of exercise training on
the cardiovascular system
8 marks
 Discuss the principles of exercise testing
7 marks
 Hand in- 08/02/10
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