What is the point?
What is fitness? There are various ways of measuring it. The Harvard step test uses recovery rate as an indicator – this is important for athletes who have bursts of activity followed by rest periods, such as footballers, rugby players and basketball players.
What do you need?
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Gym bench (45cm high)
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Stop watch
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Assistant
How do you do the test?
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Step up on to a standard gym bench once every two seconds for five minutes (150 steps)
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An assistant can help you keep the required pace
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One minute after finishing, take your pulse (bpm) – this is Pulse 1
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Two minutes after finishing, take your pulse again – this is Pulse 2
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Three minutes after finishing, take your pulse for the final time – this is Pulse 3
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Use the calculator below to determine your level of fitness
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What results you’ll get :
By comparing your results over several months, you can get a good gauge of any improvements in your fitness level.
Taking the three pulse measurements, your level of fitness can be determined as follows:
Result = 30000 ? (pulse1 + pulse2 + pulse3)
Normative data for the Harvard Step Test
The following table is for 16 year old athletes.
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Gender
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Excellent
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Above Average
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Average
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Below Average
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Poor
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Male
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>90
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80-90
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65-79
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55-64
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<55
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Female
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>86
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76-86
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61-75
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50-60
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<50
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What is being measured again?
This is a good measure of general cardiovascular fitness. |
