HARVARD STEP TEST &

ROCKPORT ONE MILE TEST

By Dr. Rajesh Vashisht
HARVARD STEP TEST
• The Harvard Step Test is used to
measure a clients aerobic fitness.
• Specifically it is a 'predictive test of
their VO2max. This page shows you
how to conduct the test.
• The features of this test is that it is
simple to conduct and requires
minimal equipment.
EQUIPMENT REQUIRED
• Gym bench (45cm high)
• Stopwatch
• Assistant
 PRE-TEST
• Explain the test procedures to the subject.
• Perform screening of health risks and obtain informed consent.
• Prepare forms and record basic information such as age, height, body
weight, gender, test conditions.
HOW TO CONDUCT THE TEST
• The athlete warms up for 10 minutes
• The assistant gives the command "GO" and starts the
stopwatch
• The athlete steps up and down onto a standard gym
bench once every two seconds for five minutes (150
steps)
• The assistant stops the test after 5 minutes
• The assistant measures the athlete's heart rate (bpm)
one minute after finishing the test - Pulse1
• The assistant measures the athlete's heart rate (bpm)
two minutes after finishing the test - Pulse2
• The assistant measures the athlete's heart rate (bpm)
three minutes after finishing the test - Pulse3
 SCORING
• Fitness Index = (100 x test duration in seconds)
divided by (2 x sum of heart beats in the
recovery periods)
• For example, if the total test time was 300
seconds (if the client completed the whole 5
minutes), and their number of heart beats
between 1-1½ minutes was 90, between 2-2½ it
was 80 and between 3-3½ it was 70, then the
fitness index score would be: (100 x 300) / (240
x 2) = 62.5.
• Note: you are using the total number of heart
beats in the 30 second period, not the clients
heart rate (beats per minute) during that time.
 SCORING

Above Below
Gender Excellent Average Poor
Average Average

Male >90.0 80.0 - 90.0 65.0 - 79.9 55.0 - 64.9 <55

Female >86.0 76.0 - 86.0 61.0 - 75.9 50.0 - 60.9 <50

 FORMULAS TO CALCULATE FITNESS
INDEX
100 𝑥𝑥 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
• Fitness Index (short form) =
5.5 𝑥𝑥 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 1 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 1.5 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
100 𝑥𝑥 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠
• Fitness Index (long form) =
2 𝑥𝑥 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏𝑏 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟𝑟 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝

• Example: The test was conducted for an individual and the following readings were
recorded:
Total duration of stepping = 300 seconds
• 1-1½ minutes was 95,
• between 2-2½ it was 85 and
• between 3-3½ it was 75,
100 𝑥𝑥 300
• then the short form fitness index score would be: = 57.4
5.5 𝑋𝑋 95
100 𝑋𝑋 300
• Long form fitness index score = = 58.8
2 𝑋𝑋 (95+85+75)
 ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
• Advantages:
• Minimal equipment required
• Simple to set up and conduct
• Can be conducted almost anywhere
• Target Group:
• This test is suitable for active and sedentary athletes but not for individuals where the
test would be contraindicated.
• Disadvantages:
• Biomechanical characteristics vary between individuals.
• For example, considering that the step height is standard, taller people are at an
advantage as it will take less energy to step up onto the step.
• Body weight has also been shown to be a factor.
• Testing large groups with this test will be time consuming.
 ROCKPORT ONE MILE TEST
• The Rockport Walking Test is a sub-maximal field test to estimate VO2max in
males and females ages 20 to 69 years.
• The participant is required to walk one mile (1.6 kilometers) as quickly as
possible.
• The test is easily administered and is well-suited for sedentary and/or older
individuals.
 ROCKPORT ONE MILE TEST
Objective
• The objective of this Rockport Fitness Test is to monitor the development of the
athlete's VO2 max.
Equipment
• 400-metre track
• Stopwatch
• Weighing Scales
• Assistant
 PROCEDURE
This test requires the athlete to walk one mile (1600 meters) as fast as possible.
• A level, one mile (1.6 km) course is required. The inside lane of a one mile (or 400 m) track is
preferred, but any uninterrupted course of precisely one mile (1.6 km) is suitable.
• Participants should wear appropriate clothing plus shoes and perform 5-10 min of light stretching
before commencing the walk.
• Instruct the participant to walk the one mile as quickly as possible (but not speed walking).
• Record the participant’s heart rate (HR) immediately upon the completion of the mile. It is
preferable to have the participant wear a heart rate monitor for this measurement but the
assessment of HR via palpation (using a 15 sec count from the carotid or radial artery) is a suitable
alternative.
• Estimate the participant’s VO2max using the following formula which incorporates his/her body
weight (lb.), age (yr.), gender (males = 1, females = 0), time to complete one mile (min), and post
exercise heart rate (bpm)
 FORMULA

• Estimated VO2max =
• 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏. 𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖 – 𝟎𝟎. 𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒙𝒙 𝑾𝑾𝑾𝑾𝑾𝑾𝑾𝑾𝑾𝑾𝑾𝑾 – 𝟎𝟎. 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑 𝒙𝒙 𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨𝑨 + (𝟔𝟔. 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑 𝒙𝒙 𝑮𝑮𝑮𝑮𝑮𝑮𝑮𝑮𝑮𝑮𝑮𝑮) – (𝟑𝟑. 𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐𝟐 𝒙𝒙 𝑻𝑻𝑻𝑻𝑻𝑻𝑻𝑻) – (𝟎𝟎. 𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏𝟏 𝒙𝒙 𝑯𝑯𝑯𝑯𝑯𝑯𝑯𝑯𝑯𝑯 𝑹𝑹𝑹𝑹𝑹𝑹𝑹𝑹)

• 132.853 – 0.0769(___) – 0.3877(___) + 6.315(___) – 3.2649(___) – 0.1565(___)

• Where
• Weight is in pounds (lbs.)
• Gender Male = 1 and Female = 0
• Time is expressed in minutes and 100ths of minutes
• Heart rate is in beats/minute
• Age is in years
 EXAMPLE
As an example, if a 33 year old male (who weighed 160 lbs.) completed the
walk in 11 min& 20 sec and had a post-exercise HR of 160 bpm, his estimated
VO2max would be 52 ml·kg-1·min-1 (as calculated below): It is important to
note that completion time must be converted to minutes. This is accomplished
by dividing the number of seconds by 60 and adding this value to the whole
value for minutes. In the above example, the total time was 11 min and 20
sec. When expressed as min, this equals 11 min + (20/60 sec) or 11.33 min.
• Estimated VO2max = 132.853 – 0.0769(160) – 0.3877(33) + 6.315(1) –
3.2649(11.33) – 0.1565(160) = 52 ml·kg-1·min-1
 VO2 MAX NORMS FOR WOMEN

VO2 Max Norms for Women

Age Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent Superior
13-19 Under 25.0 25.0-30.9 31.0-34.9 35.0-38.9 39.0-41.9 Over 41.9
20-29 Under 23.6 23.6-28.9 29.0-32.9 33.0-36.9 37.0-41.0 Over 41.0
30-39 Under 22.8 22.8-26.9 27.0-31.4 31.5-35.6 35.7-40.0 Over 40.0
40-49 Under 21.0 21.0-24.4 24.5-28.9 29.0-32.8 32.9-36.9 Over 36.9
50-59 Under 20.2 20.2-22.7 22.8-26.9 27.0-31.4 31.5-35.7 Over 35.7
60+ Under 17.5 17.5-20.1 20.2-24.4 24.5-30.2 30.3-31.4 Over 31.4
 VO2 MAX NORMS FOR MEN

VO2 Max Norms for Men

Age Very Poor Poor Fair Good Excellent Superior
13-19 Under 35.0 35.0-38.3 38.4-45.1 45.2-50.9 51.0-55.9 Over 55.9
20-29 Under 33.0 33.0-36.4 36.5-42.4 42.5-46.4 46.5-52.4 Over 52.4
30-39 Under 31.5 31.5-35.4 35.5-40.9 41.0-44.9 45.0-49.4 Over 49.4
40-49 Under 30.2 30.2-33.5 33.6-38.9 39.0-43.7 43.8-48.0 Over 48.0
50-59 Under 26.1 26.1-30.9 31.0-35.7 35.8-40.9 41.0-45.3 Over 45.3
60+ Under 20.5 20.5-26.0 26.1-32.2 32.3-36.4 36.5-44.2 Over 44.2