Why the study?
Does a maximal treadmill test yield higher physiological responses and better predict VO2max compared to a maximal step test in males and females aged 15 to 69?
Does a maximal treadmill test yield higher physiological responses and better predict VO2max compared to a maximal step test in males and females aged 15 to 69?
A maximal treadmill test is superior to a maximal step test for eliciting maximal physiological responses and validating submaximal aerobic fitness prediction equations.
May favor treadmill over step tests for maximal responses in aerobic testing; leaves open generalizability of submaximal predictions across protocols.
The purpose of this study was to select a maximal aerobic power test protocol with which to validate a submaximal step test prediction equation. Subjects (N = 129), males and females 15 to 69 years of age, performed one maximal step test and one maximal treadmill test. The maximal treadmill protocol yielded higher peak VO2, ventilation, heart rate, and RER values. An age-predicted maximum heart rate was achieved by 35% of subjects on the step test and 55% on the treadmill. An RER of 1.15 was attained by 22% of the subjects on the step test and 53% on the treadmill. Regression analysis indicated that the submaximal test was more predictive of VO2max when the maximum was attained using the treadmill rather than the maximal step protocol. Peak VO2 values obtained from subjects tested on the treadmill will be used to develop a new prediction equation for the Canadian Aerobic Fitness Test.
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Weller et al. (1992) studied this question.
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