Is it time to step up your workout routine?
Losing weight and getting in shape are popular New Year’s resolutions — but before you join a gym with the masses, it may help to determine your current fitness level. Enter the Rockport Walk Test (RWT).
The simple, non-invasive assessment was developed in 1986 by University of Massachusetts at Amherst exercise researchers to estimate aerobic fitness by measuring VO₂ max, the maximum amount of oxygen the body can absorb and use during intense exercise.
Start by walking — not jogging or running — one mile as fast as possible on a flat course. Record your time with a stopwatch and immediately note your heart rate using a heart rate monitor or smartphone.
If you have neither, take your pulse by gently pressing the tips of your index and middle fingers against the inside of your wrist or the side of your neck near your windpipe, counting the number of beats you feel in 15 seconds and multiplying by four.
Enter the results into an online calculator along with your weight, age and sex to compute your VO₂ max.
Use a VO₂ max chart to see how your number stacks up against other people in your age group. A higher VO₂ max typically means better physical fitness.
If you are unhappy with your score, you can improve your aerobic capacity by doing cardio exercises or high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which involves short bursts of intense exercise with brief recovery periods.
Though VO₂ max doesn’t directly evaluate muscular strength or flexibility, research has shown that it can strongly predict longevity.
A 2018 study of 5,100 men found that those in the top 5% of VO₂ max lived almost five years longer than those in the bottom 5%.
There are other ways to measure VO₂ max. The McArdle step test, also known as the Queens College Step Test, involves stepping up and down on a 16.25-inch platform for three minutes. Women should do 22 steps per minute and men should aim for 24 steps per minute before checking their pulse.
In the Astrand treadmill test, a treadmill is set to a speed of 5 miles per hour at a 0% grade. Participants run for three minutes before increasing the incline by 2.5% every two minutes until they can’t run anymore. Total run time is used to estimate VO₂ max.
The Cooper 1.5-mile walk-run test, meanwhile, predicts cardiovascular fitness based on the time it takes to cover 1.5 miles on a track.
If you’d rather do the assessment under the guidance of a professional, cycle ergometry is considered the “gold standard” of VO₂ max testing.
Participants pedal a stationary bike in increasingly difficult circumstances while wearing a mask that measures their oxygen consumption.
