Recumbent Stepper Submaximal Exercise Test to Predict Peak Oxygen Uptake

BILLINGER, S. A., E. VAN SWEARINGEN, M. MCCLAIN, A. A. LENTZ, and M. B. GOOD. Recumbent Stepper Submaximal Exercise Test to Predict Peak Oxygen Uptake. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 44, No. 8, pp. 1539-1544, 2012. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of the YMCA submaximal exercise test protocol using a total body recumbent stepper to predict VO2peak. Methods: Of 112 individuals initially screened, 110 individuals with low to moderate cardiovascular disease risk met the inclusion criteria for participation in the study. The maximal exercise test used a motorized treadmill and the Bruce or modified Bruce protocol. Oxygen uptake was measured and analyzed through collection of expired gases using a metabolic measurement system. The submaximal exercise test was performed at least 24 h later but no more than 5 d after maximal exercise testing. Participants were instructed to keep a pace of 100 steps per minute and the resistance increase every 3 min according to the protocol until fatigue, or until 85% of HR max was achieved. A cross-validation study was also performed to determine the accuracy of the prediction equation. Results: Using a stepwise regression, we report that VO2peak can be predicted using a five-element model including age, weight, sex, watts(end_submax), and HRend_submax (F-5,F-69 = 70.31, P < 0.001). We report a strong correlation between the predicted VO2peak to the actual VO2peak. Conclusions: These data suggest the YMCA submaximal exercise test can be used with the total body recumbent stepper to predict VO2peak in healthy adults.