ABSTRACT
Several different physical fitness assessments may involve the measurement of a basic vital sign: heart rate (HR). Sometimes the measurement is performed at rest, which can help determine the pre-exercise health status of the individual or the return to resting conditions after exercise. During exercise, monitoring HR can be an effective method to estimate the intensity of exercise, especially during aerobic exercise. Heart rate is directly related to exercise intensity, and this relationship is most predictable between 50% and 90% of the maximum HR. 1 In addition, for exercise at the same absolute work rate, the HR of an aerobically trained individual will be lower than that of an untrained or unfit person. Thus, for someone who is less physically fit, the HR will generally be higher after completing a fitness test. For example, the Queen's College Step Test (see Lab 6) is based on the assumption that less fit individuals will have a higher HR after the three-minute step test than subjects who are more physically fit. Therefore, measuring HR before, during, and after exercise is an important aspect of physical fitness testing.
