Modification of Cooper’s 12-min Run Test for Valid Prediction of Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Male and Female Boxers of India

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the authenticity for application of Cooper’s 12 min run test (CRT) to predict VO<sub>2max</sub> in male and female boxers in India.Methods: Participants of both sexes (male=70, female=60) were recruited from different boxing clubs in India, and randomly allocated to the study group (male = 40, female = 30) and cross-validation group (male = 30, female = 30). VO<sub>2max</sub> was directly estimated by bicycle exercise with progressive workload followed by expired gas analysis in a Scholander micro-gas analyzer. CRT method was used for indirect prediction of VO<sub>2max</sub>.Results: Predicted VO<sub>2max</sub> (PVO<sub>2max</sub>) and directly measured VO<sub>2max</sub> were found to be significantly (p<0.001) different in the study groups of both sexes, with wide range of limit of agreement between PVO<sub>2max</sub> and VO<sub>2max</sub>. This indicates the inapplicability of existing CRT protocol in the male and female boxers. Simple linear regression was computed owing to existence of significant positive correlation (r = 0.84 and 0.89 in males and females, respectively; p<0.001) between VO<sub>2max</sub> and distance covered in the run test. These newly derived norms depicted insignificant variation between PVO<sub>2max</sub> and VO<sub>2max</sub> in the confirmatory group of both sexes.Conclusions: Modified equations computed in this study for the prediction of cardiorespiratory fitness in terms of VO<sub>2max</sub> by CRT were recommended in male and female Indian boxers.