Validity of Running Tests of 4, 8, and 12 Minutes Duration in Estimating Aerobic Power for College Women of Different Fitness Levels.

Abstract

One of the objectives of any physical education program is the development and measurement of cardiorespiratory fitness. The most accepted measure of aerobic power is maximum oxygen consumption which must be measured in a laboratory setting and therefore, does not lend itself to mass testing. Of the field tests that have been developed, distance running tests are most often recommended. This experiment investigated the validity of distance run tests in estimating aerobic power for college women of different fitness levels. More specifically, distance covered in 4, 8, and 12 minutes of running were correlated with maximal oxygen consumption. Body composition was also determined to evaluate the influences of body fat on running performance. Forty-eight females served as the subjects (N = 17 beginning joggers, N = 19 intermediate joggers, and N = 12 track runners). Maximal oxygen consumption was measured by standard open circuit spirometry as the subjects ran on a treadmill. The three distance runs took place on an indoor 220 yd track and were measured to the nearest meter. Body composition was assessed by underwater weighing. Pearson product moment correlations were computed between max. VO(,2), and each of the three distance runs and between max VO(,2) and body(' ). composition. Simple regression equations were developed with max VO(,2)(' ). as the dependent variable and the distance runs as the independent. variable. ANOVA was used to determine if the three groups differed in. max VO(,2) scores, distance run scores, and body composition values.(' ). The average percent fat decreased significantly (p < .01) from beginning to advanced runners (24.14%, 20.83%, and 12.33% respectively). The three. groups were all significantly different (p < .01) in max VO(,2) values (47.29,(' ). 52.93, and 61.94, for beginning, intermediate and advanced groups, respectively). As expected, the different groups covered significantly different distances (p < .01) for the three runs. For the beginning joggers significant validity coefficients (p < .05) were. obtained among max VO(,2) and the 4, 8, and 12-min runs (r = .54, r = .53,(' ). and r = .77, respectively). The intermediate runners' max VO(,2) values(' ). were significantly correlated (p < .01) with the 4, 8, and 12-min runs. (r = .67, r = .65, and r = .68, respectively); and for the track runners. the 4-min, 8-min, and 12-min runs correlated significantly (p < .05) with(, ). max VO(,2), (r = .68, r = .87, and r =