True Manufacturing Company Z5.4 owner manual Your Fitness Level, CHAPTER FIVE GERKIN Fitness Test

YOUR FITNESS LEVEL

CHAPTER FIVE: GERKIN FITNESS TEST

One way to measure your overall fitness is to take a Gerkin fitness test. Named after the Arizona researcher who designed this test, this submaximal treadmill test (submaximal means you work below maximum effort) is used to predict VO2 max: the volume of oxygen you can consume while exercising at your maximum capacity. This particular test has gained great popularity in the firefighter and law enforcement community. Like most fitness tests, it is classified as a graded exercise test (GXT). The test is stopped at the point your heart rate reaches 85% of your age-predicted maximum.

Select the Gerkin test under the Advanced Options key. Enter your age, which is used to calculate your test termination point.

USING THE GERKIN TEST

The Gerkin protocol starts at 4.5 miles per hour at a 0% incline. It then increases speed or incline every 60 seconds. For example, at the seven-minute mark, the speed increases to 6 miles per hour while the incline raises to 8%.

When your heart rate reaches 85% of your age-predicted maximum, the test waits for your heart rate to exceed the target for 15 seconds, then terminates the test.

The version of the Gerkin Protocol that TRUE Fitness uses in its exercise machines is the new equation of

205.8– 0.685*age. To better understand why we selected this method over the outdated “220 – age” maximal heart rate equation, you can review the scientific paper in Journal of Exercise Physiology, a PDF document located at http://asep.org/Documents/ Robergs2.pdf

Z5.4 & Z5 TREADMILL OWNER’S GUIDE 35