Sanders Miranda Kevin Neeld Kinesiology 100 17 April 2008 Rockport Walk Test The Rockport Walk Test is a method devised by researchers to find someone's VO2max so that expensive equipment doesn't need to be used. The test has the participants walk one-quarter mile as fast as they can handle. After this has been completed, the time it took to complete the quarter mile and the heart rate at the end of the walk are put into the VO2max equation. My score for VO2max was 51.2549425mi/kg/min. Compared to the other students, my score seemed like it was fairly average, especially when compared to other girls that were my height and weight. The equation for me ended up being VO2max=88.768-(0.0957*127lbs)-(0.3877*19yrs)-8.892*0)-(1.4537*3.75min)(0.1194*105beats), which, done when in the correct order of operations, resulted in being the above mentioned number. Some factors that would possibly affect the outcome of the Rockport test would be the speed that you walked the quarter mile, whether or not the person sped up or slowed down during the walk, and whether or not the person is walking uphill or downhill. All of the above could potentially contribute to inaccurate scores in the VO2max equation. Also, people that were physically challenged in terms of walking (either walking at all or walking poorly) would probably be poorly suited to this test because it would be inaccurate since the whole thing is based on walking.
Similarly, people that are athletes and extremely fit probably fare better then average in this test.