TY - JOUR

T1 - Validation and practical applications of performance in a 6-min rowing test in the Danish Armed Forces

AU - Funch, Oliver

AU - Hasselstrøm, Henriette A

AU - Gunnarsson, Thomas P

N1 - CURIS 2021 NEXS 055

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Personnel of the Danish Armed Forces must complete a yearly basic physical fitness test consisting of a Cooper's 12-min run test (CRT) and four strength-related bodyweight exercises. However, there is no validated alternative to the CRT allowing injured or sailing personnel to conduct the yearly basic physical fitness test. Therefore, the aim of this study was to validate performance in a 6-min rowing ergometer test (6MRT) against CRT performance. Thirty-one individuals (M/F: 20/11, age: 34 ± 12 years) employed at the Danish Armed Forces completed testing on two independent days; (I) the CRT on an outdoor track and (II) a 6MRT with pulmonary measurements of breath-by-breath oxygen uptake. In addition, 5 participants (M/F: 4/1, age: 40 ± 10 years) completed re-testing of the 6MRT. No difference was observed between VO2max estimated from the CRT and measured during the 6MRT. Absolute VO2max correlated strongly (r = 0.95; p < 0.001) to performance in the 6MRT, and moderately (r = 0.80; p < 0.001) to performance in the CRT. Bodyweight (BW) and fat free mass (FFM) correlated stronger to performance in the 6MRT compared to the CRT. 6MRT re-testing yielded similar performance results. The 6MRT is a valid and reliable alternative to the CRT, allowing injured or sailing personnel of the Danish Armed Forces to complete the basic physical fitness test as required, albeit 6MRT performance demands must be made relative to bodyweight.

AB - Personnel of the Danish Armed Forces must complete a yearly basic physical fitness test consisting of a Cooper's 12-min run test (CRT) and four strength-related bodyweight exercises. However, there is no validated alternative to the CRT allowing injured or sailing personnel to conduct the yearly basic physical fitness test. Therefore, the aim of this study was to validate performance in a 6-min rowing ergometer test (6MRT) against CRT performance. Thirty-one individuals (M/F: 20/11, age: 34 ± 12 years) employed at the Danish Armed Forces completed testing on two independent days; (I) the CRT on an outdoor track and (II) a 6MRT with pulmonary measurements of breath-by-breath oxygen uptake. In addition, 5 participants (M/F: 4/1, age: 40 ± 10 years) completed re-testing of the 6MRT. No difference was observed between VO2max estimated from the CRT and measured during the 6MRT. Absolute VO2max correlated strongly (r = 0.95; p < 0.001) to performance in the 6MRT, and moderately (r = 0.80; p < 0.001) to performance in the CRT. Bodyweight (BW) and fat free mass (FFM) correlated stronger to performance in the 6MRT compared to the CRT. 6MRT re-testing yielded similar performance results. The 6MRT is a valid and reliable alternative to the CRT, allowing injured or sailing personnel of the Danish Armed Forces to complete the basic physical fitness test as required, albeit 6MRT performance demands must be made relative to bodyweight.

KW - Faculty of Science

KW - Basic physical fitness test

KW - 6-min rowing test

KW - Cooper's test

KW - Military personnel

KW - Re-testing

KW - Fitness test

KW - Physical performance

U2 - 10.3390/ijerph18041395

DO - 10.3390/ijerph18041395

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33546338

VL - 18

JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

SN - 1661-7827

IS - 4

M1 - 1395

ER -