 Cardiovascular
Endurance
This is the ability to exercise continuously for extended periods
without tiring. It is an important measure of your heart wellbeing,
and one of the aspects of your fitness you should be concentrating
on.
Cooper Test
Cardiovascular endurance can tested for by using various maximal
tests which test your limit of endurance in some exercise. Examples
include the Cooper test or the bleep test. The 12 minute Cooper
test is an excellent method for determining a persons' cardiovascular
endurance levels. In carrying out this test, the subject will run
around a measured area for 12 minutes using maximum effort. Once
the time has finished the subject will stop running and their distance
will be measured and recorded.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Cooper Test
The Cooper test is an ideal indicator of cardiovascular endurance
for use by individuals as there is no major equipment required for
it and it is a simple test to perform. One important aspect of the
test is that requires the same conditions to be present for each
run to ensure valid comparisons between tests, and this could be
difficult to achieve. Tthe following table outlines the typical
range of results:
Excellent- 2800m, V.Good is about 2600m, above aver.- 2400, aver.-
2300, below aver.-2200, poor-2000, v.poor-1800
Cooper Test Rating Males (m)
| excellent |
> |
2800 |
| very good |
> |
2600 |
| above average |
> |
2400 |
| average |
> |
2300 |
| below average |
> |
2200 |
| poor |
> |
2000 |
| very poor |
> |
2000 |
Don't worry if you find you not even in the ball park. There are
many different factors which influence the test result, including
the age and current general fitness level of the person being tested.
What is important is that you can use this test, or your own variation
to measure your current capability, and compare it with your results
taken at a later date after fitness, diet and exercise training.
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