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STRATUS SYSTEMS CONSOLE
Fit Test
The Fit Test is a program developed by the YMCA to estimate your maximum
aerobic capacity based on your heart rate response to submaximal exercise. Start
the Fit Test by pressing [FIT TEST], [ENTER]. You will be prompted to enter your
weight, age, and gender after a short message is scrolled across the text bar.
The Fit Test is a series of three minute stages of increasing intensity.
Maintain a steady pedal rate of 50 - 70 RPM throughout the entire test. The first
stage is a warm-up at 50 watts. At the end of the three minute (180 seconds)
warm-up, you will need to enter your heart rate. If you are wearing a heart rate
transmitter, your heart rate is entered automatically.
NOTE: Keep pedaling until the end of the Fit Test. The results will be
invalid if you do not maintain a steady pedal rate for the entire test.
The console will prompt you to find your pulse; use the artery below
your thumb in your wrist or the artery in the side of your neck. Start counting the
beats when the console prompts you--the first beat you feel is zero and then one
and so on. Enter the number of beats you counted in ten seconds.
The intensity of the remaining stages is based on your heart rate
response to the warm-up. The intensity of each successive stage will increase
until you have entered two consecutive heart rates between 19 and 25 counts
(115 - 150 beats per minute). The test typically lasts from nine to 15 minutes.
At the end of the Fit Test, your results scroll across the text bar. Prior to
a three minute cool-down, your estimated maximum aerobic capacity is shown in
METs. Next, your results are compared to normative values for others of your age
and gender (see Table 2). Your results are stored in the console until the next
person starts an exercise program. Press [WORKOUT STATS] to review your
results.