OwnIndex And
The Polar Fitness Test
Fitness testing has traditionally been performed
either in the laboratory or in field conditions. It requires both exercising to
exhaustion and testing personnel. Polar has now developed
Polar Fitness Test - a breakthrough in the world of
fitness testing. It is an easy and safe test to measure cardiovascular/aerobic
fitness at rest all by yourself.
The Polar Fitness Test uses your gender, age,
height, and body weight plus your level of physical activity, your heart rate
and your heart rate variability measured at rest. Lasting no more than 5
minutes, the Polar Fitness Test is as easy as laying down and pressing a
button, though you should be free from any distractions during the test.
Once completed, the Polar Fitness Test shows the
resulting fitness level as your OwnIndexs. The result is comparable
to VO2max, the same indicator of aerobic fitness used by
professional trainers and athletes. Therefore the range for
OwnIndexs is the same as that for VO2max. Typical values
for unfit sedentary individuals are around 25. Top athletes usually score
OwnIndexs values above 70 (men) and 60 (women). Values as high as 95
can be measured for Olympic level athletes. OwnIndexs is highest in
sports that involve large muscle groups such as cross-country skiing and
cycling.
OwnIndexS is most meaningful when following
changes in your fitness over a long period of time. You can also find out how
fit you are for your gender and age by comparing your result to the global
references listed in the Polar S-series manuals.
With Polar Fitness Test you can test your aerobic
fitness by yourself, fully automatically and without any exertion. No other
equipment other than a heart rate monitor is needed. Polar Fitness Test is as
accurate in predicting the VO2max as any sub-maximal fitness test.
|
