Article #15 of 50: I have made it a goal of mine to share at least 50 research articles with you to review in 2012. These articles will be shared with no opinion of mine, just purely the information provided in the research and where to go to read more about the topic. This weekly challenge will feature many different aspects of the field: strength, conditioning, nutrition, psychology, etc. If you would like to submit research articles to be included in this segment, please email me a PDF version of the peer reviewed journal article.

MILITARY MEDICINE, 176, 3:347, 2011.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of equations for predicting maximal values of heart rate (HR) in military personnel. Methods: Five hundred and nine members of the Croatian Armed Forces (age 29.1 ± 5.5 years; height 180.1 ± 6.6 cm; body mass 83.4 ± 11.3 kg; maximal oxygen uptake

[VO 2max ] 49.7 ± 6.9 mL O 2 /kg/min) were tested. The graded exercise test with gas exchange measurements was used to determine VO 2max and maximum HR (HR max ). The analysis of variance was used to determine the differences between the equations to calculate HR max . Results: The analysis of variance yielded statistically signifi cant differences between seven HR max equations ( p < 0.05). The values from Stevens Creek’s (HR max = 205 − [age/2]) and Fox and Haskell’s (HR max = 220 − age) equations had the highest correlation with the HR max obtained by the graded exercise test. Conclusion: The authors recommend using the HR max values from the Stevens Creek and the Fox and Haskell equations for the purpose of training, testing, and daily exercise routine in military personnel.

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