VALIDITY OF COOPER’S 12-MIN RUN TEST FOR ESTIMATION OF MAXIMUM OXYGEN UPTAKE IN HOCKEY AND SOCCER PLAYERS OF KOLKATA, INDIA

Abstract

One-hundred male and eighty-nine female hockey players alongside eighty male and seventy-eight female soccer players from sports academies of Kolkata, India were recruited and divided into study group and confirmatory group to validate the applicability of Cooper 12 min run test (CRT) in predicting VO_2max for hockey and soccer players of Kolkata, India. Direct estimation of VO_2max was done through incremental bicycle exercise followed by expired gas analysis and the CRT method for indirect prediction of VO_2max. Predicted VO_2max (PVO_2max) was significantly different from VO_2max in study groups for both hockey and soccer players of both genders. Limits of agreement between PVO_2max and VO_2max were large with poor confidence intervals depicting inapplicability of the current CRT protocol in studied populations for both hockey and soccer players. Significant correlations of VO_2max with distance covered in run test led to modified population specific equations in both hockey and soccer players. These norms when applied in confirmatory groups for both hockey and soccer players showed insignificant difference between PVO_2max and VO_2max for both genders. Therefore, the modified equations of CRT are recommended for valid prediction of VO_2max in male and female hockey and soccer players of Kolkata, West Bengal, India.