Harvard Step Test

The Harvard Step Test is a type of cardiac stress test for detecting and/or diagnosing cardiovascular disease. It also is a good measurement of fitness, and your ability to recover after a strenuous exercise. The more quickly your heart rate returns to resting, the better shape you are in.

It is a kind of cardiovascular endurance test. The test computes the capability to exercise continuously for extended intervals of time without tiring. The subject (person who is taking the test) steps up and down on a platform at a height of about 45 cm. at a rate of 30 steps per minute for 5 minutes or until exhaustion. Exhaustion is the point at which the subject cannot maintain the stepping rate for 15 seconds. The subject immediately sits down on completion of the test, and the heartbeats are counted for 1 to 1.5, 2 to 2.5, and 3 to 3.5 minutes.

The best VO2 max (result for harvard step) was recorded by Nick Cooke of Melbourne.