Present views on the Canadian Home Fitness Test

The Canadian Home Fitness Test was conceived for the mass testing of fitness levels and as a motivational tool in exercise programs. A double step (such as in a domestic staircase) is climbed at an age- and sex-specific rhythm set by a long-playing record. Fitness is assessed from test duration and the radial or carotid pulse count immediately following exercise. To date, use of the procedure by almost 500,000 Canadians has given rise to no serious complications. The test inevitably has limited precision when taken at home, although most subjects can learn to count their pulse and to step in time with the music. The test has been well received and has achieved its prime objective of stimulating an interest in endurance activity. When supervised by a paramedical worker using an electrocardiograph to monitor the heart rate during exercise, the procedure yields as good an estimate of maximum oxygen intake as other submaximal tests. One current area of controversy is the interpretation of abnormal electrocardiograms. It is suggested that this problem could be resolved by the appropriate training and certification of interested family physicians and paramedical workers.