Physical fitness in lignite miners

The purpose of this study was to determine physical fitness level of lignite miners in the Czech Republic. The authors have examined a representative group of 152 active lignite miners by bicycle spiroergometry. The duration of employment in coal mines ranged between 5 and 32 years. The average age was 43.1 +/- 4.7 years. The miners had an average peak oxygen consumption 2.9 +/- 0.5 l.min-1, corresponding to 99.7 +/- 20.4% of the predicted maximal oxygen consumption. Physical fitness of lignite miners was comparable with reference values for healthy men in Czech population. The level of physical fitness did not correlate with the length of exposure to underground work.