1.5-mile run test

The 1.5-mile run test is a timed field test used to estimate aerobic capacity.^{1Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 234.} The client covers 1.5 miles (2.4 km) as fast as possible, walking if necessary, and the finishing time goes into a regression equation to estimate VO2 max.^{1Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 234.} A fitter client should cover the distance in less time.^{2Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 233.}

Use a measured flat course or a quarter-mile track after a warm-up.^{3Haff and Triplett (eds.), Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th ed., p. 293.} The NSCA’s strength and conditioning text recommends a steady pace the client can barely maintain for the distance, with practice pacing efforts for those unused to longer runs.^{3Haff and Triplett (eds.), Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th ed., p. 293.} The equations differ: the NSCA’s personal training equation uses body weight, time and sex; ACSM’s uses time alone: 3.5 plus 483 divided by the time in minutes.^{1Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 234.},^{4Ozemek et al., ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 12th ed., p. 217.} The NSCA’s strength and conditioning norms for ages 20 to 29 put the 50th percentile at 11:58 for men and 14:04 for women.^{5Haff and Triplett (eds.), Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th ed., p. 321.}

In practice

• Reserve it for clients who have trained for several weeks or regularly run or fast-walk.^{2Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 233.} The NSCA suggests the Astrand-Rhyming cycle test or the YMCA step test for everyone else.^{2Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 233.}
• Treat it as a near-maximal test; deconditioned clients should complete at least four to six weeks of aerobic conditioning first.^{6Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 194.}
• Heart rate and blood pressure usually aren’t monitored during field tests, so the tests can’t detect a cardiac episode.^{2Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 233.}
• The test doesn’t appropriately measure aerobic ability in preadolescents, given their immature cardiovascular development and the pacing experience it requires.^{7Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 193.} The NSCA names the 1-mile walk as a safer option for older clients.^{7Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 193.}