YMCA step test

The YMCA step test is a cardiovascular endurance test that classifies fitness using heart rate after exercise.^{1Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 232.} It is inexpensive and suitable for individual clients or large groups.^{1Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 232.} Recovery heart rate falls as cardiorespiratory fitness improves, and measuring it after stepping avoids the difficulty of taking it during exercise.^{2Ozemek et al., ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 12th ed., p. 221.}

Set a metronome to 96 beats per minute and use a 12-inch (30 cm) bench.^{1Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 232.} The client listens to the cadence, then steps “up, up, down, down” for 3 minutes, completing 24 steps per minute with either foot leading.^{1Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 232.} Immediately afterward, the client sits while the trainer counts heart rate for one full minute, starting within 5 seconds.^{3Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 233.} Compare that one-minute count with the published YMCA chart to score the test.^{4International Personal Trainer Academy, Certified Personal Trainer Textbook, p. 188.}

In practice

• Let the client practice stepping to the beat before starting.^{4International Personal Trainer Academy, Certified Personal Trainer Textbook, p. 188.}
• ACSM also requires the recovery heart rate count to start within 5 seconds of stopping exercise.^{2Ozemek et al., ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 12th ed., p. 221.}
• The test may be too demanding for a sedentary client over 60 with a functional capacity of about 5 METs, and the NSCA says it can be near-maximal for deconditioned clients.^{5Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 193.}
• The NSCA recommends it alongside the Astrand-Rhyming cycle test for clients who haven’t trained for several weeks or don’t regularly run or fast-walk.^{3Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 233.}

Does it estimate VO2 max?

The NSCA says the test classifies fitness but doesn’t estimate VO2 max.^{1Schoenfeld and Snarr (eds.), NSCA’s Essentials of Personal Training, 3rd ed., p. 232.} The IPTA calls it a submaximal VO2 max test, although its score is the recovery heart rate.^{4International Personal Trainer Academy, Certified Personal Trainer Textbook, p. 188.}