A qualitative scale of the 6-minute race test to evaluate maximum aerobic speed in physically active people from 18 to 25 years.
Álvaro Huerta Ojeda, Guillermo Barahona-Fuentes, Sergio Galdames Maliqueo
PMID 33935354WHAT IT FOUND
A new scale classifies aerobic fitness in healthy 18-25 year-olds based on how far they run in six minutes.
The test is reliable, with scores varying by only 2.69% between attempts. It helps set training speeds but requires two practice runs.
Key findings
01The 6-minute race test showed high reliability in a subgroup of 30 participants, with a coefficient of variation of 2.69% and an intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.93.
02A qualitative scale was created to classify fitness as poor, regular, good, very good, or excellent based on distance covered, with separate cut-offs for males and females.
03Participants in the reliability subgroup ran an average of 1,618.5 meters on the first test and 1,680.0 meters on the retest.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The sample consisted entirely of naval cadets, who are likely more physically active and disciplined than the general population, limiting the generalizability of the norms to sedentary or less fit individuals. There is a discrepancy in the number of female participants reported: the characterization table lists 49 females, while the results table lists 45 females, suggesting some data exclusion or reporting error. The study did not validate the 6MRT against a gold-standard laboratory VO2max test in this specific sample; it relied on previous literature for validity and focused on creating norms and checking reliability. The reliability analysis was based on a small subgroup of 30 participants, which may not fully represent the variability of the entire 299-person cohort.
Declared interests
None declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not apply these distance norms to the general population or clinical patients with lower baseline activity. The reference values were derived from naval cadets, a highly fit and motivated subgroup, so using these cut-offs for average adults may misclassify their fitness level.