Customized Occupational-Specific Graded Exercise Test for Structural Firefighters

An Update

Abstract

Objective 

The aim of the study is to validate a customized V˙O_2max Graded Exercise Test (GXT) protocol specifically to accommodate firefighters with different cardiovascular fitness levels.

Methods 

Career male firefighters (N = 15) completed 3 customized GXTs on a treadmill: 1 in athletic clothes and 2 in their bunker gear to determine maximal oxygen uptake (V˙O_2max).

Results 

The on-duty task protocol was reliable, V˙O_2max values of 40.2 ± 4.6 mL·kg·min⁻¹ and 40.3 ± 5.3 mL·kg·min⁻¹ between trials yielded an interclass correlation of 0.911 with a typical error of 1.48 mL·kg·min⁻¹ and a coefficient of variation of 4.0%. The validity analysis indicated consistent maximal V˙O₂ values for the GXTs yielding mean interclass correlation of 0.94 with typical error of 1.16 mL·kg·min⁻¹ and a coefficient of variation of 2.9%.

Conclusions 

The customized GXT for structural firefighters has shown to be a reliable, valid, and applicable method of testing cardiovascular fitness in firefighters.

In Brief

Using this customized occupational-specific VO_2max GXT simulates both on-the-job ambulatory movement and, with the addition of bunker gear, the physiological demands associated with the occupational tasks of structural firefighters.