Sammanfattning
Aims: To assess the agreement between the Ross treadmill method and the Åstrand ergometer cycle
method, and the repeatability of each method.
Methodology: Twenty healthy people aged 22.5 ± 2.2 years were tested on two different days, each
day with both methods with a pause of 30 min between the tests. The tests were executed in the
reverse order the following test day.
Major findings: There was no statistical difference between the methods. The correlation (R) between
the methods was 0.85. The mean difference (95% CI) of the methods was 0.050 (0.046–0.054) L/min
and the limit of the agreement (mean difference ±2SD) was 0.81 L/min. No significant differences in
test-retest were shown for either test. The mean difference for Åstrand tests was 0.12 L/min and
0.08 L/min for the Ross tests. The coefficient of repeatability was 0.88 L/min (23%) for the Åstrand test,
and 0.78 L/min (20%) for the Ross test.
Conclusion: The Ross treadmill test could be used as an alternative to the Åstrand cycle ergometer
test, showing good agreement and repeatability. The large variation should be considered when estimating
aerobic capacity on an individual level, although either method could be used for group studies
where maximal measurements are not possible.