Exercise tests carried out on treadmills may be performed by running or gait; however, there is no agreement concerning the comparison of the VO2max results obtained in these tests. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the VO2max prediction between both a running and a gait maximum scaled protocol, elaborated to cause identical metabolic demands in each stage. Twenty three subjects volunteered for this study - (15 men and eight women) aged 27.7 ± 7.6 years, 73.0 ± 14.9 kg of body mass, 170.0 ± 1.0 cm of height, 19.3 ± 8.6 % of body fat, 24.7 ± 3.3 kg×m-2 of body mass index and 44.1 ± 6.0 mL×kg-1×min-1 of maximum aerobic power. A paired t-test did not show significant differences (p = 0.364; RI 95 % = - 2.2 to 0.85) between the gait and the running protocols; however, the mean value for VO2max at running was 2.4 % higher (42.4 vs. 43.4 mL×kg-1×min-1). Based on these results, we conclude that the administration of different protocols on treadmill (gait or running) did not significantly influence the VO2max estimation, and hence did not interfere in the subsequent decision for the prescription of the cardiorespiratory training.
exercise test; treadmill test; running; gait
