WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14,1976, PAGE 9 YMCn Ahtests prove howun it we are If you find yourself huffing and puffing after climbing the stairs in your home, you can be reasonably assured you are out of physically. Diane Guilbault, who is in charge of the WA YMCA's Project Prefit, checks the time as Dean Fo 14, a student at Henry Street High School tries out t] fitness test. The test, using a stationary bicycle, me the amount of blood the heart beats per minute six-minute test to determine a persons physical fitness that The Whitby YMCA, tirough shape a Local Initiatives Prograni grant has set up a prograni which will measure just how physically fit you really are, and will be conducting this program through the town till the end of May. Called Project Prefit, it is being operated by Diane Guilbault, a - graduate in physical education from McMaster University, and Ken Kissock, a lab technologist. The means of testing physical fitness, selected by Miss Guilbault is a bicycle ergometer, which measures the heartbeat rate and shows how much blood the heart has to pump during one minute of exercise. The test consists of pedalling for about six minutes on the bicycle, and every minute the heart rate. is measured. After the fifth minute the heart beat stabilizes, having peaked. during the first four minutes says Miss Guilbault. To make the test, the operator has to wait till the lhitby heart rate of the subject has ,skett, stabilized for two consecu- ýhe Y's tive readings, and oxygen con- ,asures sumption is measured based a on the last minute of measuring the heart rate. The rate of fitness is deter- I mined by the amount of blood mined by the amount of blood pumped by the heart in one minute while pedalling the bicycle, savs Miss Guilbault. "The stronger the heart, the more blood it can purnp per minute, so the less it has to work". What is needed, she says is to work the heart rate to its maximum to strengthen it so it can pump more blood with fewer beats. The advantage of a strong heart rate is that a person will become less tired and will be in better physical condition, she says. Miss Guilbault says the bicycle ergoneter test is "the most valid, easiest to do and has the least chance of error". The machine is made in Sweden where it is used exten- sively, and there are charts made in that country which evaluaté the results. Since this method of physical testing has only been used in a few Canadian universities, there are no Canadian standards to go by, so Miss Guilbault has set Canadian standards, for high school age based on those accepted in Sweden, with a correction factor for Canadians. The resuit of the testing varies on size, sex and physical condition, and is internreted throuph charts and graphs. Miss Guilbault has found that some high school students come out at the top of the chart, but the average performance has been low. "Over-all, Canadians are unfit", she says. "Not too many Canadiais have to run much at all. Canadians are not fit because they don't do anything active except sports. The few individuals who do play sports will have the better average on this test". Miss Guilbault suggests that students need an aerobics program to build up the level of oxyget the body requires wen working. This can be done through indoor or out- door running, or cross country skiing, she says. Jogging is not enough to do the job, for certain types of exercise are -required to strengthen the heart. The Project Prefit pro- gram began in the second week of December at Henry were very interested in the program, and Principal Harry Thompson wanted all 900 students to take the test. However, because of time constraints, it was decided to test only the physical educa- tion students. Miss Guilbault has found that the lder students are more interested in the testing than the younger ones, and need to work more at keeping in physical condition. "It really depends on individual motivation", she said. Once the high school stu- dents are teste d,Miss Guilbault wants to take the bicycle equipment to local industries such as Dayton Tire, and offices- like the Consumers Gas building, so she can get a cross section of the fitness of people in industrial and executive jobs. School teachers at Henry have already been tested. Testing times and locations for adults will be set up soon and announced once they are ready. Miss Guilbault says she would like to keep copies of the testing data for herself, but it depends on legal rights whether the results will be published or sent to the governnient. The YMCAs across Canada have done fitness testing for the last two years, she says, and the Whitby Y has set up a number of fitness training programs which adults may want to join after being tested and finding they are not physically fit. Ladies' fitness classes are held Mondays at Anderson Collegiate and men's classes Thursdays at Henry Street High School from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. One of the problems encountered in testing is that it takes time to do it properly. Before mounting the bicycle a person must'have his blood pressure and pulse taken, height and weight checked, and a brief medical history taken. He, for instance, is asked if he smokes for this would affect the results. The actual testing time takes about 10 minutes if it works well, and only six to seven people can be tested per hour. In two weeks during school hours, 135 Henry Street High School students were tested. Miss 'Guilbault hopes that those who take the test will take an interest in the results, and if necessary, will work at improving their physical condition. CLEARANCE SALE Arty Silver Flute. noteci for remarkable case of playing. Conforms operfectly to f inger ti1ps. Others to choose from. fug Retail $289.50 SALE $239.95 SA LE ENDS JAN. 31/76 FENDER -MA RSH ALL-PEAVY OVA TION-Y AMAKI-SH URE LUDWIG-ROGERS-UNIVOX ~Ã"PEN: 9-6 daily 9-9 Wed. Thur. Fri. 102 pu. sI. W. Walnby 668.9201 RENTALS.REPAIRS-IESSONS SALES & SERVICE