A Validation Study to Assess the Concurrent Validity of the Beep Test as a Proxy for Cardiopulmonary Endurance, Using VO2 Max as the Criterion Standard

Rowing, characterized as a “velocity-centric sport,” demands high physical and physiological performance. Cardiorespiratory endurance, an integral component of physical fitness, plays a vital role in rowing performance. Optimal physical fitness is essential for injury prevention and success in international competitions. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is the gold standard for assessing maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max), a crucial indicator of cardiopulmonary endurance. The considerable expense and specialized expertise required for CPET have prompted the utilization of field tests, such as the beep test. The current study aims to validate the accuracy of the beep test in measuring VO2 max uptake as the gold standard. The present cross-sectional observational study involved 16 participants from the national rowing pool of Sri Lanka (11 males, 5 females). The study adhered to the Bruce protocol for implementing CPET to measure VO2 max. Concurrently, the standardized beep test, encompassing 21 progressively challenging levels, was administered to assess the VO2 max of participants. The number of shuttles completed during the beep test underwent meticulous conversion into corresponding VO2 max values, facilitating a comparative analysis with the VO2 max values derived from CPET. Among the key findings, the CPET among Sri Lankan rowers, male rowers exhibited statistically significant disparities across several vital physiological parameters, including VO2 max, VO2 max at anaerobic threshold (VO2 max AT), maximum heart rate (HR max), and minute ventilation (VE), against their female counterparts. A statistically significant and positive correlation was discerned among female rowers between the VO2 max values obtained through the gold standard CPET and those derived from the beep test. However, a consistent trend emerged, revealing that the beep test consistently overestimated VO2 max in both male and female rowers compared to the gold standard CPET method. The study underscores the importance of considering population-specific factors and advocates for developing refined equations to enhance the accuracy of field tests in predicting cardiopulmonary endurance.