Spring Break
Students walk in and weigh in at the ATP Lab
Holly Henschen
Issue date: 2/10/05 Section: The Verge
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Students and faculty can test their fitness levels five days a week in Lantz's Human Performance Lab. The Assessment, Testing and Prescription program consists of a series of tests to give a broad perspective of personal health and fitness.
Some classes require students have certain tests, while some students simply test themselves to gain a better understanding of their health and gauge accomplishment, said Lorie Daniel. Daniel, a graduate student in exercise science, worked in the lab for two semesters as an undergraduate. This is her second semester working there in grad school.
Full of silver elliptical machines and blue and white stationary bicycles, the Human Performance Lab is the place to gain information on height, weight, blood pressure,and test for one rep max, bp, body composition, flexibility and VO2. About 100 people are tested in the lab each month, Daniel said.
Standard fitness measurements include height, weight and blood pressure tests.
Most people have a healthy blood pressure of 120/80. If blood pressure is high, "we tell them to keep an eye on it and have it checked next time they go to the doctor," Daniel said. High blood pressure can be a symptom of heart and other diseases.
The sit-and-reach tests flexibility in the legs by measuring the number of inches stretched in a V-sit. Multiplied by 2.54, the flexibility measurement tells what percentile the subject falls in.
"We give you a range and average of what other people your age do so you know how you stand among your peers," said Daniel.
The one rep max test has students perform successive leg and bench presses, building up to the heaviest possible weight that can be lifted in one repetition. This weight serves as a standard for different fitness goals.
"For general fitness, you want to do 60 percent of your one rep max," said Daniel.
Body composition is measured by two methods. The first is biolectical impedance.
It's gauged by placing the hands on a small, white machine that sends an electrical current from one arm to another. By measuring the time it takes for the electric pulse to be sent and returned, it gives a body fat percentage. At college age, healthy percentage of body fat is 18-25 percent for women and 12-18 percent for men, Daniel said.
The second body composition analysis is called the skin-fold test. It measures a pinch of skin on men and women in different ways.
For men, the test takes measurements at the tricep, subscapular (beneath the shoulder bone) and chest. For females, skin folds are taken at the tricep, abdomen and super reliac crest (hipbone).
"Women carry fat along the midsection and men in the back and on the chest," said Daniel.
The YMCA bike test measures VO2 or oxygen consumption.
"It's how aerobically fit you are," Daniel said. Higher oxygen consumption means the subject is more active.
The test subject rides a stationary bike for about 15 minutes at increasing difficulty while keeping the RPMs at 50. VO2 is charted by monitoring the heart rate and entering it, with height and weight and age, into a computer program.
"It's just to make sure your body is responding to exercise like it should," said Daniel.
The waist to hip ratio test is most popular for classes. It's the waist measurement divided by hip measurement, and should be less than one for a healthy person.
All ATP tests are compared to American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for fitness. It takes about an hour to complete the tests. Lab workers can even write an exercise prescription for test subjects and accompany them to the Student Rec Center.
The Human Performance Lab in 1101 Lantz is open about 40 hours a week.
"It's good to come in to see what changes you've made and what you've accomplished," said Daniel.
Editor's Note. This is the last of a series on health and fitness possibilities on campus. From keeping a new year's resolution to buffing up for Spring Break, Eastern and the Verge have got you covered.
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