Summary
In March 1967 a group of scientists visited the Kalahari desert in Botswana and determined the maximum oxygen capacities of a number of Bushmen subjects by making use of the bicycle ergometer and the step-test.
The mean maximum oxygen intake values obtained with the step-test were close to those determined from sub-maximum bicycle ergometer tests, 40.5 and 39.8 ml/(min · kg) respectively. Primitive people can be trained to give good submaximal results on a bicycle ergometer, but it was impossible to obtain reliable maximum work rates for these people on a bicycle ergometer.
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van Graan, C.H., Greyson, J.S. A comparison between the bicycle ergometer and the step-test for determining maximum oxygen intake on Kalahari Bushmen. Int. Z. Angew. Physiol. Einschl. Arbeitsphysiol. 28, 344–348 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00698073
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00698073