Zrinko Čustonja

How reliable are the equations for predicting maximal heart rate values in military personnel

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of equations for predicting maximal values of heart rate (HR) in military personnel. METHODS Five hundred and nine members of the Croatian Armed Forces (age 29.1 +/- 5.5 years; height 180.1 +/- 6.6 cm; body mass 83.4 +/- 11.3 kg; maximal oxygen uptake [VO2(max)] 49.7 +/- 6.9 mL O2/kg/min) were tested. The graded exercise test with gas exchange measurements was used to determine VO2(max) and maximum HR (HR(max)). The analysis of variance was used to determine the differences between the equations to calculate HR(max). RESULTS The analysis of variance yielded statistically significant differences between seven HR equations (p < 0.05). The values from Stevens Creeks (HR(max) = 205 - [age/2]) and Fox and Haskells (HR(max) = 220 - age) equations had the highest correlation with the HRmax obtained by the graded exercise test. CONCLUSION The authors recommend using the HR(max) values from the Stevens Creek and the Fox and Haskell equations for the purpose of training, testing, and daily exercise routine in military personnel.

Training and Education for Conducting Physical Education Classes in Croatia since 1875

This research analyzed the activities and events that enabled the establishment of an education and training system for physical education (PE) teachers in Croatia. The beginning of professional PE education in Croatia is related to its introduction as an obligatory subject in the elementary school curriculum of the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia in 1874. Most elementary school teachers did not have the knowledge needed to conduct PE classes. We recognized two parallel systems of training introduced in 1875: the first consisted of short training courses, and the second was the introduction of gymnastics as an obligatory course at teacher-training colleges. Twenty years after these obligatory PE classes were introduced to Croatian schools, Franjo BuČar organized and managed a two-year course for secondary school gymnastics teachers (1894–1896) after his return from a two-year educational programme at the Royal Central Gymnastic College in Stockholm (Sweden). This high school was the first for PE training not only in Croatia but also this region of Europe. In 1959, the first Croatian institution for PE education was established: the High School for Physical Culture in Zagreb.