International Standards for the 12-Minute Cooper Teston a Concept 2 Rowing Ergometer: Validity and Reliabilityof the Test
(Robert Podstawski, Krzysztof Borysławski, Ferenc Ihász, Piotr Gronek)

The aim of this study was to develop international standards for evaluating strength endurance abilities with the use of the 12-min Cooper Test on a rowing ergometer (12-MCTRE). The results from 1855 men (1421 from Poland and 434 from Hungary) and 2879 women (2502 from Poland and 412 from Hungary) aged 19–25 (mean age of 19.98 ± 1.04 and 20.36 ± 0.94, respectively) were collated between 2004 and 2020. The results were expressed on a uniform T-score scale for the 12-MCTRE. The validity of the 12-MCTRE was verified on a group of 28 male and 32 female participants based on the registered variables (power [W], energy expenditure [Kcal], training intensity distribution, and sexual dimorphism). On average, men covered a distance of 2535.6 m and women covered a distance of 1581.0 m during the 12-MCTRE. The results of the control group indicate that men covered a significantly (p < 0.001) longer distance (2691.5 m) than women (2116.1 m) in the 12-MCTRE, and the values of the remaining variables (power, energy expenditure, pace/500 m, and HRmax) were also significantly better in male participants. During the 12-MCTRE, both women and men remained in the very high effort zone for the longest period of time (516.9 s and 363.1 s, respectively). Women spent significantly more time (p < 0.001) in the high effort zone than men, but significantly less time in the maximal effort zone and the very high effort zone. The 12-MCTRE is an effective tool for evaluating strength endurance abilities in young adults.