PRACTICAL Name:

19 Pulse and breathing rates

You need:
■ stop-clock or watch with a ‘second’ hand ■ bench or step about 30 cm high

A standardised fitness test

(Check with your teacher that you should do these exercises before
beginning this activity.)
1 Form groups of three. You will take it in turns to do a
standardised exercise. (The two members of the group who are
not exercising keep time and measure breathing and pulse rates.)
2 Before you start, measure and record your resting pulse rate and
your resting breathing rate using the methods below:

Pulse rate: Place your fingers as shown in the diagram.

Move them until you can feel a pulse. Count the pulses
in 30 seconds, then multiply by two to get the pulse rate
per minute.
Breathing rate: Count the number of breaths taken in
30 seconds and multiply by two.

3 One member performs the following exercise while another calls

out the time at one minute intervals.
4 Face the bench. Step onto it with one foot, then step up with
the other foot. Step down with the first foot, then down with the
second foot. Practise this so that your can step steadily at about
25 steps per minute.
5 When you and the timer are ready, start stepping and keep going
at a steady speed for three minutes.
HEALTH CHECK
6 Immediately afterwards, one person measures the pulse rate of the
‘exerciser’. At the same time, the other team member measures the Check with your teacher that
exerciser’s breathing rate. Keep a record of your results. you are able to participate in
7 Continue monitoring the pulse rate and breathing rate at one this activity.
minute intervals until they return to normal.
8 Swap places and repeat steps 2 to 6 until you have all done the test.

Questions
a What are the fastest, slowest, and average resting pulse rates for the class?
b What are the fastest, slowest, and average resting breathing rates for the class?
c What are the fastest, slowest, and average pulse rates after exercise for the class?
d What are the fastest, slowest, and average breathing rates after exercise for the class?
e Is the fittest person the one with the lowest or the highest pulse rates?
f How does fitness affect the time taken for the pulse to return to normal?

© OUP: this may be reproduced for class use solely for the purchaser’s institute