After the three-minute stepping, how is the recovery heart rate calculated?

• A. Take pulse for 60 seconds and divide by 60
• B. Take pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by 4
• C. Take pulse for 30 seconds and multiply by 2
• D. Take pulse for 10 seconds and multiply by 6

Answer: (B)

After stopping the exercise, you want a quick, reliable estimate of how fast the heart rate returns toward resting levels. The standard method is to count the pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by 4 to convert to beats per minute. This provides a practical balance between accuracy and speed for field testing, making it easy to compare recovery across individuals or over time.

Counting for a full minute would give the exact bpm but takes longer in a testing setting. Counting for 30 seconds and doubling is another quick estimate, but the 15-second count is the commonly used protocol here. Counting for only 10 seconds and multiplying by 6 is more prone to error due to greater variability in such a short interval.