Abstract: A universal fitness testing system (10) that allows individuals to determine their aerobic fitness in 30-seconds. The system (10) functions with two inputs: the first is a set of pulse-rate digital signals corresponding to the pulsations of the individual's cardiovascular system. These signals are derived by performing a 30-second test that ultimately produces a uniform work load (14). The second input is a set of user-specific digital signals corresponding to the individual's age, body weight and sex that are manually inputted and processed by an electronics keyboard (36). The two signals are processed and conditioned by an electronics unit (18) before being applied to a microcomputer (12). The microcomputer with its operational program processes the signals to derive the individual's equilibrium heart rate (12b) that is then corrected by sex and age standards (12c) and Vo.sub.2 max standards (12d), (12e) to produce fitness scores and categories. The corrected equilibrium heart rate also produces % Vo.sub.