Objective: To examine the peak oxygen consumption [VO_2peak] and heart rate [HR_peak] performing 30 structured and progressive task-oriented exercises [SPTOE] for walking training in individuals post-stroke and compare the intensity among three steps of exercise.

Materials and Methods: Subjects with ambulatory first stroke who registered at the Faculty of Physical Therapy, Mahidol University were invited to participate. Each exercise was sequentially five minutes for performance and five minutes for resting in between. Subject performed 10 tasks per step a day and continued step I, II, and III of exercise. The VO_2peak and HR_peak were measured using the Oxycon Mobile portable and polar heart rate monitoring. Data were used to estimate the metabolic equivalent of tasks [METs] and percentage of heart rate reserve [%HRR]. The Friedman’s ANOVA and Wilcoxson signed-rank tests were used for statistical analysis.

Results: Of 134 patients registered at the Physical Therapy Clinic, 10 subjects participated (39 to 70 years of age and 30 to 570 days post-stroke). The authors findings demonstrated significant differences of VO_2peak, METs, HR, and %HRR among the three steps of SPTOE (p<0.001). Three steps were serially arranged according to the VO_2peak (5.5 to 8.4 ml·kg^-1·min^-1 for step I, 6.4 to 10.1 ml·kg^-1·min^-1 for step II and 7.7 to 12.1 ml·kg^-1·min^-1 for step III).

Conclusion: Regarding to the American Stroke Associations for exercise recommendations, low-to-moderate intensity of 30 task-oriented exercises can be used for walking training in individuals with post-stroke.

Keywords: Metabolic equivalent, Oxygen consumptions, Stroke, Task-oriented exercise, Walking