VO2 max

[unisteez]

I went and got tested my VO2 max tested today, and i was pretty happy with the results. I have a VO2 max of 50, which is quite good(actually really good, but i dont want to be boastful :p). All my hard work and training is actually doing something! my VO2 one year ago was 39. So i am pretty dang happy with the improvment.

Any other endurance athletes out there who know their VO2 max?
or just in general does anyone here know what VO2 max is?

also, one last thing any other tri enthusiasts(or cyclists, swimmers, or runners):p out there?

[burjzyntski]

I was wondering what it was at the beginning of the post, but by the end I had sort of figured out that VO2 was Volume of Oxygen...right?

Lung capacity.
I don't know mine...should be somewhere around 6L though.

EDIT: I was sort of close, but not quite;
VO2 max is defined as the highest rate at which oxygen can be taken up and utilized during exercise by a person. (The derivation is V̇ - volume per time, O2 - oxygen, max - maximum). It is also called maximal oxygen consumption or maximal oxygen uptake.
...
VO2max is genetically predetermined for the most part, though it may be improved by several percentage points with training.

So your body can process 50 mL/kg/min?

[john_childs]

I was wondering what it was at the beginning of the post, but by the end I had sort of figured out that VO2 was Volume of Oxygen...right?

Lung capacity.
I don't know mine.
VO2 max (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VO2_max) from Wikipedia

It's a measure of how much oxygen you can utilize during exercise. It's not exactly lung capacity.

I have never been serious enough about exercise to bother ever getting measured. I don't believe I would have measured in the exceptional category even when I was in shape. Would be nice to have a high VO2 max for muni. Would make the climbs easier and faster.

[unisteez]

So your body can process 50 mL/kg/min?

correct, having a higher VO2 max means you can excercise more intensley for a longer period of time(essentially it is just a way to accuratley measure ones endurance level)

[Denali]

correct, having a higher VO2 max means you can excercise more intensley for a longer period of time(essentially it is just a way to accuratley measure ones endurance level)
Having a high Vo2 max. gives you an edge but there have been many cases with runners having lower Vo2 max. beating the ones that are higher. Of course, there are lots of factors external factors involved like what they ate for breakfast but physiologically, measuring one's lactate threshold is a better way to measure one's endurance. I can have a high vo2 max. but not be that fit but to have low lactate levels at high exercise intensities I need to be fit. I did a lactate threshold test on this bike once that could have been adjusted to simulate a unicycle but the saddle hurt :)

[jimmy]

I had my VO2 max tested back in June this year. This was for a medical study looking at the effect on performance from high GI and low GI food. Subsequently I can provide a lot more information than just VO2 Max

Heart Rate max: 169 b/min
VO2/HR: 26.8 ml

VO2 (STPD): 4.542 L
VO2/kg: 68 ml/min/kg

I also have a lactatic threshold of about 70%.

btw: before anyone questions it, yes that HRMax figure is accurate, whenever I have been wearing a HRM (Heart Rate Monitor), the highest I have seen my HR is about 170bmp, I know that it is very low, I don't know why.

The two figures I have listed for VO2Max are my absolute (4.5L) and relative (68ml/min/kg), your absolute amount is good for power style sports, while the relative is good for endurance sports.

As a comparison, Professional endurance atheletes often have a relative score of somewhere in the 80's, often pushing into the 90's.

Here is a good site (http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/vo2max.htm) with VO2Max information.

James

[threeinchtire]

where did you go to get tested?

i think it would be neat to get tested (I bike, run, and nordic ski) but it is expensive, and i'm not that serious about it. maybe if i start training again...

[unisteez]

that HRMax figure is accurate, whenever I have been wearing a HRM (Heart Rate Monitor), the highest I have seen my HR is about 170bmp, I know that it is very low

thats insanely low!
especially for a 27 year old whos max hr should be like 190ish

all your other numbers are pretty normal though.

what is your endurance like?

[jimmy]

thats insanely low!
especially for a 27 year old whos max hr should be like 190ish

all your other numbers are pretty normal though.

what is your endurance like?

My endurance is pretty good, I do a lot of cycling, which does explain a slightly lower MHR, but 170 is still very low.

As part of the study, I was required to do 4 90 min rides at 70% of VO2Max, which was initially about 247 Watts, but that got downgraded to 238 Watts because I was suffering too much.

When I race up hills with other cyclists, I often sit on about 160bpm or so for about 10 mins.

One other figure I got from the study is my VO2/HR, which (at max) is 26.8 ml. I suspect that this is higher compared to other people. I strongly suspect that I can simply put out higher output at a lower HR compared to others, simply because my HRMax is so low.

I would be curious to hear from anyone with medical experience about HRMax, particularly relating to seeing someone having a HRMax that is way below what most estimates would put it at.

James