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) out there?
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.
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
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.
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…
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.
I just had a VO2 Max test yesterday, which eventuated as part of a check up… My wife was worried about my low resting heart rate of 46 bpm.
I’m pretty happy with the results, and am sure my unicycling over the past 2 years has boosted my general health and fitness (physical & mental).
It took me 1 year to build the fitness to be able to ride my KH36 to work on consecutive days(15km 150mm elev gain).
I had been working from home Tue and Thur as recovery of the unicycling to work Mon Wed Fri.
Some stats:
Age 55
Test results:
Lung Vol 4.88 litres 107% of normal range
VO2 Max 3.66 l/min
VO2 Max 48ml/kg/min
Max power 390 watts
Max heart rate 173 bpm
See below some photos of 2 of 9 graphs from the lab computer screen. I can post more if anyone is interested.
Does anyone know how to translate these to training ranges for Zone 2 heart rate? And estimate FTP?