In Simple Terms what is....

[Anonymous]

V02 max....

Now i get about heamoglobin levels things.. anything over 50 is dodgy, summat to do with the amount of red blood cells blah blah blah.. we will come back to that...

But can someone sum up, in SIMPLE terms what v02 max is... (and yes i could probably google but im sure im not the only one who isnt fully au fait with all the doping technicalities

 

[Anonymous]

V02 max....

Now i get about heamoglobin levels things.. anything over 50 is dodgy, summat to do with the amount of red blood cells blah blah blah.. we will come back to that...

But can someone sum up, in SIMPLE terms what v02 max is... (and yes i could probably google but im sure im not the only one who isnt fully au fait with all the doping technicalities

Straight out of Wiki;

VO2 max (also maximal oxygen consumption, maximal oxygen uptake or aerobic capacity) is the maximum capacity of an individual's body to transport and utilize oxygen during incremental exercise, which reflects the physical fitness of the individual. The name is derived from V - volume per time, O2 - oxygen, max - maximum.

VO2 max is expressed either as an absolute rate in litres of oxygen per minute (l/min) or as a relative rate in millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute (ml/kg/min), the latter expression is often used to compare the performance of endurance sports athletes. A less size-biased measure is to divide by rather than mass.

Accurately measuring VO2 max involves a physical effort sufficient in duration and intensity to fully tax the aerobic energy system. In general clinical and athletic testing, this usually involves a graded exercise test (either on a treadmill or on a cycle ergometer) in which exercise intensity is progressively increased while measuring ventilation and oxygen and carbon dioxide concentration of the inhaled and exhaled air. VO2 max is reached when oxygen consumption remains at steady state despite an increase in workload.

OK. If you have never had a VO2 max test done you should. It is one of those workouts you will never forget. For me it was accompanied with discovering my max HR. It hurt. A lot.

 

[Anonymous]

thanks for that, not as simple as id hoped, but a start, actually made little or no sense to me.. my brain isnt working that well at the moment.. iq of 142 but struggle with written words at the moment, too many pickles as a child..

ok, so how is it measured, what is good, what is bad, what is suspicious, etc etc...

(once weve got v02 max out the way im gonna move onto the next one.. )

 

[Anonymous]

thanks for that, not as simple as id hoped, but a start, actually made little or no sense to me.. my brain isnt working that well at the moment.. iq of 142 but struggle with written words at the moment, too many pickles as a child..

ok, so how is it measured, what is good, what is bad, what is suspicious, etc etc...

(once weve got v02 max out the way im gonna move onto the next one.. )

http://vo2medical.com/elite.html

Most will remember Steve Prefontaine as one of the greatest long-distance runners in American History. But did you know that one of the most popular Track & Field athletes of all time also boasts one of the highest recorded VO2 max results? At 84.4 he scores well above the average 44 to 51 for males aged 20 to 29 (his age range at time of testing).


Spanish cyclist Miguel Indurain - who is one of few cyclists to have won the Tour de France at least five times - has clocked in at 88. He also had a recorded RHR of 28 beats per minute, making him without a doubt destined to be one of the greatest world-renowned cyclists. An average RHR for a man is around 60 to 80 bpm. And Greg LeMond (the first American to win the Tour de France) had a VO2 max of 92.5 at his peak. In comparison, the ever-popular Lance Armstrong is said to have a VO2 max of 85. Ingrid Kristiansen, a marathon world record holder had a VO2 max of 71.2. The average VO2 max for women aged 20 to 29 is 35 to 43.

 

[Anonymous]

oh blimey.. so 44 to 51 ml of oxygen per kilo per minute is what the average person breathes in.. blimey..

ok.. i get it.. ish, as i at least now i know what is good and what is bad and how its worked out.. being a brit, of course i have no idea what a kilo is, but thats what google is for..

 

[Anonymous]

oh blimey.. so 44 to 51 ml of oxygen per kilo per minute is what the average person breathes in.. blimey..

ok.. i get it.. ish, as i at least now i know what is good and what is bad and how its worked out.. being a brit, of course i have no idea what a kilo is, but thats what google is for..

Still pounds and inches in the good 'ol US of A too.

 

[El Imbatido]

being a brit, of course i have no idea what a kilo is, but thats what google is for..

IIRC it is about 2.2pounds per kilo....hopefully that helps

 

[Anonymous]

so brad is 70 kilo, 154lb, so um.. about 11 stone.. lol...

so a 60 vo2, at 11 stone, is 4200 milliletres of oxygen per minute, or 4 litres.. no.. ive got that wrong.. have i.. that doesnt sound very much

 

[Kennf1]

oh blimey.. so 44 to 51 ml of oxygen per kilo per minute is what the average person breathes in.. blimey..

ok.. i get it.. ish, as i at least now i know what is good and what is bad and how its worked out.. being a brit, of course i have no idea what a kilo is, but thats what google is for..

Keep in mind those "average" numbers are for untrained individuals. A month or two of hard training can make a significant difference for such people.

As for how it is tested, you usually pedal on an ergometer with your nose pinched shut and a plastic hose attached to your mouth. You then do a ramp test up to exhaustion. Very unpleasant.

 

[usedtobefast]

Keep in mind those "average" numbers are for untrained individuals. A month or two of hard training can make a significant difference for such people.

As for how it is tested, you usually pedal on an ergometer with your nose pinched shut and a plastic hose attached to your mouth. You then do a ramp test up to exhaustion. Very unpleasant.

but in a good way! lol.

 

[dienekes88]

V02 max....

Now i get about heamoglobin levels things.. anything over 50 is dodgy, summat to do with the amount of red blood cells blah blah blah.. we will come back to that...

But can someone sum up, in SIMPLE terms what v02 max is... (and yes i could probably google but im sure im not the only one who isnt fully au fait with all the doping technicalities

Hematocrit is not the same as hemoglobin. Hematocrit > 50% "is dodgy."

That usually equates to a hemoglobin >16.5 g/dL.

Simplest terms: it's your body's ability to deliver oxygen to the muscles. If you have a higher vo2max, that means you can deliver more oxygen. More oxygen means more work produced aerobically (a good thing for endurance athletes).

 

[David Suro]

The formula for establishing VO2 max has the body weight of the athlete on the bottom of the fraction. So, decreasing the body weight increases VO2 max if all other factors remain constant. Similarly, the harder an athlete can push himself during testing increases the chance that a true max effort is beaing evaluated.

In other words, two ways to improve VO2 max are to increase pain tolerance and decrease body weight.

The VO2 max of an athlete is otherwise almost completely untrainable. The efficiency of the body is determined almost completely by genetics. It is true that endurance athletes are born with potential, then train to get the most out of their potential.

A more trainable factor in endurace sport is the lactate threshhold. This, simply defined, is the athlete's ability to work at a greater percentage of their maximum heart rate while still producing energy via aerobic metabolic pathways. This is the primary focus of training for endurance.

 

[dienekes88]

so brad is 70 kilo, 154lb, so um.. about 11 stone.. lol...

so a 60 vo2, at 11 stone, is 4200 milliletres of oxygen per minute, or 4 litres.. no.. ive got that wrong.. have i.. that doesnt sound very much

You also have to realize that 1L of blood dissolves about 200mL of oxygen. This is dependent on hemoglobin and oxygen tension.

The average person has 70mL of blood per kg body weight. Thus, a 70kg male typically has about 4.9L of blood. It gets complicated from here with stressed (arterial) and unstressed volume (venous), so I'll spare you the details.

On top of that, not all of the oxygen is released/traded for CO2 before heading back towards the heart in the veins.

All of that put together means that a vo2max of 60 ml/kg/min is quite good.

 

[Kennf1]

The VO2 max of an athlete is otherwise almost completely untrainable. The efficiency of the body is determined almost completely by genetics. It is true that endurance athletes are born with potential, then train to get the most out of their potential.

I think that notion has been disputed within the last 10 years or so. Genetics do play a large part, and dictate your trainable range, but if you increase mitochondria and capillary density (as well as heart stroke volume), why wouldn't your VO2max increase as well?

 

[53 x 11]

As for how it is tested, you usually pedal on an ergometer with your nose pinched shut and a plastic hose attached to your mouth. You then do a ramp test up to exhaustion. Very unpleasant.

I rate it as one of the worst experiences of my life. The first time I cracked the sh!ts and stormed out, finished the second time. Cav has said he refuses to do them!

 

[auscyclefan94]

Can you synthetically manipulate your Vo2 max numbers for better performance? If so how does it all work (in simple language)?

 

[53 x 11]

Can you synthetically manipulate your Vo2 max numbers for better performance? If so how does it all work (in simple language)?

The "What is Contadors estimated VO2" thread should have that info in it. I could be wrong, but blood doping or synthetic EPO should both increase VO2 in athletes as they increases the body’s oxygen carrying capacity. As I said I could be wrong, I just ride bikes.

 

[auscyclefan94]

The "What is Contadors estimated VO2" thread should have that info in it. I could be wrong, but blood doping or synthetic EPO should both increase VO2 in athletes as they increases the body’s oxygen carrying capacity. As I said I could be wrong, I just ride bikes.

wouldn't blood doping only temporarialiy change the vo2 max numbers?

 

[riobonito92]

If VO2 Max is almost completely untrainable then why are the figures for untrained people much lower than for athletes? What am I missing?

 

[workingclasshero]

If VO2 Max is almost completely untrainable then why are the figures for untrained people much lower than for athletes? What am I missing?

most untrained people will come a long way in fulfilling their potential in one year if they started working to improve it

it can obviously be improved after that as well, just that it starts growing a lot slower. people like contador have reached their maximum potential and have to start finding other ways to improve as endurance athletes, working on stuff like efficiency, lactate treshold, mentality, tactics, equipment etc

 

[acoggan]

I think that notion (that VO2max is untrainable - AC) has been disputed within the last 10 years or so.

Not disputed - never believed to be true in the first place. That is, the only people who believe that VO2max is untrainable are those who have never had a class in exercise physiology.

 

[Anonymous]

If VO2 Max is almost completely untrainable then why are the figures for untrained people much lower than for athletes? What am I missing?

Wonderful gifts from parents.

 

[Hugh Januss]

Wonderful gifts from parents.

Less gifted individuals are just less likely to get involved in endurance sports because they just feel stupid hard from the getgo without any payback.

 

[riobonito92]

So is VO2 Max trainable? Surely it would be quite easy to take some fairly fit athletes (say, amateur footballers), test their VO2 Max, have them train intensively and test it again. Has this type of research been done.

 

[workingclasshero]

So is VO2 Max trainable? Surely it would be quite easy to take some fairly fit athletes (say, amateur footballers), test their VO2 Max, have them train intensively and test it again. Has this type of research been done.

it is obviously trainable

an amateur footballer can't be declared as 'fairly fit' though