VO2 max :(

[Willo]

3 years ago I went on a half day health assessment through work including a VO2 test. While everything was fine and I was in good health, they told me my aerobic tolerance (stamina) was below average. At the time I was doing lots of running and, while there was no general health concern, they were a little baffled given the amount of exercise I was doing and my times for running 10k etc. They asked a consultant to have a look and she advised me to just carry on with my exercise and not be too concerned.

So 3 years on and I now do even more exercise (running; gym; cycling) but, despite being slightly better, the test still reported a below average rating. While I'm not claiming to any great shakes athletics wise, as he was preparing the treadmill etc. the guy conducting the test said my exercise was decent for a 40-something and he was happy with my fitness just based on my times/distances (my 10k times are always around 47 mins; I comfortably cycle 20-30 miles on my own averaging 15mph; I rode a hilly 76 miles last Sun and, while the legs were burning on the hills, I didn't find myself out of puff too many times). However, the report cames through the post today revealing another below average VO2. Everything else - resting heart rate, recovery, weight, BMI, lung capacity/function, Blood Pressure....- came out at the top end of good with just the odd average.

Like last time, I'll put it in perspective and take the overall assessment that I'm in fine health. However, it is a bit demoralising given the effort to exercise regularly for the last few years. For H&S reasons they only take you to 76% of the max recommended heart rate for your age and then project out, so someone said it may be that while I get there quicker once towards the max my heart rate may level out and I can sustain it for longer. Also, based on some of the cruder calculators that use just race times, using my latest 10k run (just a week or so before the test) returns a significantly higher VO2 score rated above average. Just feeling a bit miffed!

 

[HLaB]

You say in your other thread you have a wee bit of a sore throat or something could that have affected your results. Furthermore, if your race results consistently are also saying different from the one off VO2 test, I'd say it was flawed and write it off.

 

[Baggy]

The Wikipdia article on VO2 max talks about why sometimes, in spite of being very fit, VO2 max might not be as high as expected:

"The average young untrained male will have a VO[sub]2[/sub] max of approximately 3.5 litres/minute and 45 ml/kg/min...these scores can improve with training and decrease with age, though the degree of trainability also varies very widely: conditioning may double VO[sub]2[/sub]max in some individuals, and will never improve at all in others."

BUT, there's another article here which talks about how muscle strength and anaerobic training also play their part - your body becomes very efficient within its own VO2 max limits:

"you must be able to work at a high percentage of your VO2max without accumulating lactate. Once it does start to accumulate, indicating a greater contribution of anaerobic metabolism to the energy supply, you must reduce the workload in order to avoid premature fatigue. The high levels of aerobic conditioning needed to give you this aerobic efficiency also hold another advantage, the ability to use a greater proportion of fat rather than carbohydrate for muscle fuel. Aerobic conditioning enhances the ability to use abundant fats while exercising, thus sparing your limited by precious carbohydrate, stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen."[sup]
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Acording to my feeble grip of biology, this bit sounds about right:

For H&S reasons they only take you to 76% of the max recommended heart rate for your age and then project out, so someone said it may be that while I get there quicker once towards the max my heart rate may level out and I can sustain it for longer.

I'd like to get a test done, though I suspect my VO2 max would be pretty low - but that my system is really efficient when I'm within my lactate thresholds. I'd be happy to have average speeds like yours, anyway!

 

[Yellow Fang]

I did a VO2 max test a few years ago. It was a reward for taking part in some medical research before and after running a marathon. My score was 56, while my mate's score was 65 Actually no surprise that really. He was skinnier, younger and more athletic. They did tell us it was lactate threshold that was more important. VO2 max is related to your weight, so if you're stocky or a muscular build, it's likely to be a bit lower.

 

[Willo]

Thanks for the responses.

The test was before I fell ill although the doctor checking me over said my throat was a little red/swollen indicating I was coming down with something. However, this is a repeat of the same outcome when I did the test previously so I don't think that is a factor. I'm also thin, so stockiness is not a factor either.

The fact that I can do the exercise and achieve the times/distances I do, doesn't reconcile at all to the low score and that just has me a bit baffled/miffed. The main lesson is that psychologically I was better off not knowing the test outcome in that I was feeling great before, weight is spot on, running faster and cycling further, body fat index spot on etc. and this feels like a bit "what's the point of all that effort"! Both times the report states that I should possibly consider my exercise routine but when discussed with them they can't add anything better to what I already do.

 

[yello]

My understanding, following on from Baggy's post, was that VO2 max was something that some people were pretty much stuck with. That is to say, you're born with it and there it will stay.

To some extent, it's all just numbers (weight too) and so long as you're happy and feeling fit and healthy than that's the most important thing. Better a happy fatty than a miserable fine figure sort of thing perhaps.

As you point out Willo, the psychological effect of missing these idealised targets is perhaps worse (within reason clearly).

 

[Garz]

You can also be exercising too much (or too high an intensity each time) therefore over-training. Why do you not experiment with rest days and recovery exercises to see if you improve when you adapt a different regime?

 

[Yellow Fang]

VO2 max is a strange indicator. Isn't it how many litres of oxygen you can burn in a minute divided by your weight in kilograms? It's not really an indicator of potential because it increases with training and with weight loss. For cycling on the flat, straight power is more important than power to weight. For running, your lactate threshold is going to be the limiting factor, although lactate threshold is related to VO2 max. Your VO2 max scores tend to be different when using a treadmill and using a stationary cycle. I think the point of a VO2 max is that if your race performance is lower than what your VO2 max would indicate, then you should look at improving your technique or just try a bit harder. I seem to remember reading about cyclists who managed to stay competitive despite having a relatively low VO2 max by developing an ultra-efficient technique. If you want a higher VO2 max after doing the training and losing weight, the only things I can suggest are altitude training, EPO, blood doping or sleeping in one of those oxygen tents while training at sea level.

 

[I am Spartacus]

Vo2 tests are generally regarded as flawed for cycling purposes (well, a body of opinion should I say) and thus it was decreed to use power as a true measurement of cycling 'fitness'.
Start saving up.

 

[Willo]

Cheers again, still a bit narked but will take it out on the bike tomorrow .

Think I have no choice but to ignore it. The doctor's report notes me as being in good health with no concerns but that I have below average aerobic stamina and it's happened in 2 tests now - one on an exercise bike, one on a treadmill.

Last time they got a consultant to call me back as I/they were baffled by the low score and, after hearing my exercise routine, she told me just to ignore it and carry on. As someone who gets a bit obsessed by the numbers (distance, times etc.) it's just a bit deflating but I need to focus on 2 10k PBs this year and doing 120k on the bike last Sunday!!

God knows what some folk walk out of these places feeling like!

 

[Willo]

After saying I'd move on from it, I took out the report for a more in depth read this morning!! When I read it more carefully, it basically states that my heart rate is hitting the predicted levels for my age, weight etc. but that the oxygen consumption peaks below my predicted potential. Correspondingly my lung capacity / size was rated above normal (i.e. good) and lung strength is way above average also at the upper end of good, bordering in excellent. Lung efficiency and power were both normal. So my heart is in good order, my lungs are decent, therefore not sure what I can do to improve the Vo2 (but the report says I should improve it by doing some more exercise when, before knowing the results, they told me I was easily doing sufficient exercise!).

Time to go out on the bike

 

[amaferanga]

VO2max is a rubbish predictor of potential anyway. As others have said, its largely genetic, but can be improved through training. Far more important on the bike is the power numbers you can put out (W/kg for hills, W/CdA for riding on the flat (not absolute Watts as someone else suggested)). That's the real predictor of potential. A power at VO2max of ~6W/kg is plenty to race competitively as a 2nd or maybe even 1st Cat, while significantly less than that will be enough for 3rd/4th Cat racing. Of course you need the racing head as well....

 

[Willo]

VO2max is a rubbish predictor of potential anyway.

I'll settle on that view . Got it out of my system on the bike this morning. After a fairly tough local climb, took a route I haven't tried before only to encounter a couple more nasty hills one of which, while not that long, was easily the steepest gradient I'd ever encountered on my bike so making it up that made me feel good, particularly when arriving in the village at the top a local said "did you just cycle up the hill?" and, depsite me admitting to a little 30 second breather 1/2 way up, then congratulated me on making it up on 2 wheels as it's renowned for being a bit vicious. A hilly 25 miles in the rain, wind and mud made me feel good and fit again.

 

[fossyant]

I wouldn't worry - you've got the benefit of a private health check up.

I got a full shake down about 5 years ago - my old workplace introduced it for all senior staff - I was actually on notice (I had another job) but they said I could go. The stress tests were rubbish - I was no-where near as fit as I am now (main reason for leaving job) but was still at high level fitness according to the test, and the bike test was easy (like no stress on the system) - they can't test you to max as many folk would keel over at much over the rate they test. I had 3 cardio readouts, and the consultant said, "if I didn't know you were fit, these say you are about to have a heart attack" (and I wasn't half as fit then as now). She explained that her husband's HR readings came back similar and he did lots of sport. I had many colleagues really struggle with the bike test - scary.

Unless the tests are done at max, by sports scientists, take it with a pinch of salt. You'll also probably have to sign a disclaimer to say if you die, it ain't their fault

 

[Yellow Fang]

After saying I'd move on from it, I took out the report for a more in depth read this morning!! When I read it more carefully, it basically states that my heart rate is hitting the predicted levels for my age, weight etc. but that the oxygen consumption peaks below my predicted potential. Correspondingly my lung capacity / size was rated above normal (i.e. good) and lung strength is way above average also at the upper end of good, bordering in excellent. Lung efficiency and power were both normal. So my heart is in good order, my lungs are decent, therefore not sure what I can do to improve the Vo2 (but the report says I should improve it by doing some more exercise when, before knowing the results, they told me I was easily doing sufficient exercise!).

Time to go out on the bike

Maybe your natural haematocrit level is a bit low. Mine's too low to give blood these days, despite being quite fit.