I had a VO2 test this morning, and tested at 92. My 5k Pr is only 14:45, I am 6ft2, 160lbs. Do you think the test equipment was faulty?
I had a VO2 test this morning, and tested at 92. My 5k Pr is only 14:45, I am 6ft2, 160lbs. Do you think the test equipment was faulty?
probably faulty.... but then again maybe you do have a very high figure 80+
what the? wrote:
I had a VO2 test this morning, and tested at 92. My 5k Pr is only 14:45, I am 6ft2, 160lbs. Do you think the test equipment was faulty?
Describe how the test was conducted and where.
That is pretty darn high for the record.
It was done at my college, by an exercise physiology prof and her students for a class. The protocol was called a bruce treadmill test. I started out at a low %grade and speed. and every three minutes the grade was bumped up as well as the speed, topping out at 24% grade and 10.46 kph. The test only went 21 minutes, but my VO2 max topped out with around 45sec to go and after that I went into high lactate levels until the test stopped.
Did they measure ventilatory gases and blood lactate levels?
I remember when I got tested (same situation) and they gave me a 98 VO2 Max.
The calibration is off, that's all. It's tricky to get these things calirated right.
Even the best distance runners in the world are not going to have a VO2 Max of anything above maybe 87. Running works your heart a lot, but not enough to get the most VO2-maxed out person to 90 or better.
Unfortunately, it's either an equipment error or operator error. The machine was probably was not in calibration.
a high max-vo2 is only 1 piece of the puzzle that determines potential (albeit, a very important one); others are your stride/mechanics. remember, a swimmer could have an 85 score too, but not be a good runner. Frank Shorter had a score in the 60s, but his form and mechanics and body type were so good that it made up for it.
Agree with previous poster, VO2 max is only a small component, but the test was most likely done incorrectly as well. Lance Armstrong has one of the highest VO2 max ever recorded at 85. Obviously, you are an elite (or at least sub-elite) runner and probably have a great VO2 max, but I've never heard of anyone being the 90's......I've conducted hundreds of these tests using the Bruce protocol and have never had anoyone score over 80. That includes many fairly talented athletes. Anyway, hope this helps, take it for what it't worth.
what the? wrote:
It was done at my college, by an exercise physiology prof and her students for a class. The protocol was called a bruce treadmill test. I started out at a low %grade and speed. and every three minutes the grade was bumped up as well as the speed, topping out at 24% grade and 10.46 kph. The test only went 21 minutes, but my VO2 max topped out with around 45sec to go and after that I went into high lactate levels until the test stopped.
Did you breath into a tube continuously throughout the test? Was your expired/exhaled air collected during the test? It sounds like it since you say it "topped off".
I ask because if it was not, then your results are an ESTIMATE. The Bruce protocol is used by cardiologists and there is a decent formula for estimating Vo2max from the results, but the estimate can be off from reality.
Calibration of equipment is important, but not hard to do with modern metabolic carts.
I'm guessing it was an estimate from the Bruce protocol equations. Otherwise, the cart was calibrated inproperly. If this is the case, you can send me your ventilatory paramters to the email and I can see if anything's funky high/low used to calculate VO2
Next time talk them into measuring your VO2 while running for about 5 minutes steady at 6:00 pace (10MPH), in addition to the max test. This can give a good idea if the equipment is spitting out good data. 10MPH should result in a VO2 of about 51 ml/kg (or course there is a fairly large range in this, but if you get something like 60 or greater at 6:00 pace you can be pretty sure that the equipment is in need of some calibration)
For the record Jack measured me at 6:00 pace and got 46 when I was in about 14:45 shape.
Tom
I have a group of young distance runners (mean VO2max of ~64 ml/kg/min) and their average RE at 10mph was 56 ml/kg/min. Any ideas as to why their VO2's were so high at 10mph? They are anywhere from 30:00-34:40 10km guys.
Was that for a single breath, an average of a few breaths, an average of a specific time period, etc? That averaging does make a difference.
Do you know which make/model machine you were tested with?
what type of college? big university? or smaller school?
I hate you.
How much are you training.
You should easily be running 13:45 / 28:45.
You are either bullshtng or a puhcee. STFU
lets be realistic. he obviously doesnt have a 92 or even close to that. if it says 90+ thats means teh machine means next to nothing. Very doubtful that he even has anything in the 80s. Unfortunately you cant take anything from this test. You ran a 14:45 so that means you can run fast. But I bet you didnt run a 14:45 after sitting on your butt for 6 months. You are probably training at a high level, so you arent going to be running any low 14 min 5ks in your lifetime. So unless you arent training, or have an insanely low lactate threshold compared to vo2max, your test is completely meaningless. And im guessing it was done at a school where the teacher didnt even know what she was doing. Probably wasnt even a real exercise phys prof. I know alot of them are actually coaches who teach teh class. Not what I would call knowledgeable. So dont ask stupid questions like, whats teh deal with my incredibly high vo2max, because you already know that your VO2max isnt close to that. The machine needs to be run by someone very experienced and it is evident that that is not the case. What were other results from good runners in your class. Or I should say, from other nonathletes in your class.
"...24% grade ..."
...also, protocols that use such a high % grade may produce a less than accurate reading of your Vo2max for the simple fact that you recruit more muscle fibers running uphill. The same can be said for Vo2max test on a cross-country skier or Rower. A Vo2max is dependant on the protocol that is used. Your Vo2max will be different when performed on a treadmill vs bike vs ski machine, etc. Bruce Protocol also isn't the one recommended for athletes. There are a number of tests and modified versions out there.
I did one a few years ago. You picked the speed to run at...just a steady speed...and the only thing changed was the grade. I ran at 9.0mph and the % incline was upped every 2 minutes.
Alan
"You are probably training at a high level, so you arent going to be running any low 14 min 5ks in your lifetime."
I don't think you should make statements like that, just as much as this guy shouldn't make any boastful statements about the vo2 results. Neither are based on meaningful/complete information. For all you know, this guy could be a college freshman. I've seen many people improve from high 14 5k's to low 14 5k's throughout college, or even over the span of a year (sophomore to junior).