VO2 max

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

Contents

1 Measuring VO2 max

o 1.1 Fick equation
2 Estimation of VO2 max
o 2.1 UthSrensenOvergaardPedersen estimation
o 2.2 Cooper test
3 VO2 max levels
4 Factors affecting VO2 max
5 See also
6 References

7 External links

Measuring VO2 max

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

Fick equation
Main article: Fick principle
VO2 max is properly defined by the Fick equation:

, when these values are obtained during an

exertion at a maximal effort.
where Q is the cardiac output of the heart, CaO2 is the arterial oxygen content, and
CvO2 is the venous oxygen content.
(CaO2 CvO2) is also known as the arteriovenous oxygen difference.[1]

Estimation of VO2 max

Tests measuring VO2 max can be dangerous in individuals who are not considered normal
healthy subjects, as any problems with the respiratory and cardiovascular systems will be
greatly exacerbated in clinically ill patients. Thus, many protocols for estimating VO2
max have been developed for those for whom a traditional VO2 max test would be too
risky. These generally are similar to a VO2 max test, but do not reach the maximum of the
respiratory and cardiovascular systems and are called sub-maximal tests.

UthSrensenOvergaardPedersen estimation
Another estimate of VO2 max, based on maximum and resting heart rates, was created by
a group of researchers from Denmark.[2] It is given by:

This equation uses maximum heart rate (HRmax) and resting heart rate (HRrest) to estimate
VO2 max in ml/min/kg.

Cooper test
Kenneth H. Cooper conducted a study for the United States Air Force in the late 1960s.
One of the results of this was the Cooper test in which the distance covered running in 12
minutes is measured. Based on the measured distance, an estimate of VO2 max (in
ml/min/kg) is:

where d12 is distance (in metres) covered in 12 minutes. There are several other reliable
tests and VO2 max calculators to estimate VO2 max, most notably the multi-stage fitness
test (or bleep test), based on the research paper by Leger and Lambert, "A Maximal
Multi-Stage 20m Shuttle Run Test to predict VO2 Max".

VO2 max levels

Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) is widely accepted as the single best measure of
cardiovascular fitness and maximal aerobic power. Absolute values of VO2max are
typically 40-60% higher in men than in women.[3]
The average untrained healthy male will have a VO2 max of approximately 35-40
ml/kg/min.[4] [5] The average untrained healthy female will score a VO2 max of
approximately 27-31 ml/kg/min.[4] These scores can improve with training and decrease
with age, though the degree of trainability also varies very widely: conditioning may
double VO2max in some individuals, and will marginally improve it in others.[6][7]
In sports where endurance is an important component in performance, such as cycling,
rowing, cross-country skiing, swimming and running, world class athletes typically have
high VO2 maxima. Elite male runners can generate up to 85 ml/kg/min, and female elite
runners can generate about 77 ml/kg/min [8]. Five time Tour de France winner Miguel
Indurain is reported to have had a VO2 max of 88.0 at his peak,[9] while cross-country
skier Bjrn Dhlie measured at 96 ml/kg/min.[10] Dhlie's result was achieved out of
season, and physiologist Erlend Hem who was responsible for the testing stated that he
would not discount the possibility of the skier passing 100 ml/kg/min at his absolute
peak. World class rowers are physically very large endurance athletes and typically do not
score as high on a per weight basis, but often score exceptionally high in absolute terms.
Male rowers typically score VO2 maxima over 6 litres/minute, and some exceptional
individuals have exceeded 8 l/min.
To put this into perspective, thoroughbred horses have a VO2 max of around 180
ml/kg/min. Siberian dogs running in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race have VO2 values as
high as 240 ml/kg/min.[11]

Factors affecting VO2 max

The factors affecting VO2 are often divided into supply and demand factors.[12] Supply is
the transport of oxygen from the lungs to the mitochondria (including lung diffusion,
stroke volume, blood volume, and capillary density of the skeletal muscle) while demand
is the rate at which the mitochondria can reduce oxygen in the process of oxidative
phosphorylation.[12] Of these, the supply factor is often considered to be the limiting one.
[12][13]
However, it has also been argued that while trained subjects probably are supply
limited, untrained subjects can indeed have a demand limitation.[14]
Tim Noakes, a professor of exercise and sports science at the University of Cape Town,
describes a number of variables that may affect VO2 max: age, gender, fitness and
training, changes in altitude, and action of the ventilatory muscles.[8] Noakes also asserts

that VO2 max is a relatively poor predictor of performance in runners due to variations in
running economy and fatigue resistance during prolonged exercise.[8]
Cardiac output, pulmonary diffusion capacity, oxygen carrying capacity, and other
peripheral limitations like muscle diffusion capacity, mitochondrial enzymes, and
capillary density are all examples of VO2 max determinants. The body works as a system.
If one of these factor is sub-par, then the whole system loses its normal capacity to
function properly.[14]

References
1.

^ "Arteriovenous oxygen difference". Sports Medicine, Sports Science

and Kinesiology. Net Industries and its Licensors. 2011.
http://sports.jrank.org/pages/5973/arteriovenous-oxygen-difference.html.
Retrieved 30 April 2011.
2.
^ Uth, Niels; Henrik Srensen, Kristian Overgaard, Preben K. Pedersen
(January 2004). "Estimation of VO2max from the ratio between HRmax and
HRrest--the Heart Rate Ratio Method". Eur J Appl Physiol. 2004 Jan;91(1):111-5.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14624296. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
3.
^ Thomas E. Hyde and Marianne S. Gengenbach, Conservative
Management of Sports Injuries (2nd ed; Sudbury, Mass.: Jones & Bartlett, 2007),
845.
4.
^ a b Heywood, V (1998). "Advance Fitness Assessment & Exercise
Prescription, 3rd Ed". pp. 48.
5.
^ Guyton, A. & Hall, J.E. (2011). "Textbook of Medical Physiology, 12th
Ed.". pp. 1035-1036.
6.
^ Bouchard, Claude; Ping An, Treva Rice, James S. Skinner, Jack H.
Wilmore, Jacques Gagnon, Louis Perusse, Arthus S. Leon, D. C. Rao (September
1, 1999). "Familial aggregation of VO(2max) response to exercise training: results
from the HERITAGE Family Study". Journal of Applied Physiology 87 (3):
10031008. PMID 10484570.
http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/87/3/1003?
ijkey=189eebcbc5a461258da582b4aef41ebcf7bec51f&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha.
Retrieved 2007-07-17.
7.
^ Kolata, Gina (February 12, 2002). "Why Some People Won't Be Fit
Despite Exercise". The New York Times.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?
res=9406EEDE113CF931A25751C0A9649C8B63&sec=health. Retrieved 200707-17.
8.
^ a b c Noakes, Tim. 2001. The Lore of Running. (3rd edition) Oxford
University Press ISBN 978-0-88011-438-7
9.
^ http://www.runningforfitness.org/faq/vo2.php
10.
^ Ski-VM 1997
11.
^ Cornell Science News
4

^ a b c Bassett D.R Jr. & Howley E.T. (2000) Limiting factors for maximum
oxygen uptake and determinants of endurance performance. Med Sci Sports
Exerc. 32(1):70-84.
13.
^ Bassett D.R Jr. & Howley E.T. (1997) Maximal oxygen uptake:
"classical" versus "contemporary" viewpoints. Med Sci Sports Exerc 29(5) 591603
14.
^ a b Wagner, P.D. (2000) New ideas on limitations to VO2max. Exercise
and Sport Sciences Reviews. 28(1):10-4.
12.