In an effort to perform better in all endurance events as such Triathlons, Duathlons, 1/2 Marathons etc...I decided I needed some information to ensure I was getting the most out of each one of my training sessions. So two weeks ago I made an appointment at my Gym, Pure Austin (3D Model), to have a VO2 Max test performed. Now you may be asking yourself "what is a VO2 Max Test?" good question.
(Abbreviated definition but enough to get the picture)
VO2 max 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 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.
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.
Having done some research online and watching this YouTube video I knew what I was getting myself into, sometimes ignorance is bliss. Needless to say I was pretty anxious about doing this test.
The information I got said the test would take any where from 1 to 2 hours including preperation, warm up, the actual test, recovery, cool down, reviewing the results and recommendations on how to use this information. The trainer added a helpful bit of information "...eat something the day of the test as you would do before a race, you don't want a full or empty stomach, neither is good..." The morning of and 2 hours before test I had my pre-race meal and plain bagel with peanut butter. I arrived at the gym knowing I was in for at least one hour of pure hell, I was not wrong.
At 10 o'clock I entered the torture chamber, went over what was going to happen and hopped on the treadmill for a warm up. After the 10 minute warm up I donned a head strap, ventilator mask and chest strap heart rate monitor. The mask was bit claustrophobic, all the air I was going to inhale and exhale was through a plastic hose and into a machine that analyzed my Oxygen level . The instructor told me from here on out I was to communicate to his questions with hand gestures as he wouldn't be able to understand what I was saying. The hand gestures would be: thumbs up, thumbs down, using both hands to indicated the level of exertion from 1 to 10 with 10 being an all out effort and the throat cutting gesture indicating I was about to die.
The instructor started the treadmill and bought me up to a pretty easy jogging pace, it was suppose to be a pace I was able to maintain for a long time as if I was going for a very easy run on the street. This was the pace I would use for the entire test. I thought "this isn't bad". The test has started! From here until the end of the test the following would take place. Every three minutes for the next x number of minutes the instructor would increase the incline of the treadmill until my exertion level was a 5. From that point on he would increase the incline every minute until total exhaustion. When I reached level 5 the incline on the treadmill was at 10. The treadmill only had 15 levels so I knew it was going to start getting a lot harder. At this point I was working pretty hard but able to maintain good posture and leg turn over. Every minute for the next 5 minutes my level of exertion increased with each increase of incline. By the time we got to level 15 I was at my max, so I thought. This is the most critical part of the test. I must go as long as I can until complete and total exhaustion. At this point I was working my ass off barley able to run against the treadmill at such a steep angle. Every 30 seconds the instructor asked how I was doing. It was getting hard to show my thumb gestures. I continued to run. It was hard to breath. Thoughts of quitting were getting pretty strong. "NO!" I told myself keep going. 30 more seconds passed "keep going" the instructor shouted. My legs were starting to get wobbly and my arms were getting heavy. 30 more seconds "you're doing great". My lungs were on fire and my eye sight was getting blurry. 30 more seconds "you're looking strong". I was starting to panic about not being able to breath. At this point the instructor put his hand on my back to let me know he was there. 30 seconds "man you look great". I thought I was going to pee my pants as I could only focus on moving my legs and trying to get air. 30 seconds "man, you're doing awesome!". I knew the end was near as I was being moved farther and farther towards the end of the treadmill. 30 seoonds "keep going Brad, you're doing great!" I started planning my exit strategy for getting off the treadmill, I was eying the emergency kill switch and I started to reach for it when the instructor yelled "keep going, keep going, you can do 30 more seconds!". I continued to labor and for another 15 seconds before I reached out and hit the kill switch and struggled to hold onto the hand rails. The instructor quickly took off the mask and I was trying to suck in as much air as I could. I got down on one knee, the instructor bought over a puke bucket and placed it in front of me. When I realized I wasn't going puke he told me to get back on the treadmill and do a recovery and cool down walk. Man was I glad that was over...!
Reviewing the results the instructor he told me I did better then about 75 percent of the people who do the test and I was in superior shape. He reviewed my heart rate zones and my Oxygen levels. My maximum Heart rate was 172 beats per minute. He helped me plan out how to use each of one of the 5 heart rate zones to increase my performance during races and how to effectively use the zones for training.
Now it's up to me to use this information and execute each one of my training sessions accordingly.
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