Maximum oxygen uptake

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The maximum oxygen uptake (VO 2 max, also maximum oxygen capacity) indicates how many milliliters of oxygen the body can use per minute when it is at full capacity . The specification is made in milliliters of oxygen per minute (ml O 2 / min). VO 2 max can be used as a criterion for evaluating the endurance performance of a person, but only represents the upper limit for endurance performance (see below, section "Training condition and VO 2 max") and is therefore also used as the "gross criterion" the endurance capacity.

The absolute VO 2 max (ml / min) does not take body mass into account . As a result, tall and heavy people tend to have higher scores than short and light ones. Often the relative maximum oxygen uptake based on a standardized body mass of one kilogram is used (given in (ml O 2 / min) / kg), as its significance with regard to the evaluation of endurance performance for sports in which the own weight and / or volume play a role in the body (running, cycling, cross-country skiing) is higher. The corresponding values ​​can thus be better compared from individual to individual.

The VO 2 max represents the processes that are involved in the utilization of oxygen in the body:

  • Supply of oxygen from the air via the respiratory organs,
  • Transport of oxygen in the blood through the cardiovascular system,
  • Use of oxygen in the cells of the working muscles,
  • Use of the oxygen in the cells of the other skeletal muscles, the heart muscle, the smooth muscles, the nerve cells and cells of all organs that need and actually use oxygen.

Improvement of VO 2 max

The aim of training in endurance sports is, among other things, to increase the maximum possible oxygen uptake (per kilogram of body weight, i.e. relatively). This is achieved through various training methods and training intensities. The effectiveness of the intensities concerned is controversial among coaches. For cross-country skiing, it is known that the Scandinavian Olympic champions in recent years have completed more than 90% of their training well below the anaerobic threshold (on average at 4.0 mmol / L lactate ) and only about 10% very intensively.

Training status and VO 2 max

The focus of the training, however, is the effort to bring the continuous performance limits such as the respiratory compensation point or the anaerobic threshold closer to the performance corresponding to VO 2 max.

The VO 2 max does not directly indicate the endurance performance of an athlete. Rather, it shows how much the maximum oxygen uptake can be increased through extremely high performance. The oxygen uptake required for the momentary load is clearly undercut (but compensated for by anaerobic energy generation), so that the maximum oxygen uptake i. d. Usually reached at an intensity that the athlete can maintain for only a few seconds to about two minutes.

On the other hand, continuous performance limits such as the iANS show which intensity an athlete can maintain permanently (assuming at least 20 minutes).

The percentage of the exhaustion of the VO 2 max when this endurance limit is reached can therefore be viewed as an indicator of the training status. Among other things, it reflects how well the body is able to coordinate processes that require oxygen but require training, such as: B. the lactate utilization in the slowly twitching muscle fibers, in the heart and by the liver.

Determination of VO 2 max

VO 2 max measurement with a modern spiroergometry system during a stress test on the treadmill

On a treadmill or ergometer ( bicycle , oar , handwheel ) the organism is stressed. The VO 2 max can be calculated by measuring the oxygen content of the inhaled air , the oxygen content of the exhaled air, the volume of the exhaled air and the time required for this . Body weight is required as a fifth parameter for normalization.

Alternative determination of VO 2 max

Fick's principle

The absolute VO 2 max (in ml / min) can also be determined via venous and arterial blood gas determination according to Fick's principle :

HMV = cardiac output , CaO 2 = arterial oxygen content, CvO 2 = venous oxygen content

The arterial or venous oxygen content can be determined with the aid of the arterial or venous oxygen saturation , the hemoglobin content and the Hüfner number .

This measurement is the most accurate, but due to its invasiveness (arterial and central venous catheter system for taking blood under stress), it is used more in research projects than for routine diagnostics.

Uth – Sørensen – Overgaard – Pedersen estimate

A (rough) estimation method for the relative VO 2 max, based on the maximum heart rate and the resting heart rate, was developed by Henrik Sørensen et al. formulated:

This equation uses the maximum heart rate (HR max ) and the resting heart rate (HR rest ) to estimate the standardized VO 2 max.

example

Pulse limits of and would indicate a relative VO 2 max of about :

Cooper test

Kenneth H. Cooper designed the test named after him for the United States Air Force to test the endurance of soldiers. The maximum distance that the test person can run in 12 minutes is measured. The average speed can be calculated as the quotient of distance and time from the distance and the time of 12 minutes required . The estimation formula is structured in such a way that this division does not have to be carried out explicitly. Because the time is reduced by 12 minutes , knowledge of the distance covered is sufficient for the estimation formula. With this distance you can now estimate the relative VO 2 max with the following formula:

: Average speed that was run. It is the quotient of the running distance and the twelve minutes required for it.

: Distance covered in twelve minutes in meters

example

A distance of 2500 m covered in 12 minutes would correspond to a relative VO 2 max of approximately .

So you subtract 505 meters from the running distance and then divide by 44.7 m.

Comparison tables for the relative VO 2 max

Treadmill

Men
Age
[years]
Decile
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
20 ... 29 34.6 37.8 41.0 42.6 44.2 47.4 49.0 52.1 55.1
30 ... 39 33.0 36.2 39.4 41.0 42.6 44.2 47.4 50.6 52.1
40 ... 49 31.4 34.6 36.2 39.4 41.0 44.2 45.8 49.0 50.6
50… 59 29.9 31.4 34.6 36.2 37.8 39.4 41.0 44.2 49.0
> 60 26.7 28.3 31.4 33.0 34.6 36.2 37.8 41.0 44.2
Values ​​in
Women
Age
[years]
Decile
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
20 ... 29 29.4 31.6 33.8 35.5 37.4 39.5 41.1 44.0 47.0
30 ... 39 27.4 29.9 32.3 31.8 35.2 36.7 38.8 41.0 44.7
40 ... 49 25.6 28.0 29.7 31.6 33.3 35.1 36.7 38.9 42.4
50… 59 23.7 25.5 27.3 28.7 30.2 31.4 32.9 35.2 38.1
> 60 21.7 23.7 24.9 26.6 27.5 29.1 30.2 32.3 34.6
Values ​​in

bicycle

Men
Age
[years]
Decile
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
20 ... 29 32.9 35.91 38.95 40.5 41.9 45.0 46.55 49.5 52.3
30 ... 39 31.3 34.4 37.4 38.9 40.5 41.9 46.0 48.1 49.5
40 ... 49 29.8 32.9 34.4 37.4 40.5 41.9 43.5 46.6 48.1
50… 59 28.4 29.8 32.9 34.4 35.9 37.4 41.9 41.9 46.6
> 60 25.4 26.9 29.8 31.3 32.9 34.4 35.9 41.9 41.9
Values ​​in
Women
Age
[years]
Decile
10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
20 ... 29 26.9 31.3 31.3 34.4 35.9 37.4 38.9 42.0 46.6
30 ... 39 25.4 28.4 31.3 31.3 32.9 34.4 37.4 38.9 43.5
40 ... 49 23.8 26.9 28.4 31.3 31.3 32.9 34.4 37.4 40.5
50… 59 20.8 23.8 25.4 26.9 28.4 29.8 31.3 32.9 35.9
> 60 19.3 20.8 22.3 23.8 25.4 26.9 29.8 31.3 32.9
Values ​​in

Individual evidence

  1. ^ W. Kindermann: Anaerobic threshold. PDF.
  2. ^ Espen Tønnessen, Thomas A. Haugen, Erlend Hem, Svein Leirstein, Stephen Seiler: Maximum Aerobic Capacity in the Winter-Olympics Endurance Disciplines: Olympic-Medal Benchmarks for the Time Period 1990-2013. In: International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. Vol. 10, No. 7, 2015, pp. 835-839.
  3. Arnd Krüger : Periodization of sports training in the 21st century. Evidence-based or business as usual? In: competitive sport. 45, No. 4, 2015, pp. 5-10.
  4. Niels Uth, Henrik Sørensen, Kristian Overgaard, Preben K. Pedersen: Estimation of VO 2 max from the ratio between HRmax and HRrest - the Heart Rate Ratio Method. In: European journal of applied physiology. Volume 91, Number 1, January 2004, ISSN  1439-6319 , pp. 111-115, doi: 10.1007 / s00421-003-0988-y , PMID 14624296 .
  5. a b Percentile values ​​for peak oxygen uptake (ml / kg / min) in men. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on July 29, 2018 ; accessed on October 7, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.researchgate.net
  6. ^ A b John Porcari, Cedric Bryant, Fabio Comana: Exercise Physiology . FA Davis, 2015, ISBN 978-0-8036-4097-9 , p. 117

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