I've mentioned several times before that the data I have on myself is consistent with what Coyle reported for Armstrong, but have never shared the details, so thought this was as good a time and place as any...
First, a graph:
What's shown above is my interpolated VO2 (in L/min) at a power of 250 W, based on data culled from the 100+ incremental exercise tests that I have done over the years. I've chosen to present that data this way vs. giving the slope and intercept of the VO2-power relationship, and/or in terms of gross (or net) efficiency, just for simplicity's sake, but the way to read the graph is lower = more efficient.
To be included in the data set, I decided that the tests/data had to meet the following criteria:
1) metabolic cart validated against Douglas bags
2) stage duration >4 but <10 min
3) highest stage < ventilatory threshold
4) use of an electronically-braked ergometer
Like Coyle's paper, this is a retrospective case study, and therefore lacks the rigorous controls that you would want to see in careful scientific investigation. OTOH, the data were collected in "good faith", i.e., without any preconcieved notions as to what the outcome might be. Perhaps just as importantly, I know my way around VO2 measurements and metabolic carts quite well, having built/rebuilt/validated such systems at six different institutions over the years, and thus trust those data. In support of the belief that this is not a source of bias, my highest VO2max measured using three of the four systems used to collect the data included in the plot varied by <0.1 L/min, or <2%. I have less data on the accuracy/precision of the power data, but four of the six tests shown in the graph were conducted using the same Velodyne, which was validated against a carefully-calibrated SRM. Moreover, these tests are interspersed among the other, and although span a shorter period of time (i.e., 14 y, vs. 26 y for the entire dataset), show the same trend (i.e., over time, a reduction in VO2 at the same power).
Enjoy!!
EDIT: I was born in 1959, started cycling in 1974, and racing in 1975...data for the first test were therefore collected after I'd been training for 8 y, when I was 23. I did my first VO2max test in 1977, when I was 18, after one or more per year most years after that, but don't have submaximal data from before 1982.
First, a graph:
What's shown above is my interpolated VO2 (in L/min) at a power of 250 W, based on data culled from the 100+ incremental exercise tests that I have done over the years. I've chosen to present that data this way vs. giving the slope and intercept of the VO2-power relationship, and/or in terms of gross (or net) efficiency, just for simplicity's sake, but the way to read the graph is lower = more efficient.
To be included in the data set, I decided that the tests/data had to meet the following criteria:
1) metabolic cart validated against Douglas bags
2) stage duration >4 but <10 min
3) highest stage < ventilatory threshold
4) use of an electronically-braked ergometer
Like Coyle's paper, this is a retrospective case study, and therefore lacks the rigorous controls that you would want to see in careful scientific investigation. OTOH, the data were collected in "good faith", i.e., without any preconcieved notions as to what the outcome might be. Perhaps just as importantly, I know my way around VO2 measurements and metabolic carts quite well, having built/rebuilt/validated such systems at six different institutions over the years, and thus trust those data. In support of the belief that this is not a source of bias, my highest VO2max measured using three of the four systems used to collect the data included in the plot varied by <0.1 L/min, or <2%. I have less data on the accuracy/precision of the power data, but four of the six tests shown in the graph were conducted using the same Velodyne, which was validated against a carefully-calibrated SRM. Moreover, these tests are interspersed among the other, and although span a shorter period of time (i.e., 14 y, vs. 26 y for the entire dataset), show the same trend (i.e., over time, a reduction in VO2 at the same power).
Enjoy!!
EDIT: I was born in 1959, started cycling in 1974, and racing in 1975...data for the first test were therefore collected after I'd been training for 8 y, when I was 23. I did my first VO2max test in 1977, when I was 18, after one or more per year most years after that, but don't have submaximal data from before 1982.
Last edited by:
Andrew Coggan: Sep 25, 08 8:39