…oh man, i know i’m asking for it. so i’ve finally caught up with the rest of you 21st century folk and bought a HRM. i was asked to do this little test, and got this:
i’m not so clued up on this stuff, yet (obviously)…interested to know if you experts out there see anything good, bad or ugly in these results? fwiw i’m training for a marathon in October (my first), and an IM in March (again, my first).
new coach has me on a 2 month “technique” focus block…lots of hill reps, 1-2 dedicated S/B/R drill sessions per week…balanced with strictly Z2 (HR145-165) for the med-long stuff…all of which i’m cool with, very mentally stimulating so far.
so, whaddaya say folks? anything else i can take out of this? JFT?
Over how long were these measurements made? (I understand that the stages were 3 min in duration, but typically people don’t average VO2, etc., across an entire stage.)
There’s definitely something fishy about the data at 16 km/h (as well as the last value, for which no speed is indicated, but I assume that’s just a post-test bogus/partial value). There’s no way your VO2 would jump up that much, especially given the fact that your ventilation did not. What’s even stranger, however, is the fact that the RER responds normally, i.e., it’s steadily climbing - if the abnormally high VO2 were due to a ‘hiccup’ by the O2 analyzer, then RER would have dropped.
Speed incremented VO2max tests aren’t very common, but if you’re a decent runner who can turn their legs over reasonably comfortably at 17 km/h, this shouldn’t have prevented you from reaching VO2max…
…and in fact, except for the strange data at 16 km/h, your VO2 was clearly leveling off towards the end of the test at just under 60 mL/min/kg.
not sure what you can make from this AC:
** 1. Over how long were these measurements made? (I understand that the stages were 3 min in duration, but typically people don’t average VO2, etc., across an entire stage.)
pretty sure they’re calculated averages across the stage, from data taken at 30sec intervals…see chart below
There’s definitely something fishy about the data at 16 km/h (as well as the last value, for which no speed is indicated, but I assume that’s just a post-test bogus/partial value). There’s no way your VO2 would jump up that much, especially given the fact that your ventilation did not. What’s even stranger, however, is the fact that the RER responds normally, i.e., it’s steadily climbing - if the abnormally high VO2 were due to a ‘hiccup’ by the O2 analyzer, then RER would have dropped.
*3. Speed incremented VO2max tests aren’t very common, but if you’re a decent runner who can turn their legs over reasonably comfortably at 17 km/h, this shouldn’t have prevented you from reaching VO2max… *
i was DYING at 17km/h! seriously, i’m not a fast runner…definitely my weakest leg…i could’ve held another increase for perhaps 30secs (at a guess), but not another 3mins for sure
*4. …and in fact, except for the strange data at 16 km/h, your VO2 was clearly leveling off towards the end of the test at just under 60 mL/min/kg. *
**
See above
5. Where was this test performed?
**
Finally something i can answer with confidence…Auckland University of Technology lab, NZ
