33 year old male. 6’1", 78kg (171lbs). “Serious” about running/triathlon since 2010 (minus last year - my little girl turned one on Saturday).
PRs (both 2 years ago):
70.3 - 4:5013.1 - 1:23
VO2 = 54.2
Who else has gotten their VO2 tested and how does it correlate to your results?
Running or cycling?
I had a treadmill vo2 test about 7-8 years ago when I had just resumed riding after a few years sedentary. It was the Bruce Protocol I believe.
My vo2 was low 70’s, with an absolute somewhere around 5.5.
I’ve always been heavy on 5 minute power, but then again I am a cyclist only, and have never tested on the bike (should have- had full access to my school’s physiology lab at the time).
I’m a good cat 2 and occasionally win, and have increased watts steadily throughout my 20’s. There are olympians with lower vo2’s, and I’m sure there are pack fill cat 4’s with higher vo2’s, so I take it with a grain of salt.
Using some very rough calculations, your 13.1 pace appears to be 80-85% of your vo2, so I would say you have made nice use out of your vo2.
I find it kind of funny when people talk about VO2 Max. Sooner or later someone will chime in and say that it is a worthless metric and that it is not proof of results. However, I still like to know where mine is and what “potential” I have.
36 Male, 5’9, 75kg (165 lbs) and this is my 3rd year doing triathlon. I have always been in shape but had some injuries that allowed me to gain some weight and tri was the catalyst for it’s removal. Anyway:
PR:
70.3: 4:46
13.1: 1:30 (Half IM)- Only open 13.1 was prior to losing weight
VO2 Max: 71 (tested 04/04/16) Treadmill protocol
More entertaining is that I have had some blood tests done recently and know my hemocrit level. That varies between 48-51. With these numbers I should be in the Olympics. Maybe I need to get a coach.
So I guess with these numbers I have proof that they are not indicative of results.
I had mine tested at 70 and ~75 ml/kg/min for cycling and running, respectively.
My PR for the Olympic distance is 1:54, open 10k PR of 33:01, and 4.89 watts/kg FTP last fall (when I was lighter).
Based on my VO2 and since I’ve only raced triathlon for ~5 years I feel I still have a ways to go to reach my potential.
Test was on a treadmill. What I found interesting was that the person testing me said my current state of less-than-peak fitness would have little impact on my VO2 score and that it is pretty much fixed.
I had mine tested at 70 and ~75 ml/kg/min for cycling and running, respectively.
My PR for the Olympic distance is 1:54, open 10k PR of 33:01, and 4.89 watts/kg FTP last fall (when I was lighter).
Based on my VO2 and since I’ve only raced triathlon for ~5 years I feel I still have a ways to go to reach my potential.
Funny. According to the data sheet, I am off the charts in the “superior” range. I figured that if it were normalized for the ST audience, I would be squarely MOP at best.
Also you are faster than me.
I am a much stronger runner than cyclist - does anyone else have experience testing cycling vs running and did it align with your talent levels in each?
I believe VO2 max has a natural tendency to be higher when running due to the activation of upper body muscles. I think most triathletes would test higher in running, while experienced pure cyclists might see higher numbers on a bike…
I find it kind of funny when people talk about VO2 Max. Sooner or later someone will chime in and say that it is a worthless metric and that it is not proof of results. However, I still like to know where mine is and what “potential” I have.
36 Male, 5’9, 75kg (165 lbs) and this is my 3rd year doing triathlon. I have always been in shape but had some injuries that allowed me to gain some weight and tri was the catalyst for it’s removal. Anyway:
PR:
70.3: 4:46
13.1: 1:30 (Half IM)- Only open 13.1 was prior to losing weight
VO2 Max: 71 (tested 04/04/16) Treadmill protocol
More entertaining is that I have had some blood tests done recently and know my hemocrit level. That varies between 48-51. With these numbers I should be in the Olympics. Maybe I need to get a coach.
So I guess with these numbers I have proof that they are not indicative of results.
Just as important are your economy measures.
Elite performance takes high VO2 and high economy.
Us average Joes tend to have one or the other.
I’m ~ 71ml/kg/min on the bike, ~ 5.2 liters/min.
I’ve been tested three times.
1982 and again in 1983: VO2max = 78
I was 17 years old, 135-140lbs, 5’10", riding > 400 mpw and riding as a category 2 cyclist.
2009 VO2max = 56 (maybe 58?)
I was 44 years old, 158 lbs (maybe 160), 6’0", and training 12-15 hours/week as a triathlete.
All tests were on a cycling ergometer. I was leaner at 16 than at 44, but not by a lot. The big swing factor was that at 17 I had big legs for being 135-140lbs. At 44, I looked much more like a runner (skinnier legs) and carried a lot more weight on my upper body.
I have several years of data for both cycling and running with similar results for both activities at around 5.2 l/min for uptake. The run was always slightly higher. My fitness improved over time and my weight went down which yielded a higher VO2Max, but the uptake stayed the same with a slight +/-.
I hadn’t tested for the last few years and then knocked out a run test this past February to see what the 100 runs in 100 days approach was yielding. My uptake was still about the same @ 5.1 l/min. I didn’t test cycling.
My strength is cycling and my results there continue to improve, but I probably was much more serious about running at an earlier age. When I was doing regular lactate and metabolic testing the results indicated I was a more efficient runner than cyclist.
Never had it tested in a lab, but mine is either 55 or 56 depending if you believe WKO4 or my garmin.
I’m a 32 y/o 175 lb middling cat 4 roadie.
Using some very rough calculations, your 13.1 pace appears to be 80-85% of your vo2, so I would say you have made nice use out of your vo2.
Curious about what calculations you made. I’m not sure exactly what to take away from the test.
Using some very rough calculations, your 13.1 pace appears to be 80-85% of your vo2, so I would say you have made nice use out of your vo2.
Curious about what calculations you made. I’m not sure exactly what to take away from the test.
Your vo2 is 54.2- which means you can metabolize 54.2 ml of o2 per minute, per kg of body weight.
If you multiply by your weight in kg you get 4.23- which is the absolute number of liters of o2 you can metabolize per minute.
Each liter of o2 represents a calorie burn of about 5 calories. So you can multiply 4.23 by 60 to get 253.8, which is the number of liters of oxygen per hour. Times 5 would be 1269, the number of calories per hour you burn while running at your vo2 max.
Guessing that you are burning about 110 calories per mile, this works out to a pace of 5.2 min (~5:12) per mi at vo2 max.
I took your 13.1 pace and worked backward (83 min/13.1 = 6.33 min/mi = 9.5 mi or ~1045 cal/hr). Those 1045 cal/hr at 13.1 pace are about 44.6ml/kg/min or 82.2% of your 54.2 maximum o2 consumption per minute.
I’m about 7 years out of physiology school and don’t work in the industry, but I’ve retained the important equations to use for me and my athletes 
Thanks for “showing your work”. So my question is if my VO2 would prevent me from going sub-1:20? 1:15? Or too many other things at play - weight, efficiency, etc.
Thanks for “showing your work”. So my question is if my VO2 would prevent me from going sub-1:20? 1:15? Or too many other things at play - weight, efficiency, etc.
If you were to be able to hold 90% of your vo2 for the 13.1 distance, you’d be at 1:15:45 (vo2 cals per hour x .9 then dividing by 110 to determine mph).
I’m mainly a cycling coach, so my knowledge in regards to running is limited, but if you’ve been serious since 2010 and achieved your pr’s in 2014, that’s a great indication (along with being 33) that you’ve still got a bit higher ceiling.
And if it encourages you more, I’ve been serious in road racing since 2008, after racing mountain as a teenager, and I’ve hit cycling power pr’s (from sprint->3+ hours) just about every year since then.
Great. Thanks for the insight. The fun part is getting faster, so you had me worried that I had about maxed out my potential. 1:15 for 13.1 is a LOT faster than 1:25.
In terms of cycling, I don’t have as much talent and find it harder to keep it at the limit.
Great. Thanks for the insight. The fun part is getting faster, so you had me worried that I had about maxed out my potential. 1:15 for 13.1 is a LOT faster than 1:25.
In terms of cycling, I don’t have as much talent and find it harder to keep it at the limit.
No prob- keep us posted dude!
OK, I’ll bite, with what data I have. 40 year male, 6’3", 187# (85kg), many years of semi-dedicated cycling and running, a little more serious and doing some tris in the last 5-6 years now that my kids are older.
13.1 PR: 1:29:49
70.3 PR: ~5:26
Although I feel lately I could probably go around 5 flat for the 70.3.
Vo2max: 66 ml/kg/min, tested ~8 years ago when I was (to my consideration) far less fit. Same weight, though. That gives me a 5.6L raw number (I think the test reported the raw o2 max value closer to 6L though, if I remember right. I’m a windbag.)
-Eric
I’m blown away by some of the big numbers being mentioned here
46 year old male 70kgs more of a runner
Lab tested on the bike at 58 Vo2max about two months ago
Garmin has me at 58 for the run as well although I haven’t done any speed work since getting the Fenix 3
PR 140.6 @ 10:06 (Didn’t swim anywhere near enough though during training and should have been 15 minutes faster) It was 30C (86F) on the run as well
straight 21 k 1:30, (probably not running anywhere near my potential there.)
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