I had a VO2 Max test done this morning at UVM, as part of a GMBC group that was celebrating the grand opening of a new rehab / fitness center in town. The test takes about 1/2 hour with warmup, and the real work is only about 15 minutes long. I rode my bike in a Computrainer and I was breathing into a mouthpiece attached to a gas analyzer. My heart rate was recorded along with watts, speed, and cadence from the trainer. We calibrated a cadence and intial wattage reading while I warmed up, then as the test began the goal was to ride as close as possible to my selected “ideal” cadence as possible, as resistance was increased every 2 minutes. It started to hurt when I hit the middle of the 300 watts section – about 5-7 minutes into the test. I’m not sure how far into the resistance we reached nearing the 11 minute mark – I had tapped out all my gears, was pedaling squares, and was struggling to breathe. The techs gave me a preliminary data sheet – the last 2:40 of the test I was riding a consistent heart rate of 193 bpm! At this point there are only a few numbers that I can make sense of – I’m looking forward to a detailed evaluation of my test results that I should have later this week. Jen snapped a few pictures – neither of which are very flattering – but I do like the fish look as I reached for my waterbottle.
Wow
I’m looking into this – tomorrow I see the person for initial evaluation. Be sure to post the results – 193 ugh
Amy,
The test was very enlightening – even at this early stage of not having a translation of the raw data. All winter I’ve felt like I’ve been training “too low” in my HR range. I think my prolonged effort at 193 reinforces that feeling – and I’m curious to see what the doc sends over as my new training zones. I’m also curious how I improve throughout the season – I’m heavier and feel slower than I was at the end of last season – and I hope to re-test mid to late spring and see if my training is effective.
While I’m not a racer – I do appreciate making the most of the time I spend working hard and “training”. There always seem to be plenty of rides where I just enjoy the day and take in the scenery, and not enough of the ones where I focus on speed work or climbing. I’ll update the blog when I get the next batch of data, as well as if I feel if the test was worth it as a training tool.
If you can, you might explore getting a group rate on the test. Our local club put together 6 cyclists who were all tested during a few hours – this saved time – and the doc offered a half price discount to the group!
-Mike
Breathing into that tube is no fun at all and the lack of water is annoying! At least you got to use your own bike!