VO2 Max test.

Yesterday I went to Preston Royal Hospital for a VO2 Max test (I can't help thinking of a well known hair product whenever I say this).  The aim was to measure my body’s metabolic response to exercise so that I can get the best results from my training time  - Make sense? 

In a nutshell, Tom (The doctor performing the test from my tri club) gave me the data I need to train most effectively.

I have never been to Preston Hospital so I was very apprehensive about driving there on my own.  However at 4.30pm I programmed the postcode into Tom Tom (Sat nav not Dr!) and set off on the 41 mile journey.  I allowed plenty of time as I was worried about getting stuck in rush hour traffic as well as getting lost! However, fear not I made it! Tom tom did a splendid job and in just 45 minutes I was pulling up into the car park.  There was a barrier across the entrance of the car park and a ticket machine.  I precariously leaned out my window to press the button (I need longer arms!) and retrieved the ticket. I looked expectantly at the barrier ... no movement ... I edged the car forward thinking it was sensor operated ... still nothing. I inspected the ticket to see whether it was expecting me to feed the machine some dosh but it clearly stated to pay on exit.  I got out the car and looked helplessly around me and was horrified to see I had caused a rather long tailback.  Thankfully a ticket attendant appeared (a little like Mr Ben), I have no idea where he had been watching from. After frantic pressing of many buttons (him not me!), then removing the back off the machine and after doing more fiddling he eventually managed to get the barrier to lift.  I jumped back into the car and was relieved to discover that there were loads of parking spaces available.  I parked and saw it was still only 5.30pm, I had 30 minutes to kill until my appointment.  Thankfully I had taken my kindle along so the time passed quickly.  

I was meeting Tom at 6pm at the main entrance of the hospital.  He arrived promptly and we made our way through the many corridors to the testing room. It was a very hot sunny evening and the room was very warm and stuffy.  Not the best environment to be exercising in!  I was nervous about pushing myself to the extreme but was comforted that at least should I collapse or have a heart attack I was already in a hospital and had a Dr with me!

The test started with my height, weight and body fat measurements. I clocked-in at 167cm, 60kg and BMI 21.5 which is on the lower end of normal apparently.

After inputting this information in to the machine then came a lung function test.  A tube attached to the testing machine was placed in my mouth and a clip placed on my nose then I had to breath in as far as I could and then exhale through the tube for as long as I could.  This was done twice to get the best reading.  My first attempt was the best. 

Lung function tests measure:

How much air you can take into your lungs. 
How much air you can blow out of your lungs and how fast you can do it.
How well your lungs deliver oxygen to your blood.
The strength of your breathing muscles.

The next step was to jump on the stationary bike and to get wired up. You wear a mask for the test and the first step was the positioning of the mask over my mouth and nose ensuring that there was no air leakages, next a blood pressure cuff was attached to my arm to monitor my blood pressure for each minute of cycling followed by 8 electrodes being attached to various parts of my body  to monitor my heart activity through the session.  Finally a machine to monitor oxygen levels was attached and eventually it was time to start the VO2 max test.  

All of your breathing is done through the mask so the computer can measure how much oxygen you’re taking in and how well it is utilised.  Once the mask was in place and he was getting all the other bits and pieces sorted I felt fairly uncomfortable as breathing with the mask on is very unnatural and it made my mouth very dry. It makes you acutely aware of your breathing and I felt almost like I was going to have a panic attack.  I had to really concentrate on what he was saying and doing to keep myself calm at this point. However, once the test started I thankfully lost these awful feelings. 

The test started out with 4 minutes at 100 watts, then every couple minutes it jumps up 50 watts. The goal is to hang on as long as you can and ride to exhaustion. The aim was to keep the speed constant at around 65 rpm which seemed unnaturally slow at first and I struggled not to go too fast.  However, as the watts increased the speed became easier to maintain until it became the other extreme and I struggled to keep it high enough. I got told not to talk during the test and to answer any questions with a thumbs up or thumbs down sign. 
The test started slowly and gradually increased in intensity. I was informed when I got to the point I would be classified fit for major surgery (which was amazingly quickly).  You obviously don't have to be very fit to survive operations these days, and then I was informed when I had reached my potential based on my age, weight and sex. This was probably after about 15 minutes but Tom informed me I had loads left in me yet! 

At one point I thought I was going to get a fit of the giggles as he was shouting "push harder, push, push, push harder"  I felt like I had been transported back 17 years and was giving birth! I think he must have read my thoughts as he soon changed to "pedal faster, pedal harder".  

The test was over within about 25 minutes. I didn't feel like I had been pushed to the extreme as I had imagined.  I think my legs gave in before my lungs and heart!  However Tom was satisfied that I had reached my VO2 Max by the peak showing on the chart. 

So what were my numbers? My VO2 max was 40.5 ml/kg/min. What does this mean ?... to be honest I have no idea!  But according to this table I am a superior athlete at the grand old age of 46!  I'm not sure that is a very accurate conclusion but hey I can go along with it!



After the test we went through all the pretty graphs produced by the machine and I was informed of the total amount of oxygen I am consuming, the amount of air circulating through my lungs, the amount of carbohydrate I am using in Kcal per minute as heart rate increases, and a similar figure for fat use.

We discussed training zones based on my heart rate during the test!  I think this might be useful for ensuring my easy runs are easy enough and my interval training is hard enough! 

It appears I have overestimated what exercise intensity is appropriate for my long, slow distance training.  Apparently I have been working at intensities where a good deal of carbs are being chewed up when I need to work at a lower level to encourage my body to use more fat before turning onto the carbs.

I think perhaps I need to take a degree to actually understand the information given but I will try to put his advice into practise from now on - Time will tell!