I read many articles and heard many people talking about VO2 Max. Even some exercises or training programs are based on this measure. I would like to know what this is and what influence it has on athletes. I would be grateful if anyone can shed some light on this matter for me.
Also called maximal oxygen consumption or even maximal oxygen uptake, VO2 max stands for maximum capacity to transport and utilize oxygen. Some people refer to it as aerobic capacity. It is usually expressed in two ways. First one, in liters of oxygen per minute and second one, in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute. It varies among the people. Normal male has approx. 3.5 liters/min and 45 ml/min/kg while females measure approx. 2.0 l/min and 38 ml/min/kg. It usually decreases with age but can be improved with training. Top class athletes can have VO2 max at 80 and in rare cases even over 90 ml/min/kg for males and around 70 ml/min/kg for females. In the absolute relations, male rowers typically have VO2 max of 6 liters/minute, while some exceptional individuals managed to exceed 8 l/min.
I read many articles and heard many people talking about VO2 Max. Even some exercises or training programs are based on this measure. I would like to know what this is and what influence it has on athletes. I would be grateful if anyone can shed some light on this matter for me.
Also called maximal oxygen consumption or even maximal oxygen uptake, VO2 max stands for maximum capacity to transport and utilize oxygen. Some people refer to it as aerobic capacity. It is usually expressed in two ways. First one, in liters of oxygen per minute and second one, in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute. It varies among the people. Normal male has approx. 3.5 liters/min and 45 ml/min/kg while females measure approx. 2.0 l/min and 38 ml/min/kg. It usually decreases with age but can be improved with training. Top class athletes can have VO2 max at 80 and in rare cases even over 90 ml/min/kg for males and around 70 ml/min/kg for females. In the absolute relations, male rowers typically have VO2 max of 6 liters/minute, while some exceptional individuals managed to exceed 8 l/min.