Can you estimate V02 max?

I found a website that will take your age and best 5k time and estimate your v02 max. (i'm sure this isn't very accurate).

is there a way to do the same thing by inputing say, 5min power, weight, body fat etc?

i'm probably going to get test this year, but until then, just curious.

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Chann McRae Cycling Coach
Velossimo Racing Team
Racing Blog
john@cmcoaching.com

You can get an estimate from an Astrand test (details on the Tacx website). However, the margin for error is so great I wouldn't place any store in the numbers it produces (it estimated my VO2 max as being 81ml/kg - much as I'd like to believe this my FTP tells me it ain't so).

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'Voigt? Pfff. If they show that guy a parcours consisting of 200kms of sand he’d still give it the go-ahead.' Tom Boonen

http://groups.google.com/group/watta...ef891584747fe9

Great link, so what duration do you use for power, 3 min, 4 min, 5 min?
-Dave

I'd suggest using the steady state power level attained during a well paced pursuit like effort, so the final minutes of a 4 to 5 min effort would be suitable. It is only an estimate. I tried it and it wasn't a bad estimate.

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Custom Training Plans -- cyclecoach.com -- My Blog -- Power Meter Hire in Australia

Thanks, that makes sense.

could someone please explain either formula's metrics please? it needs to be dumbed down for me a bit i guess!

1.8 ((Power*6.12/Kg)+3.5)+3.5

1.8 = ? dist/duration?

thanks

__________________
Chann McRae Cycling Coach
Velossimo Racing Team
Racing Blog
john@cmcoaching.com

Power is what I presume to be 5 minute power, "Kg" is bodyweight in kg. The rest is standard arithmetic. The other numbers (1.8, 3.5) are just numbers, no units.

So using myself as an example,
VO2 Max = 1.8 ((400 * 6.12/78) + 3.5) + 3.5 = 66.29

I just had a brain freeze, I'm pretty sure VO2 Max is expressed in mL/min/kg, not L/min/kg.

ok, thats what i thought. I guess i was overthinking it!

__________________
Chann McRae Cycling Coach
Velossimo Racing Team
Racing Blog
john@cmcoaching.com

Do I smell a "Post your VO2max" thread?

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Huh, given results previously obtained using running times the given equation (1.8 ((Power*6.12/Kg)+3.5)+3.5 ) seems to reflect more reality than anything I've seen for cycling.

I'll keep my pathetic numbers to myself

Since these are your real numbers, have you had a VO2 Max test done recently, and if so, was this calculation in the ballpark?

Just curious, what will VO2max tell you for cycling? And, how will that information be useful for training, etc? I'm not being quizzical, I REALLY don't know the answer. I used to think it was just a measure of "fitness"- yes/no? Kinda like asking, "how much do you bench press?" as a way of finding how strong someone is. But for cycling, I thought "w/kg" was THE question to ask..to get a sense of "capability". Can you have a high VO2max for cycling and not be a very good racer? Thanks in advance. Rob

Those v02 max numbers are calculated using your weight. So in a way, it does calculate w/kg.

its probably the best indicator of road performance, other than your Functional Threshold. 5min power is very important to road racing, ie making breaking ways, briding etc.

__________________
Chann McRae Cycling Coach
Velossimo Racing Team
Racing Blog
john@cmcoaching.com

Thanks, always learning. Rob