Can you estimate V02 max?



PSUcycling

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Nov 23, 2003
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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.
 
PSUcycling said:
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.


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).
 
daveryanwyoming said:
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.
 
Alex Simmons said:
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.
Thanks, that makes sense.
 
Alex Simmons said:
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.

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
 
PSUcycling said:
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
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.
 
jbvcoaching said:
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!
 
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 :)
 
jbvcoaching said:
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.
Since these are your real numbers, have you had a VO2 Max test done recently, and if so, was this calculation in the ballpark?
 
PSUcycling said:
ok, thats what i thought. I guess i was overthinking it!
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
 
mullerrj said:
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.
 
PSUcycling said:
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 Function Threshold. 5min power is very important to road racing, ie making breaking ways, briding etc.
Thanks, always learning. Rob
 
Woofer said:
Since these are your real numbers, have you had a VO2 Max test done recently, and if so, was this calculation in the ballpark?
I had a series of VO2 Max tests done in mid 1988, I always came out between 68-72 mL/min/kg. That was at sea level, and the numbers I posted are from 7000'. My best sea level numbers are from a few years ago (2003? 2004?), 440W for 5 minutes at 80kg.

So yeah, in the ballpark.
 
jbvcoaching said:
...So yeah, in the ballpark.
O.K., here's how that looks on Andy's power profiling chart using the weight adjusted version with the 1.8 coefficient.

Should give folks a whole new thing to argue about in terms of accuracy and racing levels :)


-Dave
P.S. I apologize in advance for the blatant download and edit copyright infringement Andy as I pulled this chart from CyclingPeaks site. Please don't sue me, I'm only a poor hack bike racer........
 
daveryanwyoming said:
O.K., here's how that looks on Andy's power profiling chart using the weight adjusted version with the 1.8 coefficient.

Should give folks a whole new thing to argue about in terms of accuracy and racing levels :)


-Dave
P.S. I apologize in advance for the blatant download and edit copyright infringement Andy as I pulled this chart of CyclingPeaks site. Please don't sue me, I'm only a poor hack bike racer........
Wasn't Lance's FTP 6.5 w/kg? I don't even think his VO2max was that high- wasn't it more like 88? Be interesting to find out how this chart compares to real life measurements/data. Thanks for posting..very interesting.
 
mullerrj said:
Wasn't Lance's FTP 6.5 w/kg? I don't even think his VO2max was that high- wasn't it more like 88? Be interesting to find out how this chart compares to real life measurements/data. Thanks for posting..very interesting.


that chart is cool!

i wonder if it can be redone using the top anchor point of lance or indurain. And some other 'known' points?

i think we are on to somthing here.