If you are a running enthusiast, you must have heard the term VO2 a lot, what exactly is VO2 and why should runners pay attention to it?
Garmin sports watch shows the maximum oxygen uptake value, also known as maximum oxygen consumption, maximum aerobic capacity, simply put, the efficiency of the body's use of oxygen for aerobic energy, which directly reflects the cardiorespiratory fitness and endurance capacity in sports performance.
We know that endurance exercise mainly relies on the body's aerobic energy supply system, during exercise, oxygen is transported from the lungs through the blood to the cells, and the mitochondria in the cells use oxygen to carry out oxidation reactions to provide energy for the body. Therefore, adequate oxygen** and high oxygen utilization are the basis for efficient aerobic energy supply.
Maximal oxygen uptake is expressed as the volume of oxygen consumed by the body per minute (l min), which is an absolute value that does not take into account the individual's weight. Another way to express it is the relative value, which is the volume of oxygen consumed per minute per unit weight (ml kg min). Both of these expressions are used, but the latter is the most commonly used, which is the volume of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute. Generally, the maximum oxygen uptake we see through a sports watch is the relative value.
For ordinary people, the maximum oxygen uptake is generally 35-40 (ml kg min), and the maximum oxygen uptake will reach 50-60 (ml kg min) for people who regularly perform aerobic exercises such as running, cycling, and swimming. For elite professional athletes, especially those in endurance events such as road cycling, rowing, swimming, and long-distance running, the maximum oxygen consumption can reach 90 (ml kg min).
Scientists have also studied the maximum oxygen uptake of animals, with a maximum oxygen uptake of 190 (ml kg min) for running horses, 240 (ml kg min) for Siberian dogs participating in the Aitarod off-road dog sledding competition, and up to 300 (ml kg min) for running pronghorned antelopes.
Accurate measurement of VO2 requires the use of specialized equipment that accurately calculates VO2 by measuring the concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide in and out of the air by performing sufficient physical activity of sufficient time and intensity to fully activate the body's aerobic energy supply system.
Alternatively, we can use the ratio of maximum heart rate to resting heart rate to estimate maximal oxygen uptake.
Or use the distance of a 12-minute run to estimate VO2 maximum.
Of course, general sports watches can also calculate our maximum oxygen uptake, but compared to professional measuring equipment, there are often errors in sports watches and estimated values, and the measurement data of different individuals and watches are not comparable. We want to focus on the change in VO2 measured by the same individual and the same device.
There are many factors that affect VO2, including age, gender, fitness and training, and altitude. At the same time, the body's oxygen utilization rate is also affected by supply and demand, on the one hand, how much oxygen can be delivered from the lungs to the mitochondria in the cells for oxidation reaction, and on the other hand, the efficiency of mitochondria in the use of oxygen, so the mismatch between supply and demand will also affect the maximum oxygen uptake.
Through the estimation formula, we can see that the maximum oxygen uptake is related to the maximum heart rate, resting heart rate, and running speed, and the value of the maximum oxygen uptake can be indirectly increased by increasing the maximum heart rate, decreasing the resting heart rate, and increasing the running speed.
Resting heart rate is generally lower when regular aerobic exercise is performed, and resting heart rate, also known as resting heart rate, generally refers to the number of heartbeats per minute in a quiet, inactive state. Slow aerobic running is a more effective way to lower the resting heart rate, people who do not exercise regularly generally have a resting heart rate of 60 80 minutes, people who regularly participate in endurance sports exercise have a resting heart rate of 40 50, and some professional athletes are even lower.
Maximum heart rate is the highest level of heart rate that can be achieved under maximum load, this value is genetically determined, it cannot be significantly improved by training, and the maximum heart rate will continue to decrease with age, but reasonable aerobic endurance training can slow down the decline in maximum heart rate.
The improvement of exercise speed can be improved by interval running with slightly higher intensity, and you can choose different exercise intensities such as 10x400m, 6x800m, 6x1000m, etc., to increase the lactate threshold threshold and improve the speed of long-distance endurance running.
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