CS8.0 Bikes Owner’s Guide
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Appendix B
Maximal oxygen uptake, or VO
2
max, is considered the best
single measurement of cardiovascular fitness. It represents the
peak rate of your body’s oxygen consumption capability, which
is important because this is one of the two biggest factors in
endurance performance.
(The other big endurance factor is the lactate threshold, which
is the exercise level at which blood lactate begins to accumulate
above resting levels. The lactate threshold is much more
difficult to measure than VO
2
max, which is why VO
2
max is the
accepted standard.)
The only accurate way to measure VO
2
max is to use a
laboratory-grade respiratory diagnostic system during a
maximal exercise test. All other methods produce an estimate
with varying degrees of accuracy.
Serious training results in an average improvement in VO
2
max
of 20%, and all this takes place in 8 to 12 weeks. Additional
performance improvement after this time is a result of a
higher lactate threshold and, to a lesser degree, increased
biomechanical efficiency.
(See Wilmore & Costill, Physiology of Sport and Exercise, pages
140-141, and ACSM Guidelines, page 68).
VO
2
max is expressed in milliters of oxygen per minute per
kilogram of body weight, or ml/min/kg.
VO
2
