Verification Testing to Confirm VO₂max in Altitude-Residing, Endurance-Trained Runners

Abstract

We sought to explore the utility of the verification trial to confirm individual attainment of ‘true’ VO₂max in altitude-residing, endurance-trained runners during treadmill exercise. 24 elite endurance-trained men and women runners (age=21.5±3.3 yr, ht=174.8±9.3 cm, body mass=60.5±6.7 kg, PR 800 m 127.5±13.1 s) completed a graded exercise test (GXT) trial (VO₂max=60.0±5.8 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹), and returned 20 min after incremental exercise to complete a verification trial (VO₂max=59.6±5.7 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹) of constant load, supramaximal exercise. The incidence of ‘true’ VO₂max confirmation using the verification trial was 24/24 (100%) with all participants revealing differences in VO₂max≤3% (the technical error of our equipment) between the GXT and verification trials. These findings support use of the verification trial to confirm VO₂max attainment in altitude-residing, endurance-trained runners.

Key words

maximal oxygen uptake - incremental exercise test - true VO₂max - verification phase - VO₂ plateau - hypoxia

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