PurposeTo describe training variations across the annual cycle in Olympic and World Champion endurance athletes, and determine whether these athletes used tapering strategies in line with recommendations in the literature.MethodsEleven elite XC skiers and biathletes (4 male; 28±1 yr, 85±5 mL. min−1. kg−1 , 7 female, 25±4 yr, 73±3 mL. min−1. kg−1 ) reported one year of day-to-day training leading up to the most successful competition of their career. Training data were divided into periodization and peaking phases and distributed into training forms, intensity zones and endurance activity forms.ResultsAthletes trained ∼800 h/500 sessions.year−1, including ∼500 h. year−1 of sport-specific training. Ninety-four percent of all training was executed as aerobic endurance training. Of this, ∼90% was low intensity training (LIT, below the first lactate threshold) and 10% high intensity training (HIT, above the first lactate threshold) by time. Categorically, 23% of training sessions were characterized as HIT with primary portions executed at or above the first lactate turn point. Training volume and specificity distribution conformed to a traditional periodization model, but absolute volume of HIT remained stable across phases. However, HIT training patterns tended to become more polarized in the competition phase. Training volume, frequency and intensity remained unchanged from pre-peaking to peaking period, but there was a 32±15% (P<.01) volume reduction from the preparation period to peaking phase.ConclusionsThe annual training data for these Olympic and World champion XC skiers and biathletes conforms to previously reported training patterns of elite endurance athletes. During the competition phase, training became more sport-specific, with 92% performed as XC skiing. However, they did not follow suggested tapering practice derived from short-term experimental studies. Only three out of 11 athletes took a rest day during the final 5 days prior to their most successful competition.

ObjectiveTo describe different end criteria for reaching maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) during a continuous graded exercise test on the treadmill, and to explore the manner by which different end criteria have an impact on the magnitude of the VO2max result.MethodsA sample of 861 individuals (390 women) aged 20–85 years performed an exercise test on a treadmill until exhaustion. Gas exchange, heart rate, blood lactate concentration and Borg Scale6–20 rating were measured, and the impact of different end criteria on VO2max was studied;VO2 leveling off, maximal heart rate (HRmax), different levels of respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and postexercise blood lactate concentration.ResultsEight hundred and four healthy participants (93%) fulfilled the exercise test until voluntary exhaustion. There were no sex-related differences in HRmax, RER, or Borg Scale rating, whereas blood lactate concentration was 18% lower in women (P<0.001). Forty-two percent of the participants achieved a plateau in VO2; these individuals had 5% higher ventilation (P = 0.033), 4% higher RER (P<0.001), and 5% higher blood lactate concentration (P = 0.047) compared with participants who did not reach a VO2 plateau. When using RER ≥1.15 or blood lactate concentration ≥8.0 mmol•L–1, VO2max was 4% (P = 0.012) and 10% greater (P<0.001), respectively. A blood lactate concentration ≥8.0 mmol•L–1 excluded 63% of the participants in the 50–85-year-old cohort.ConclusionsA range of typical end criteria are presented in a random sample of subjects aged 20–85 years. The choice of end criteria will have an impact on the number of the participants as well as the VO2max outcome. Suggestions for new recommendations are given.

Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to quantify maximal aerobic power (VO 2max ) in soccer as a function of performance level, position, age, and time of season. In addition, the authors examined the evolution of VO 2max among professional players over a 23-y period. Methods: 1545 male soccer players (22 ± 4 y, 76 ± 8 kg, 181 ± 6 cm) were tested for VO 2max at the Norwegian Olympic Training Center between 1989 and 2012. Results: No differences in VO 2max were observed among national-team players, 1st-and 2nd-division players, and juniors. Midfielders had higher VO 2max than defenders, forwards, and goalkeepers (P < .05). Players <18 y of age had ~3% higher VO 2max than 23-to 26-y-old players (P = .016). The players had 1.6% and 2.1% lower VO 2max during off-season than preseason (P = .046) and in season (P = .021), respectively. Relative to body mass, VO 2max among the professional players in this study has not improved over time. Professional players tested during 2006-2012 actually had 3.2% lower VO 2max than those tested from 2000 to 2006 (P = .001). Conclusions:This study provides effect-magnitude estimates for the influence of performance level, player position, age, and season time on VO 2max in men's elite soccer. The findings from a robust data set indicate that VO 2max values ~62-64 mL · kg -1 · min -1 fulfill the demands for aerobic capacity in men's professional soccer and that VO 2max is not a clearly distinguishing variable separating players of different standards.Keywords: relative VO 2max , aerobic capacity, soccer, physical performanceThe importance of high maximal aerobic power (VO 2max ) in modern soccer is heavily debated. Reported test results have varied widely with VO 2max values between 50 and 75 mL · kg -1 · min -1 among outfield athletes. 1 Some investigations indicate that lower-ranked teams have lower VO 2max than the best teams. 2,3 Reilly et al 4 claim that VO 2max is not a sensitive measure of performance capability in soccer and suggest that VO 2max >60 mL represents a threshold to possess the physiological attributes for success in men's elite soccer. In contrast, Stølen et al 1 claim that it would be reasonable to expect about 70 mL · kg -1 · min -1 for a 75-kg professional soccer player, a value similar to that in elite middle-distance athletes. 5 It is also unclear whether there are positional differences in VO 2max among male soccer athletes. 4,6,7 The Norwegian Olympic training center has served as a standard testing facility for a large number of teams across a broad range of performance levels, including essentially all national-team players. A database of VO 2max results collected over 2 decades provided the potential for more rigorously testing the hypotheses presented in previous studies. Thus, the aim of this study was to quantify possible differences in VO 2max as a function of athlete playing standard, field position, age, and time of season. In addition, we evaluated the evolution of VO 2max in the Norwegian national squad over a 23-year period. Materia...

Exercise at intensity above 90% of maximal MHR in pregnant elite athletes may compromise fetal wellbeing.

This study provides updated benchmark VO2max values for Olympic-medal-level performance in winter endurance disciplines and can serve as a guideline of the requirements for future elite athletes.