End Criteria for Reaching Maximal Oxygen Uptake Must Be Strict and Adjusted to Sex and Age: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

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.

Cardiorespiratory Exertion While Playing Video Game Exercises in Elderly Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes

“…18 The RER values of 0.81 to 0.86 recorded for the exergame spirometries suggest that this form of PA is able to activate both fat and glucose metabolism and therefore lies in an optimal range for prolonged exercise. Nonsignificant increases in lactate, mean VȮ 2 values around 42% to 44% of treadmill VȮ 2 peak, and a HRmean around 67% to 70% of the treadmill HRmax support the suitability of Wii Fit Plus as an exercise tool for elderly type 2 diabetic patients.…”

Ischaemic preconditioning does not alter the determinants of endurance running performance in the heat

“…(Midgley & Carroll 2009), the precise consequences of heat strain cannot not be accurately replicated, which would be necessary given the strong relationship between heat strain and V" O 2max decrement (Nybo et al 2014). Therefore, in the absence of a plateau, a test was deemed maximal if three out of the following four criteria were met; blood lactate concentration >8 mMol.L -1 , HR within 10 beats of age predicted maximum, respiratory exchange ratio >1.1, and RPE at or above 19 (Edvardsen et al 2014 Jones (2006). Sweat rate (L.hr -1 ) was calculated from the difference in pre and post nude body mass divided by the individual exercise duration.…”

One-year unsupervised individualized exercise training intervention enhances cardiorespiratory fitness but not muscle deoxygenation or glycemic control in adults with type 1 diabetes

“…While we acknowledge that a randomized design would have been necessary to preclude selection bias, the nonrandom allocation hardly affected comparisons between T1D and CON. Regarding the maximality of the exercise tests performed, while our findings of RER (≥1.10 reached in every test) suggest the maximality of the tests (Edvardsen et al 2014), a plateau in V O 2 at high intensities was not observed in five subjects at baseline (three T1D, two CON) and four subjects after the intervention (three T1D, one CON), which slightly questions the maximality of the nine particular tests (Poole and Jones 2017). It can still be argued that as the V O 2 plateau was absent in only a few subjects including those from both T1D and CON, this issue hardly had any effect on our between-group comparisons.…”

“…Pulmonary O 2 uptake (V O 2 ) was analyzed as absolute (L/min) and anthropometry-adjusted (mL/min/kg body weight; mL/min/kg fat-free mass [FFM] [Batterham et al 1999]) values. Respiratory exchange ratio (RER) was calculated as a ratio of CO 2 output and V O 2 ; RER of ≥1.10 was reached in every test, suggesting the maximality of the tests performed (Edvardsen et al 2014). …”