Falchoon

I did a VO2 max test the other week (professional tester, controlled conditions etc) and got a result of 50.8 and approx 300W . Pretty average to say the least. Comparing my results to other members of my club (they are higher C & B grade, I'm D) they got ~70 for VO2 and over 400W (B graders) and 53 and 340W for C grader. Am I realistically ever going to going to come near these other guys with my on bike performance? Not just talking the actual numbers, I'm talking the actual performance (speed and fitness). Is it just a matter of me training more/harder or do I just have to be content with what nature gave me and resign myself to the fact that I'll most likely never be anything more than maybe a midpack C grader? I don't have TDF ambitions, maybe just club B grade.

These tests were done on different days, possibly by different people using different apparatus as well so is it a fair comparison? I know with car dynometers results from different dynos on different days aren't a true comparison.

I have been riding for a number of years, mostly commuting to work and weekend social endurance rides (~150km), but this is my first season racing - about 6 months so far. Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon?

cslone

You can increase your V02 max with intensity in training, but in reality, it's just a number. I think I remember it being largely untrainable after the first few years of serious training adaptation though. My last tested V02 Max was 70. I'm down 10-15 lbs, so I'm told it is probably a bit higher now. But the point is that I've never been anything special on the bike(always excelled at every other sport). I'm sure there are guys that beat me all the time that have a lower Vo2.
My biggest change has been following a specific cycling training program. Last year I rode 1-2x's a week, then raced on the weekends. This year I've been on a program that has me riding 5-7 days a week. I haven't been out on the road yet(racing), but I've dropped 2 minutes off my time on the indoor computrainer TT course compared to last year, and 1:11 since the last time I performed the TT.

I guess the point is, no, you'll probably never be a professional cyclist. But yes, specific training should increase your Vo2. In the end though, I wouldn't worry about the actual number. Specific training and racing will get you in shape and riding with the faster guys. Tactics will help bridge the gap too.

And the real number to look at is power at LT. That's what you want to see go up. Which may have a direct correlation to V02 max, I don't know.

MDcatV

Throw your results away and forget that you have them if they are making you doubt your ability and giving you confidence problems. I dont know what B club rider is, but if it's like US category 2/3-ish, you can get there with hard work, focus, and learning to race to your strengths (just like everyone else).

From your post, you've actually been riding with purpose other than tooling along for 6 mos., it takes longer than that to develope fast legs as opposed to chattin' it up legs. This, your 1st season might suck, maybe not, but dont get discouraged and keep plugging away.

Snuffleupagus

Yep. Your first year or two you should just ride a lot to figure the whole thing out. Don't beat yourself up, as you are far from reaching your innate potential.

spunky

Agreed....just keep training and quit worrying about the numbers. Don't let them hinder your goals. Two years ago, riding in a pack at 30 mph was nearly inconceivable to me, in a sense. Now, I do that every week. You'll get there with the right state of mind. I talked to a physiology student that said she knows a marathon runner that has a VO2 max of only 52, yet can turn out a 2:20 marathon....that's about 5 min 22 second miles. Obviously numbers aren't everything.

Duke of Kent

I have to say it:

Anyone who has a VO2max of 70, which indicates both good ability to use O2 and a light body mass, as well as a LT/FTP of 400w, yet is still a "B" grade (Cat2 or 3, methinks?) must either race like a complete buffoon, or race twice a year.

DrWJODonnell

I think he is quoting the numbers at which they topped out, not the LT.

Will

VosBike

There's always the example of (can't quite remember his name) Alberto Alondo?

He was a Spanish pro who won the world championships and a Vuelta stage. During his career he was included in a study on pedaling dynamics and found to only have a vo2 max in the high 50's but he was incredibly efficient on the bike.

Point is, don't worry about the numbers much, just race.

cslone

Chances are that is what the "peak" wattage was, i.e. unsustainable any longer during that test.

'Cause that's right where I was at, and believe me, I'm no Cat 1. It indcates genetic potential, but obviously training, life, etc come into play with that. I'm only starting my 3rd full year of racing, so I'm hoping this training program I'm on will boost me up there eventually.

VosBike

Just to provide another example:

I am a middling bike racer, from what I gather I'm about the equivalent of a top-20 C grade racer in Aussie-land. Yet, the three times I've had my VO2 Max tested it's come back: 68, 69, and 71(this one was running).

VO2 max was considered the be all end all or aerobic potential in decades past, but more recent research has shown it to have only a weak correlation to potential to succeed in aerobic sports.

cslone

But your 'o meter is at 115%, so you could be a Cat 2.

Enthalpic

You are nowhere near your potential; keep training and you can/will improve way more than you think.

Besides the cardiovascular output model of exercise performance and fatigue is pretty weak for event durations longer than ~10min or shorter than ~3min.

Like how often do you hit maxHR during a road race or TT? At sub-maximal heart rates, if the bodies demand for blood increases, the heart can just beat faster. The muscles fail before the heart as the heart never fails...

Any notion that the heart becomes unable to deliver additional blood because it is itself deprived of oxygen/fuel would also implicate angina pectoris, and unless you have chest pain during intervals that is not the case. It is possible that the central governor limits muscle recruitment proactively to prevent damage to the heart, but it is not clear.

You see, the central governor model puts the onus back onto the legs and the training thereof. You train your legs to produce more power and uptake more oxygen (more capillaries, more mitochondria, robust motor neurons, etc) and the heart will respond and deliver it. One reason why I love this model, it provides hope...

Flame away.

carpediemracing 

My VO2 max was tested to be pretty high (high 60s) but it didn't mean much except I could brag about VO2 max numbers. Ditto hematocrit (high 40s). I still climb and TT like a turd in the road.

Power, that's something else. Ultimately power is what gets you going. Weight (or lack thereof) gets you going uphill.

Right now my threshold, i.e. I was holding this on an extended climb while I was suffering pretty mightily and not blowing up, is about 290-300 watts. I thought this was bad and commiserated with a Cat 1 I know. He told me that's a really good number for a Cat 3. The year or two after he got 3rd at Elite Nationals he got his first power thing (a PT) and his threshold was 310 watts. It's now 340 watts. He says that a 290-300 watt threshold is pretty respectable. I'm a bit doubtful that he's so low because he can literally ride me off his wheel after pulling really hard for a few miles. He isn't one to give freebies so it's unusual for him to not say "300 watts? I'm surprised you were moving forward" or some other snide remark. Therefore I believe he believes his threshold is 340 watts or so.

So your 300w threshold is decent. In the past I've tested at 340w and 370w but that's on a machine I don't really trust - I only know I went up almost 10% between the two tests, but the actual values themselves are suspect.

I believe (someone will correct me I hope) that VO2 is reliant on lung capacity and blood vessel (capillary) development. More lung volume allows for more O2 and more capillaries means more O2 can be distributed. I believe that if you do an aerobic sport that uses your upper body (cross country skiing example) your VO2 max may go up if you develop previously undeveloped capillaries AND your lungs can support the extra O2 demand. If you haven't been riding/racing a long time, you probably have more capillaries to create. If your lungs are maxed out then you're out of luck. My lungs measured 5 liters. Not that big because another guy, about 6" taller than me, had 8 liter lungs. My legs' capillaries and my blood's hematocrit levels seem to have maxed out whatever my lungs can support.

And, as previously pointed out, a smart racer can accomplish a lot.

cdr

cslone

Depends on your weight.

I think 300 was the max for this test. None the less, after only 6 months, there should be room for loads of improvement.

ElJamoquio

Yup, CDR, the 300 was either VO2 or max for the test.

VosBike

And there's even science that says its right. Can;t argue with science