Originally Posted by
Darth Lefty
It's a pulmonary exercise test, the same one you used to see in Gatorade commercials. Breather tube measures flow in and CO2 concentration, pulse-ox taped to forehead, ECG for heart rate, and blood pressure cuff for good measure. The bike just makes resistance. This is the same kind of "FTP ramp test" the roadies do on Sufferfest/Trainerroad/Zwift but with a bit more equipment.
https://whatsonzwift.com/workouts/ftp-tests/ramp-test
Reminds me of when they gave me a treadmill stress test (I rode my bicycle to and from the appointment.) They hooked me up to the heart rate monitors, put me on a treadmill, and every 30 seconds they increased the speed and the incline until I cried uncle.
Before we started I asked the technicians, "How long do people usually last?"
"Between four and six minutes is typical," they answered.
"What's the current record?" I asked.
One of the technicians shrugged his shoulders. The other one said, "I had a guy last almost fifteen minutes once!"
"Turn it off at fifteen minutes and one second," I replied. They thought I was joking and started the test. Around fourteen and a half minutes they were saying they were going to shut it down. "Don't you dare turn it off yet!" I screamed as I was running at a full sprint. I made it the fifteen minutes and one second.
I'm kind of ornery like that. Actually, I felt like I could have kept going if it weren't for the incline. They had the treadmill so steep that it was taking all my strength to hold on to the bar to keep from falling off the back of the treadmill. My arms were what were giving out more than my cardiovascular system.