Originally Posted by Jughed

This is a great topic. And some of it leaves me confused...

VO2 is a great predictor of health, longevity, fitness... but there has to be some grey zones in the numbers. Same with judging "fitness" in w/kg. Cycling fitness, yes, but in terms of overall fitness- that number may be lacking.

VO2 is heavily influenced by weight. Ones cycling engine - heart, lungs, legs - could be just as strong as another's, but VO2 max could be a good bit lower due to the non cycling bits - like a strong upper body with some muscle mass. Lean mass outside of cycling specific lean mass skews the "fitness" numbers lower.

(If) I could lose the extra 20#'s of lean upper body mass that I carry - my VO2 would go up, my w/kg would go up - but would I really be more fit overall? Would I be a better cyclist - yes, but would I be better in terms of overall health and well being?