Question
Hello Joe,
I am a 58 year old male cyclist and recently took part in a Vo2
max testing, my question is how reliable are these test?
My question to you is, does the test differ from type of software
they use and how they administer the test ?
It was administered by a very reliable fitness tester, in this
most recent test my Vo2 max came out to 68.6 with a peak hr of 162.
I have been higher than that on some indoor interval work, peaking
at 167 bpm. 18 months ago tested with the same tester and showed a Vo2 max of
156.6 peak hr of 154.
These last results showed a gain of 30 watts from the last test.
Do these numbers seem achievable to you and do you think they are
credible ?
Thank you.
JP
Answer
JP,
Thanks for your note. VO2max test results vary as much as race
results do. Regarding reliability, there are many “it depends” including how
well rested you were, how high your fitness was at the time of the test,
warm-up, equipment calibration, protocol, etc. It’s just a number, and not
critical to your training at all. The metabolic info that may have been
collected is much more valuable, especially if you do long races. Good luck!
Joe
