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CS 8.0 Owner’s Guide
Appendix B
94
Maximal oxygen uptake, or VO
2
max, is considered the best single
measurement of cardiovascular fitness. It represents the peak rate
of your body’s oxygen consumption capability, which is important
because this is one of the two biggest factors in endurance
performance.
(The other big endurance factor is the lactate threshold, which
is the exercise level at which blood lactate begins to accumulate
above resting levels. The lactate threshold is much more difficult
to measure than VO
2
max, which is why VO
2
max is the accepted
standard.)
The only accurate way to measure VO
2
max is to use a laboratory-
grade respiratory diagnostic system during a maximal exercise
test. All other methods produce an estimate with varying degrees
of accuracy.
Serious training results in an average improvement in VO
2
max
of 20%, and all this takes place in 8 to 12 weeks. Additional
performance improvement after this time is a result of a higher
lactate threshold and, to a lesser degree, increased biomechanical
efficiency.
(See Wilmore & Costill, Physiology of Sport and Exercise, pages
140-141, and ACSM Guidelines, page 68).
VO
2
max is expressed in milliters of oxygen per minute per
kilogram of body weight, or ml/min/kg.
VO
2