August 26, 2009
So I was sitting on my couch for three months due to a serious injury that sidelined me. Luckily, I recovered just as quickly as I was hurt. I’ll go into that story some other time.
As an avid mountain biker and cardio freak, I was eager to get back in the game. So I rode and worked out for about 2 weeks, then decided to get my VO2 Max tested. I figured it would be a good baseline to start from seeing as how I didn’t do squat over the last three months.
I didn’t really know where to go for this kind of test in the Baltimore area, so I used Google and learned that the Luna Chix Tri team from Washington, DC all used Krista Shultz of Total Performance, Inc.here in Baltimore (Towson, MD to be exact).
I gave Krista a ring. She’s a cool chica. She trains tri-athletes, competes herself, and was really laid back on the phone. She asked me if wanted to test on the bike or treadmill. I went for running seeing as I do not ride competitively. My thoughts here were that I would be running to get into shape as running is tough and easier to pick up and do. I can see myself wearing a heart monitor on a run, but not on the trail. I do not want to turn my much needed MTB rides into a monitoring session.
Krista explained that the cost of the test was $150.00 and that I could do it twice in one year with the second test being half price. I made an appointment.
I gotta tell ya, this was a really cool experience. I knew I’d be hooked up to a machine and breathing into a tube, but I didn’t know my that my nose would be cut off completely. The only way the test will be accurate is if it captures ALL off your total exhale. It can’t do that effectively if you are breathing out of both your nose and your mouth. I always breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth when working out so it was quite an adjustment for the test to breathe mouth only and still push it really, really hard.
Krista’s test runs over a 10:00 minute period. As I was testing, she was steadily increasing the speed and incline. She was extremely encouraging, just like you’d expect a coach to be, and was careful to make sure I was ready and willing to go forward with each increase. I maxed out the incline around minute 9:00. By 9:30, I was balls-out, hauling ass. If you’ve ever ran full-out on a treadmill, you know it’s not the most comfortable feeling. I lasted till 9:45. I think I had that mill up to a speed of 12 miles an hour. Krista was pushing me to make it to 10:00 minutes, but I broke (which is really what needs to happen in order to get your best reading).
I decoupled from the machine and caught my breath within about 40 seconds. Krista noted that my recovery time was an indication that I was in decent shape.
Considering that I was on the couch for three months, I was pleased with the results. I am looking forward to going back again in about 6 months.
Thanks for the positive reenforcement, Krista. It helped a lot.
My VO2 Max Test Results – 51.5%
– average males in my age group (33 yrs) come in at 42.7%
– my most efficient aerobic heart rate is in the 149 – 166 range
– at a threshold of 51.5, 92% of O2 I am taking in is being used – after this point, my body is producing too much by-product to sustain an extended cardio effort
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