Measuring Aerobic Performance

Are you in good cardiovascular shape???

 A good way to check if you are getting into cardiovascular shape is to check your resting heart rate (RHR).  To get an accurate reading of your RHR, you must take your pulse just after you wake up, while you are still lying in bed.  The best way to do it is to take your carotid pulse by lightly placing two fingers on the side of your neck, just to the side of the larynx (throat).  Once you have found your pulse, count the pulses for 60 seconds and record that number (or count pulses for 30 seconds and then times it by 2).  If you are training properly, you should see a decrease in the amount of pulses in 60 seconds.

What is this important?

1.      Your heart is getting stronger:  Seeing a decrease in RHR means that your stroke volume (SV) is getting stronger.  SV is the amount of blood the heart pumps out in a single beat.  Having an efficient SV will allow your heart to not work as hard to supply oxygen to your active muscles. 

2.      Blood Volume:  With your heart getting stronger, there will be an increase in blood volume and it will be easier for blood to supply oxygen to your active muscles and also clear up lactic acid.

a.      Lactic acid is the burning sensation you feel in your legs if you sprint up a flight of stairs.  In other words…lactic acid = muscle fatigue.  The increase in blood volume will buffer away lactic acid and keep you going longer.

3.      Increase in VO_2max:  Maximal oxygen uptake (VO_2max) is regarded as one of best measurements of aerobic performance.  It is the maximal volume of oxygen that your body can consume per minute and used for aerobic energy production. 

What if you see an increase in RHR through your training program?

1.      You are overtrained:  This is a good indicator that you need to rest so your body can recover.  Overtraining will lead to a decrease in performance, decrease in motivation, decrease in weight, and an overall decrease in energy.

2.      You are detrained:  Your body cannot increase in performance if you don’t train properly.  This means you must increase in frequency, time, and intensity in your workouts.  The body adapts to everything you throw at it so challenge yourself every time you train.  If you train correctly, you will see a decrease in your RHR.

 

The normal values for relative (mL/kg/min) VO2for various groups of individuals?

Untrained College-aged Females 30-35 mL/kg/min
Untrained College-aged Males 35-45 mL/kg/min

Active College-aged Females 40-45 mL/kg/min
Active College-aged Males 45-50 mL/kg/min

Trained College-aged Females 50-60 mL/kg/min
Trained College-aged Males 55-65 mL/kg/min

Competitive College-aged Males 65-85 mL/kg/min
Highest measured VO2max ~95 mL/kg/min