Maximum Oxygen Uptake

Your oxygen uptake is the amount of oxygen your body uses to perform any given amount of work. Greater work loads require more oxygen. Your maximum oxygen uptake is the maximum amount of oxygen that can be taken in by your body, delivered to your muscles, and used by them. This value is a measure of how fit you are. As you become more fit, this level will rise. You can undergo a special test in an exercise physiology laboratory to determine your maximum oxygen uptake . In this test, you run on a treadmill or pedal on a stationary bicycle as vigorously as possible, inhaling and exhaling air that has its oxygen and carbon dioxide contents measured.

Your maximum oxygen uptake correlates roughly with the fastest pace at which you can exercise. As a general rule, faster runners have higher levels of maximum oxygen uptake. Of course, heavier people perform more work than lighter people, when both exercise at the same pace. Therefore, it is probably fairest to include your weight in any calculations of your maximum oxygen uptake, since you’re really doing more work if you exercise while carrying more weight. Because you can’t leave your fat at the starting line of any race, it’s not surprising that the front –runners are usually very thin. Since they have little excess fat to carry with them. Your work load at any pace depends mostly upon the total weight of your body, which you must carry with you. This is especially true in activities like running. The work incurred during stationary bicycling is less dependent upon body weight because much of your weight can just sit on the seat while your legs move up and down to pedal. The work incurred during swimming , too, is less dependent upon body weight ,since the water buoys you up and makes you weigh less than you would on land.