A progressive paced run to exhaustion without prior warm up elicits VO2max within 4 minutes : original research article

• Published in: International sportmed journal for FIMS 2011-01, Vol.12 (2), p.68-73
• Main Authors: Klausner, Florian, Gatterer, Hannes, Patterson, Carson, Faulhaber, Martin, Burtscher, Martin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Exhaustion; Maximal oxygen uptake; Pacing; Severe intensity; Warm up
• ISSN: 1528-3356; 1528-3356

Background: In heavy exercise, preceded by adequate warm-up, VO2max can be attained within one minute, but when warm up is restricted VO2max would not be elicited in that time span. Research question: How quickly VO2max can be achieved without prior warm up? Methods: Eight professional male soccer players performed two tests to exhaustion. The field test consisted of two laps on a wood-chip track. The first lap was performed at 50% of the self-estimated maximal performance capacity, the first 200m of the 2nd lap at 70%, followed by an all out sprint. The incremental treadmill test started at a speed of 9km/h, velocity was increased by 1km/h every 1 minute (inclination of 1%). VO2, ventilation and heart rate were measured with a portable spirometric-telemetric device (Oxycon mobile, Germany). Results: VO2max in the field test was achieved after 230±17s. When using 15s averages of breath-by-breath data collection in the field test VO2max values did not differ between the field and the lab test (61.0 ±2.5 vs. 61.1 ±2.2ml/min/kg, p=0.944). Values were highly correlated (r=0.857, p=0.007) with a standard error of estimation (SEE) of 0.9ml/min/kg. Conclusions: Without previous warm up and with a progressive pacing strategy, VO2max can be elicited in 230 ±17s. VO2max was reached only at the very end of the run so that only the last 15s of the breath-by-breath data collection reflected the complete VO2 response. Results suggest that 180s of an intensive run (i.e. near the ventilatory threshold) is sufficient to allow VO2max achievement with an all-out effort thereafter.