How good are these stats?

ollie51

I went down to the local uni with school for pe and did a VO2 max test but I have no idea how I compare.

I come out with a score 66 and a max HR of 208. Is that good or bad or whatever?

njee20

Your MHR is a personal thing, it's not good or bad, it can't really be used as a comparator, just useful for you to set training zones.

Your VO2Max is in part genetic, but can be trained to a degree. Lance Armstrong's VO2Max was about 80 ml/kg/min IIRC, yours isn't at all bad though. Google will compare you I'm sure. I suspect you knew that though, and just wanted to show off ;-)

springtide9

ollie51 wrote:

I went down to the local uni with school for pe and did a VO2 max test but I have no idea how I compare.

I come out with a score 66 and a max HR of 208. Is that good or bad or whatever?

It's as good as a 41 year old LOL
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... c&start=60

My max HR is a little (or a lot) lower mind you!

VO2 Max for top end sports men/women:
http://www.topendsports.com/testing/records/vo2max.htm

ollie51

I was told it varies greatly from sport to sport for obvious reasons I wanted more of a comparison to the scores of cyclists. But I was told I beat David Beckham and I thought that was no biggie (especially if you look at the fitness levels of my football team) Supposedly weight and age also come into the calculation, which are in my case both low.

That begs the question why don't I win anything then?

Genetic, are sure? If you look at the blokes in family they're a somewhat large and their idea of exercise is round of golf.

Yeah the MHR was useful it totally killed the old 220-age, I've reset my zones as a result.

springtide9

I've very sure that is very true about it varying between different sports.

No expert with the VO2 Max (far from it)... and I guess it's useful to compare your level of fitness .. but how useful it is to compare against others I have no idea.

Looking at the people on the list:
http://www.topendsports.com/testing/records/vo2max.htm

There are a lot of extremely fit people missing from that list.. which makes me wonder whether VO2 Max is that useful to compare against your piers.

I would say that I'm reasonably fit for a 41 year old, but I wouldn't put myself in the 'Superior' rating or even close. I've only really been on a fitness drive for a year... (I was v overweight this time last year) .. so a 'Superior' rating is laughable - and 10 years ago I got similar rowing times when I was a smoker.

My HR is almost spot on the 220-age - and always has been - so this works for me

I guess, VO2 Max figures are great at figuring out if you are improving against your previous results... but the more interesting data in terms of comparing yourself to others is how your times compare in a race.

njee20

That begs the question why don't I win anything then?

Because VO2Max doesn't really count for anything?! Yours certainly isn't going to hold you back, but it's not really a true inidcator of fitness. You could train hard, double your power output and find your VO2Max increases by 5%.

While doing testing max power would've been much more relevant for comparing you to others, assuming your test was done on the bike.

ollie51

It was distinctly average I seem to remember, but my functional one wasn't bad it was around 4, 4.2 rings a bell per kilo at threshold. But I have low weight so my over power wasn't massively good I presume.

njee20

but my functional one wasn't bad it was around 4, 4.2 rings a bell per kilo at threshold. But I have low weight so my over power wasn't massively good I presume.

Think about that, power is expressed per kilo, ergo it's totally irrelevant what you weigh, that's the point of power:weight ratios!

That's a measure of your performance, none of the other numbers really are.

ollie51

I suppose how much of you have to move is also a contributing factor, obviously a 50kg person will go faster than a 100kg person if they have the same power.

So I was doing 227ish watts at threshold off of the top my head.

njee20

227 watts and 4.2 w:kg, so you weigh 54kg? Should be pretty easy to get that up then.

blablablacksheep

i done quite a few fitness tests due to the armed forces selection and just a question here.

VO2 max bleed test you say.

Is actually split into differant areas as the schools cannot do the one that most adults do for safety ect ect issues.

did the one you do, have this:

Bleep test:

2 lines marked out , what was the distance if you remember?

then they have a CD player and some dude then says on the bleep run to the line then on the next bleep run back to the other line, ect ect

Then what score did you get, as you are marked from 1- i belive 23 being the highest score but schools i think limit it to around 8-9.

This is the so called offical bleep VO2 max test the other ones are not bleep tests but just VO2 tests to see O2 levels in body.

also on HR rates easy way to remember is this.

220 minus AGE = MAX hr

so based on yours if true it puts you as 12 years old.??

njee20

220 minus AGE = MAX hr

That's an incredibly rough guide, and has no real basis in accuracy. IIRC the OP is 15, so it's not far off. When I was 18 I had a MHR of about 215, it's a guide for people who've not been tested, and not much more.

ollie51

njee20 wrote:

227 watts and 4.2 w:kg, so you weigh 54kg? Should be pretty easy to get that up then.

You got the weight correct.

But quite simply how? Gym or intervals? I do one or two days a week in the gym, but at the moment I'm doing almost all left leg work to balance my legs out (the joy of being incredibly right footed when it comes to football/ rugby). Also I either do 5x3 minute intervals or hill reps.

ollie51

blablablacksheep wrote:

i done quite a few fitness tests due to the armed forces selection and just a question here.

VO2 max bleed test you say.

Is actually split into differant areas as the schools cannot do the one that most adults do for safety ect ect issues.

did the one you do, have this:

Bleep test:

2 lines marked out , what was the distance if you remember?

then they have a CD player and some dude then says on the bleep run to the line then on the next bleep run back to the other line, ect ect

Then what score did you get, as you are marked from 1- i belive 23 being the highest score but schools i think limit it to around 8-9.

This is the so called offical bleep VO2 max test the other ones are not bleep tests but just VO2 tests to see O2 levels in body.

also on HR rates easy way to remember is this.

220 minus AGE = MAX hr

so based on yours if true it puts you as 12 years old.??

I'm actually 15 and I get 14-16 on the bleep test usually, I do it 4 or 5 times a year.

blablablacksheep

getting a level 14-16 is, if the one you doing is the offical one a extreamely good score to get, and puts you in professional football standard./near records

though like i said it depends if it the offical 20mtr bleep test as when we did it for selection the entry was 11.5 and not many got past level 13-15,As this gets into 100 mtr time sprint standard .

id check anyhow which one, another one they do in schools i belive is the "cooper" run .

the other VO2 max tests are done on bikes and treadmill with O2 mask on your face to measure your O2 intake and effectiveness.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-stage_fitness_test

On HR MAx the system as i lised is actually a good system and is used by all fitness professionals today to give a good indication of your heat rate.

to be honest heres a simple test you can do to see how fit you are. from out

1.5 mile run
(each exercise below done within 60 secs)
press ups
sit ups
pull ups

that a simple test, if you getting around 7-8 min mile you doing well and looking for around min 20 press ups and around 30 sit ups with apox 3 pull ups for a semi decent upper body fitness.

ollie51

blablablacksheep wrote:

getting a level 14-16 is, if the one you doing is the offical one a extreamely good score to get, and puts you in professional football standard./near records

though like i said it depends if it the offical 20mtr bleep test as when we did it for selection the entry was 11.5 and not many got past level 13-15,As this gets into 100 mtr time sprint standard .

id check anyhow which one, another one they do in schools i belive is the "cooper" run .

the other VO2 max tests are done on bikes and treadmill with O2 mask on your face to measure your O2 intake and effectiveness.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-stage_fitness_test

On HR MAx the system as i lised is actually a good system and is used by all fitness professionals today to give a good indication of your heat rate.

to be honest heres a simple test you can do to see how fit you are. from out

1.5 mile run
(each exercise below done within 60 secs)
press ups
sit ups
pull ups

that a simple test, if you getting around 7-8 min mile you doing well and looking for around min 20 press ups and around 30 sit ups with apox 3 pull ups for a semi decent upper body fitness.

I do 1.5 miles in 7.45ish (estimated-I do a mile in 5 dead)
Press Ups - 67
Sit Ups - 113
Pulls ups - 11
Bear in mind I don't weigh anything.

I didn't do the test I just did my most recent max less a few to simulate my body tiring.

blablablacksheep

if you managed to do 1 mile in around 5 mins then that very good, the press ups look good as well as the rest of those scores considering your age, though ofc it depends on the way you do them bu given the numbers they look very good.

Suggest you join a running club and get into races if you not allready in one as with times like that it a wasted talent if you not using it:)

good scores way above the avg for your age, and probally nearer the top 10%/

njee20

On HR MAx the system as i lised is actually a good system and is used by all fitness professionals today to give a good indication of your heat rate.

It's no comparison to a measured MHR though, it's a rough guide, it will suit some, and not others. Same with VO2Max. Why use a bleep test guesstimate when you've had it properly measured!?

But quite simply how?

To get quicker on the bike you need to ride your bike more. You can supplement it with some time in the gym (although opinion is divided on the merit of that), but you're unlikely to see big gains in performance doing that.

At 15 you're not going to be fully grown anyway, so frankly you'll almost certainly find you get more powerful as you get older. You're seriously unlikely to stay 8.5 stone forever. Have you actually done any racing? At the end of the day numbers are pretty irrelevant unless you know what you're aiming to achieve and how far from that you are.

ollie51

njee20 wrote:

On HR MAx the system as i lised is actually a good system and is used by all fitness professionals today to give a good indication of your heat rate.

It's no comparison to a measured MHR though, it's a rough guide, it will suit some, and not others. Same with VO2Max. Why use a bleep test guesstimate when you've had it properly measured!?

But quite simply how?

To get quicker on the bike you need to ride your bike more. You can supplement it with some time in the gym.

At 15 you're not going to be fully grown anyway, so frankly you'll almost certainly find you get more powerful as you get older. You're seriously unlikely to stay 8.5 stone forever. Have you actually done any racing?

Last month I drew up a training plan it consisted of 5 days a week on the bike and one day in the gym. So far I've manged at least 4 sessions a week so if I can keep that going it's obviously going to help.

No I won't be 8.5 stone forever thank god yeah I've done some (emphasis on the some) racing namely Mud sweat and gears picked up few podiums and I'll do the same again this year and a couple in Wales but I've moved a category this time around Juvenile to Youth, so I'm not expecting the same results. But training was purely spontaneous and I've definitely bulked up since then.

ollie51

blablablacksheep wrote:

if you managed to do 1 mile in around 5 mins then that very good, the press ups look good as well as the rest of those scores considering your age, though ofc it depends on the way you do them bu given the numbers they look very good.

Suggest you join a running club and get into races if you not allready in one as with times like that it a wasted talent if you not using it:)

good scores way above the avg for your age, and probally nearer the top 10%/

Tried the running, it's too boring. Plus I have runner's knee so it's too painful too run regularly.

blablablacksheep

if you have runners knee doing lots of bike work will probally increase the chances it flares up, so might be a idea to get that sorted as running problems useally then lead onto other issues if not treated i find.

On the bike probally good idea to like others have said, get out more, nothin going to make you a better rider than ride more and ride harder.

Id personally do swimming as it one of the best ways to improve fitness and doesnt matter how fit you think you are, going into a pool soon makes you reconsider:)

also helps building up muscle groups that you will then use a lot on the bike ie core and back.

ollie51

cycling is one of the few things that doesn't hurt it. I've seen many phsyios and no real success but it's certainly helped. I have ripped the same ligament in my knee 3 times in the past 4 (varying from a simple tear to a hanging on a thread) years so I'm not surprised it hurts.