So What's Up Doc?

Today was the day of my VO2 Max and Lactate threshold bike test! I studied hard all week but I was still a little nervous... "Will I be a fitness failure or would I pass with flying colors?" For those of you who don't know what a VO2 Max and lactate threshold test is check out the Human Performance Lab site and see the real scientific information.

I got to the lab early, (I'm very punctual),  and bring in my bike and gear...get changed and hang around and stretch for the big event! Once we get the bike on the computrainer and hook up all of the data collecting gizmos, I mount and start my warming up. We strap on the heart rate monitor, and check that everything is reading correctly. "Roger Houston, I read you loud and clear".  With a few minutes until the test start I get to don a mask that will measure my oxygen usage. This also allows me to brush up on my imitation of Lord Vador..."Luke I am Your Father"...always gets a chuckle!

So we're off...now I ride in 3 min intervals. After every 3 minutes they test my blood for the level of lactate, (A chemical that is formed when sugars are broken down for energy in the absence of adequate oxygen...not breast milk...ugh, I should have studied that chapter!) They do this by pricking my earlobe and squeezing out a drop of blood. Also, after each 3 min interval the difficulty increases for the next 3 min interval. Oh yeah feel the burn baby! This continues until you're no longer able to push the pedals or you pass out, whichever comes first. (don't worry, you'll most likely stop pedaling before you pass out, really!)

After this 20 min pain-fest you get to spin for a few more minutes to cool down and see how long it takes for your heart rate to return to it's before test level...this is one indicator of your fitness. (the longer it takes to return to normal the more they make you ride...just kidding, this means you have lots and lots of room for improvement) As the songs says..."always look on the bright side of life, 'whistle, whistle, whistle...now everyone sing along...!!

So now you wait for the results to be compiled, charted and graphed for you to take home and study. (So on the next test you can do better, you know...look up the answers you got wrong and all....) Now you have a handful of data that's priceless.

Info you will take away from YOUR test:

Your height (so you know what size pants to buy)

Your weight (whether you like it or not ladies)

Your percentage of body fat (again, sorry ladies)

Your Max heart rate (so you know when you will explode)

Your Lactate Threshold (this is when your legs hurt really, really bad)

VO2 Max (when your lungs stop working and you can no longer breath)

Percentage of VO2 Max (how much of your lungs you are really using)

Calories you burn per minute while working out (so you can calculate how many Krispy Kreme doughnuts you can shovel in afterwards)

Aerobic training zone (so you know how slow you can train)

Threshold training zone (so you know how fast you can train)

Max wattage output (that's just a cool number to know)

I'm figuring I can do about 2 hours of (VO2 max, divided by 3, (carry the 1), times my max watts), and then recover with a box of Ho Hos and latte...I love these results!