VO2 Max Testing: What it is and What we can do with the Results

Doctor Hagberg is a Professor in the Kinesiology Department at the University of Maryland. His major academic emphasis is research and teaching and he has been funded by NIH (National Institutes of Health), the VA (Veteran's Affair), the American Heart Association and the US Olympic Committee. His current professional research is addressing the effects of genetics, aging and physical activity on conventional and novel cardiovascular disease risk factors. He is also doing research on the VO2 Max Levels of runners on the track and cross country teams at University of Maryland. In the following video, Doctor Hagberg explains what VO2 max testing is and how it is done. There are other factors regarding the track athletes that would effect their performance other than VO2 Max that we can test. Running economy and lactate threshold can be measured as a prediction of performance and a representation of current fitness level. I asked Doctor Hagberg about the other aspects of running performances. The following is his response. In this video, Doctor Hagberg goes into great detail about blood lactate testing. Blood lactate levels can be tested by having a person run for a period of time and prick their finger in order to find out the lactate level. As intensity increases over time, the lactate level should be tested again, in order to check for changes.