Marincin's VO2 Max Test Results Top Combine

Specifically, the VO2max is measured in mL of oxygen consumed per kilogram of body mass per unit minute (mL/kg-min), which can be spit out in near-real-time by a computer with a mass spectrometer. Usually, you take an average of the last minute of the test, or the last minute completed at a given resistance level. There are a lot of factors that can affect your tested VO2max value that may make it more or less than the number that’s spit out (of varying degrees of importance), but generally, treadmill tests are considered best practice, at least for the purposes of something like this.

To be clear, though: time spent on the machine doesn’t tell the whole story, or even the important part of it. The exercise is incremental, yes, but I’m not aware of any VO2max test that increments down to the second; usually, increments come every one or two minutes. More importantly, how much oxygen I process in my 10th minute on the bike/treadmill is going to be different from how much oxygen Emerson Etem consumes in his 10th minute. We’re likely going to be operating at different power levels (upward tilt of treadmill or resistance of exercise bike), and his aerobic system is probably going to be accomplishing a hell of a lot more than mine; whereas I’m dying on the vine somewhere around 35-40 ml/kg-min (a slightly subpar VO2max), he’s probably cruising along at a VO2 of 45-50 ml/kg-min with lots left in the tank, and will max out in the 65-70 range. Yes, I’ve done a VO2max test, and no, I don’t know my number, because the catheter from the mouthpiece to the mass spec broke during the test, so the best I have are a couple of submax-based estimates. Either way, I won’t be challenging these freaks to a race any time soon.

Obviously, the guys who are on the longest are going to produce the highest scores in aggregate, but in a difference of 15 seconds (or even a minute or two) isn’t necessarily relevant. The key value is the VO2max itself, not the time spent on the machine, but of course, they’re not going to give that out, because that’s technically private personal data. ;)