Difference in maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2 max) determined by incremental and ramp tests STUDIES IN PHYSICAL CULTURE AND TOURISM Vol. 17, No. 2, 2010 MIŁOSZ CZUBA, ADAM ZAJĄC, JAROSŁAW CHOLEWA, STANISŁAW POPRZĘCKI, ROBERT ROCZNIOK The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, Poland DIFFERENCE IN MAXIMAL OXYGEN UPTAKE (VO 2 max) DETERMINED BY INCREMENTAL AND RAMP TESTS Key words: maximal oxygen consumption, ventilatory threshold, incremental test, ramp test. ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to compare maximal oxygen uptake and ventilatory threshold values in elite cyclists during incremental and ramp tests. The research material included ten male elite cyclists; body height 182.6±6.1 cm; body mass 70.2±5.5 kg; body fat 8.8±3.2%. The experiment had two phases, separated by one day of active recovery. During the first phase, the incremental test (T 40x3 ) was carried out to determine VO 2 max, ventilatory (VAT) and lactate thresholds (LT) in each subject. The protocol began with a work load of 120 W which was increased by 40 W every 3 min until volitional exhaustion. During the second phase, each athlete performed a ramp ergocycle test (T 30x1 ) (30 W per 1 min) where work load increased linearly (0.5 W per s) until volitional exhaustion, to establish VO 2 max. Values of VO 2 max determined by the T 30x1 test were significantly (p<0.05) higher than those determined by the T 40x3 exercise protocol. The same tendencies were also observed in values of maximal work load (WR max ), maximal minute ventilation (VE max ), maximal respiratory ratio (RER max ) and maximal heart rate (HR max ). Values of WR max , VE max , RER max , HR max were significantly (p<0.05) higher in the T 30x1 protocol in comparison to the T 40x3 . WR VAT during the T 30x1 were significantly (p<0.05) higher than WR VAT at T 40x3 . This was also true for values of WR VAT at the T 30x1 and WR LT during the T 40x3 . INTRODUCTION Measurement of maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2 max) is one of the oldest and most common measurements in the diagnosis of sport performance and efficiency of ergogenic aids. VO 2 max is defined as the point at which oxygen uptake reaches a peak and plateaus or increases slightly in response to increased work rate. There are several concepts of standardized tests to measure VO 2 max, but the incremental step test is one of the most popular. Buchfuhrer [3] found that the value of VO 2 max is protocol dependent. They examined several protocol possibilities and reported that duration of exercise may influence VO 2 max values. They suggested that the “fast” protocols with large work rate increments per minute caused subjects to terminate the test before achieving their VO 2 max, which could be related with insufficient muscle strength to accommodate the large work load increases during the final stages of the test. Likewise slow test protocols (longer than 20 min) may cause lower VO 2 max values. In this case the decrease is the effect of a significant rise in core temperature, which causes a redistribution of cardiac output and as a consequence less blood flows to the working muscles. Also slow protocols are very exhausting and require high motivation of the tested subject during the final stage of the test. Some authors [3] suggest that in order to evaluate Correspondence should be addressed to: Milosz Czuba, Department of Sports Training, The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, 40-064 Katowice, Mikołowska 72A, tel.: +48 792881377, fax: +48 32 207 52 00, e-mail: m.czuba@awf.katowice.pl 123