Comparison of a Traditional Graded Exercise Protocol With a Self-Paced 1-km Test to Assess Maximal Oxygen Consumption.

Abstract

To compare the assessment of the maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) in a traditional graded exercise test (GXT) with a 1-km self-paced running test on a nonmotorized treadmill in men and women. A total of 24 sport-science students (12 women: age 23.7 [7.7]y, body height 1.68 [0.02]m, body mass 66.6 [4.3]kg; 12 men: 22.1 [3.1]y, body height 1.82 [0.06]m, body mass 75.6 [11.0]kg) performed a traditional GXT on a motorized treadmill and a 1-km self-paced running test on a nonmotorized treadmill. VO2max, blood lactate, heart rate, and rating of perceived exertion, together with running velocity and duration at each test, were measured. The main findings of the study were that the 1-km test produced significantly higher VO2max values (53.2 [9.9] vs 51.8 [8.8]mL/kg/min ) and blood lactate concentrations (11.9 [1.8] vs 11.1 [2.2]mmol/L) than the GXT (F ≥ 4.8, P ≤ .04, η2 ≥ .18). However, after controlling for sex, these differences were only present in men (60.6 [8.1] vs 58.1 [8.0]mL/kg/min , P = .027). Peak running velocity was higher in the GXT than in the 1-km test (15.7 [2.7] vs 13.0 [2.8]km/h). Men had higher VO2max values and running velocities than women in both tests. However, men and women used approximately similar pacing strategies during the 1-km test. Higher VO2max values were observed in a 1-km self-paced test than in the GXT. This indicates that a 1-km running test performed on a nonmotorized treadmill could serve as a simple and sport-specific alternative for the assessment of VO2max.