Critical power and maximal oxygen uptake: Estimating the upper limit of the severe domain, a new challenge?

Abstract

Aims The aim of this review is to present recent findings on the acute and chronic responses when exercising within the severe intensity domain and the use of the Critical Power (CP) concept to estimate the upper and lower limits of this exercise domain. The determination of CP is simple from the modeling of the plot of the hyperbolic P–t relationship, hence its practical interest. Current knowledge The severe intensity domain encompasses the exercise intensities at which oxygen uptake (VO 2) would increase toward its maximum (VO 2max). CP has been suggested to represent the lower boundary of this intensity domain and has been considered as a useful index to evaluate aerobic capacity. The two-parameter P-t hyperbolic model has recently been proposed to estimate the upper boundary of the above-mentioned domain. Using the relationship between time to attain VO 2max (TAVO 2max) and time to exhaustion ( tlim), it is possible to solve for the unique tlim, at which VO 2max is achieved momentarily at the exhaustion. The power associated with this time can be calculated using the equation from the two-parameter P-t hyperbolic model. Some studies aimed at assessing whether exercise intensity, exercise mode and aerobic training status could influence the VO 2 response during exercise. There is currently not enough data published in the literature to support the validity of the two-parameter P-TAVO 2max hyperbolic model to estimate the upper boundary of the severe domain. Points of view and perspectives Further studies could be conducted on the effects of aerobic status training and exercise mode on the validity of the two- and three-parameter models.