Open AccessSevere-intensity constant-work-rate cycling indicates that ramp incremental cycling underestimates ⩒o2max in a heterogeneous cohort of sedentary individuals
Author(s) -
Avigdor D. Arad,
Kaitlyn Bishop,
Deena Adimoolam,
Jeanine Albu,
Fred J. DiMenna
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0235567
Subject(s) - cycling , work rate , medicine , cohort , intensity (physics) , cardiology , heart rate , zoology , physical therapy , blood pressure , biology , physics , archaeology , quantum mechanics , history
In the absence of a ⩒o 2 -work-rate plateau, debate continues regarding the best way to verify that the peak ⩒o 2 achieved during incremental exercise (⩒o 2peak ) is the “true ⩒o 2max .” Oft-used “secondary criteria” have been questioned in conjunction with the contention that a severe-intensity constant-work-rate “verification bout” should be considered the “gold standard.” The purpose of this study was to compare the ⩒o 2peak during ramp incremental cycling (RAMP-INC) by a heterogeneous (with respect to body composition and sex) cohort of sedentary individuals with the ⩒o 2peak during severe-intensity constant-work-rate cycling (CWR) performed after RAMP-INC at the highest work rate achieved. A secondary purpose was to determine the degree to which traditional and newly-proposed age-dependent secondary criteria (RER, HR) identified RAMP-INC which CWR confirmed were characterized by a submaximal ⩒o 2peak . Thirty-five healthy male ( n = 19: 33.4 ± 6.3 yrs) and female (26.8 ± 3.6 yrs) sedentary participants performed RAMP-INC followed by CWR. The ⩒o 2peak values from the two tests were correlated ( r = 0.96; p < 0.01; mean CV = 24%); however, ⩒o 2peak for CWR was significantly greater (29.6 ± 7.2 v . 28.6 ± 6.8 mL∙min -1 ∙kg -1 ; p < 0.01) with a mean bias of 0.98 mL∙min -1 ∙kg -1 ( z = -2.9, p < 0.01). Both traditional and newly-proposed criterion values for RER were achieved during RAMP-INC by 33 of 35 participants (including 21 of 23 who registered a higher ⩒o 2peak on CWR). The traditional HR criterion value was achieved on only seven tests (three of which were confirmed to be characterized by a submaximal ⩒o 2peak ) while use of less stringent newly-proposed criteria resulted in acceptance of an additional seven tests of which five were confirmed to be submaximal. Severe-intensity CWR to limit of tolerance indicates that RAMP-INC underestimates ⩒o 2max in sedentary individuals and both traditional and newly-proposed secondary criteria are ineffective for identifying such tests.