Individual versus standardized running protocols in the determination of VO2max

The purpose of this study was to determine whether an individu-ally designed incremental exercise protocol results in greater rates of oxygen uptake (vo2max) than standardized testing. four-teen well-trained,male runners performed five incremental protocols in randomized order to measure their vo2max: i) an incremental test (incs+i) with pre-defined increases in speed (2 min at 8.64 km∙h -1,then a rise of 1.44 km∙h -1 every 30 s up to 14.4 km∙h -1) and thereafter inclination (0.5° every 30 s); ii) an incremental test (inci) at constant speed (14.4 km∙h -1) and increasing inclination (2° every 2 min from the initial 0°); iii) an incremental test (incs) at constant inclination (0°) and increasing speed (0.5 km∙h -1 every 30 s from the initial 12.0 km∙h -1); iv) a graded exercise protocol (gxp) at a 1° incline with increasing speed (initially 8.64 km∙h -1 + 1.44 km∙h -1 every 5 min); v) an individual exercise protocol (indxp) in which the runner chose the inclination and speed. vo2max was lowest (-4.2%) during the gxp (p = 0.01; d = 0.06 - 0.61) compared to all other tests. the highest rating of perceived exertion,heart rate,ventilation and end-exercise blood lactate concentration were similar between the different protocols (p < 0.05). the time to exhaustion ranged from 7 min 18 sec (incs) to 25 min 30 sec (gxp) (p = 0.01).the vo2max attained by employing an individual treadmill protocol does not differ from the values derived from various standardized incremental protocols. © 2015,journal of sports science and medicine. all rights reserved.