I called a pulmonologist to inquire and they said insurance doesn't cover it and it costs $200. Any other ways to test?

Zen has a way to estimate it on his Polar heart rate monitor. Why do you want to know?

Zen has a way to estimate it on his Polar heart rate monitor. Why do you want to know?

Wanted to know my level of fitness. From what I understand, I need to know my lactate threshold as well. I just ordered the polar F6. I think the F11 might provide the VO2 max estimate.

Wanted to know my level of fitness. From what I understand, I need to know my lactate threshold as well. I just ordered the polar F6. I think the F11 might provide the VO2 max estimate.

Yeah it does. With the F6 you can use an exercise VO2max test; many of them can be found here (http://www.brianmac.co.uk/vo2max.htm). I have used the Cooper and Balke tests, as well as the Queens College Step Test. But for the QCST you need a metronome of some sort.

I lowered the default VO2 max of 53 on my F6 to 35 because I wanted to be very conservative on my calorie readings until I know my VO2 max for sure. I have an idea of what goes down on a biological level, but can you explain to me why the higher the VO2 max, the more calories are burned.

VO2max is a measure of how much oxygen is utilized by your body - the units are ml/kg-min or sometimes L/min.

Example: your VO2max is 50 and you weigh 100 kg. You are burning 5L of O2 per minute at your maximum capacity. Since each liter of oxygen burned consumes 5 Kcal, you are burning at a rate of 25 Kcal/min at your VO2max.

There are simple relationships to equate %VO2max to %HRmax. Therefore, if you can measure your %HRmax (you can on any Polar HRM) as you exercise, it is readily converted to L of oxygen burned, or calories.

The relationship between these two is usually expressed as the following:

%HRmax = (%VO2max)*0.64 + 37

Obviously, knowning both your VO2max and HRmax accurately is important to fully realizing the potential of the F6. I would suggest seeing if you can get a stress test done somewhere to give you these numbers - is thwere a university near you with an Exercise Science department? You might find some prof who is looking for test subjects.

The relationship between these two is usually expressed as the following:

%HRmax = (%VO2max)*0.64 + 37

Obviously, knowning both your VO2max and HRmax accurately is important to fully realizing the potential of the F6. I would suggest seeing if you can get a stress test done somewhere to give you these numbers - is thwere a university near you with an Exercise Science department? You might find some prof who is looking for test subjects.

Good idea. I have been searching today. I called some pulmonary departments at medical centers to inquire about VO2 assessments and every single one of them thought I was speaking a foreign language. I found a facility that specializes in testing everything for elite athletes but it was too expensive. As for a stress test, I believe that can be done with a cardiologist but I'm not sure if they do VO2 max testing. I'm going to have to figure out which test I'm going to use via Zen's advice and just go with it. I hope my VO2 max is not in the 30s because I found it impossible to burn 100 calories under that setting. I'm excited to find out my VO2 max and calibrate my HRM. I'll get there soon. Oh, and thanks for the explanation.

Check out www.getdunked.com . I think it's a franchise, and in addition to BF testing they do "Sub VO2 Max" testing. I think they don't require full exertion and predict true VO2 max based on the sub-max test.

They might have a location in your area.

I found a place in New York City that gives VO2max/LT tests. They advertise cycling tests, but I have e-mailed them to see if they can do other sorts.

If you have access to a rowing machine and about 7min, you can follow Concep2's guide. Just do a 2k, put in your weight and gender and it will spit out a nicely calculated VO2max. It even has a little chart to show where you rank in your age bracket.

Found here http://www.concept2.com/us/interactive/calculators/vo2max.asp

I agree with the other poster. Look for a university near you with an exercise science department. There are many ways graduate students and faculty find participants. Sometimes they use the University's participant service (people contact the university expressing interest in an intervention or clinical trial), and sometimes they just advertise around campus or in gyms, etc. The key is finding out the details of what is expected of you to participate. Often validation studies are likely candidates for a free VO2 max test. You will have an opportunity to find out if it is part of the study when you contact the researcher.