vo2 max
Lab I
OXYGEN CONSUMPTION Oxygen consumption (VO2) is the amount of oxygen taken up and utilized by the body per minute. The oxygen taken into the body at the level of the lungs is ultimately transported by the cardiovascular system to the systemic tissues and is used for the production of ATP in the mitochondria of our cells. Because most of the energy in the body is produced aerobically, VO2 can be used to determine how much energy a subject is expending. VO2 can be reported in absolute terms (L/min) or relative to body mass (ml/kg*min). Oxygen consumption is dependent on the ability of the heart to pump out blood, the ability of the tissues to extract oxygen from the blood, the ability to ventilate and the ability of the alveoli to extract oxygen from the air.
At rest, nearly all of the body’s energy demands are being met by aerobic metabolic processes, which require oxygen. The mitochondria are the site of aerobic metabolism in the cells (aerobic metabolism will be covered in greater detail in labs later this quarter). Ultimately, oxygen is the final electron acceptor in the electron transport chain, forming water in the process. As oxygen is being consumed, carbon dioxide is also being produced, and must be cleared from the tissues to the blood, and ultimately blown off in the expired air. There are two general methods of measuring oxygen consumption: (1) the closed circuit method, and (2) the open circuit method. The open circuit method is the one that we will use in our labs (it is also the more common method to be used in other exercise labs across the world). In open circuit spirometry the subject inhales air from the atmosphere, while the exhaled air is directed into a collection device such as a meteorological balloon, a wet spirometer, or Douglas bag. The collected air is analyzed to determine the fractional content of expired oxygen (FEO2), the fractional content of expired carbon dioxide (FECO2), and the volume of air expired
OXYGEN CONSUMPTION Oxygen consumption (VO2) is the amount of oxygen taken up and utilized by the body per minute. The oxygen taken into the body at the level of the lungs is ultimately transported by the cardiovascular system to the systemic tissues and is used for the production of ATP in the mitochondria of our cells. Because most of the energy in the body is produced aerobically, VO2 can be used to determine how much energy a subject is expending. VO2 can be reported in absolute terms (L/min) or relative to body mass (ml/kg*min). Oxygen consumption is dependent on the ability of the heart to pump out blood, the ability of the tissues to extract oxygen from the blood, the ability to ventilate and the ability of the alveoli to extract oxygen from the air.
At rest, nearly all of the body’s energy demands are being met by aerobic metabolic processes, which require oxygen. The mitochondria are the site of aerobic metabolism in the cells (aerobic metabolism will be covered in greater detail in labs later this quarter). Ultimately, oxygen is the final electron acceptor in the electron transport chain, forming water in the process. As oxygen is being consumed, carbon dioxide is also being produced, and must be cleared from the tissues to the blood, and ultimately blown off in the expired air. There are two general methods of measuring oxygen consumption: (1) the closed circuit method, and (2) the open circuit method. The open circuit method is the one that we will use in our labs (it is also the more common method to be used in other exercise labs across the world). In open circuit spirometry the subject inhales air from the atmosphere, while the exhaled air is directed into a collection device such as a meteorological balloon, a wet spirometer, or Douglas bag. The collected air is analyzed to determine the fractional content of expired oxygen (FEO2), the fractional content of expired carbon dioxide (FECO2), and the volume of air expired