Comparison of constant load exercise intensity for verification of maximal oxygen uptake following a graded exercise test in older adults

Authors

Ian R. Villanueva, Arizona State University
John C. Campbell, Arizona State University
Serena M. Medina, Arizona State University
Theresa M. Jorgensen, Arizona State University
Shannon L. Wilson, Arizona State University
Siddhartha S. Angadi, University of Virginia
Glenn A. Gaesser, Arizona State University
Jared M. Dickinson, Central Washington UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Department or Administrative Unit

Nutrition Exercise and Health Sciences

Publication Date

8-3-2021

Abstract

Maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max) declines with advancing age and is a predictor of morbidity and mortality risk. The purpose here was to assess the utility of constant load tests performed either above or below peak work rate obtained from a graded exercise test for verification of VO₂max in older adults. Twenty-two healthy older adults (9M, 13F, 67 ± 6 years, BMI: 26.3 ± 5.1 kg·m⁻²) participated in the study. Participants were asked to complete two experimental trials in a randomized, counterbalanced cross-over design. Both trials (cycle ergometer) consisted of (1) an identical graded exercise test (ramp) and (2) a constant load test at either 85% (CL85; n = 22) or 110% (CL110; n = 20) of the peak work rate achieved during the associated ramp (performed 10-min post ramp). No significant differences were observed for peak VO₂ (L·min⁻¹) between CL85 (1.86 ± 0.72; p = 0.679) or CL110 (1.79 ± 0.73; p = 0.200) and the associated ramp (Ramp85, 1.85 ± 0.73; Ramp110, 1.85 ± 0.57). Using the study participant's mean coefficient of variation in peak VO₂ between the two identical ramp tests (2.9%) to compare individual differences between constant load tests and the associated ramp revealed 19/22 (86%) of participants achieved a peak VO₂ during CL85 that was similar or higher versus the ramp, while only 13/20 (65%) of participants achieved a peak VO₂ during CL110 that was similar or higher versus the ramp. These data indicate that if a verification of VO₂max is warranted when testing older adults, a constant load effort at 85% of ramp peak power may be more likely to verify VO₂max as compared to an effort at 110% of ramp peak power.

Comments

This article was originally published Open Access in Physiological Reports. The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.

Due to copyright restrictions, this article is not available for free download from ScholarWorks @ CWU.

Recommended Citation

Villanueva, I. R., Campbell, J. C., Medina, S. M., Jorgensen, T. M., Wilson, S. L., Angadi, S. S., Gaesser, G. A., & Dickinson, J. M. (2021). Comparison of constant load exercise intensity for verification of maximal oxygen uptake following a graded exercise test in older adults. Physiological Reports, 9(18). https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.15037

Journal

Physiological Reports

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Rights

© 2021 The Authors.