VO2Max Test

Since last Thursday, I feel like a real athlete. A true one. Because that day, I passed my VO2Max test. I did what the serious athletes do. It’s further evidence that I consider the race very seriously. Already I have a nice library of books of running, I read the serious sites, I use the technology for my workouts ... I was missing only the VO2Max test. I did the test at the Centre Peak, downtown Montreal, on Mansfield Street. I was greeted by Caroline Brunet, the greatest athlete that canoeing has known. Seventeen medals in world championships and three Olympic medals are saying enough. With equal determination and a serious approach, meticulous and with the same enthusiasm that she has demonstrated throughout his career, Caroline helps athletes like me to test their VO2Max. How it works? Following a ten minutes warm-up, Carolina put me a mask (with a tube like the one for scuba diving) attached to a hose, and I put a clamp on the nose to completely close it. Not easy to breathe. The slope is fixed (2%). From the initial velocity, she increases the treadmill speed of 1 km/h every three minutes. And with each change of level, Caroline has struck my finger to take a few drops of blood in tiny containers. This will be used to measure my blood lactate. At a speed of 13.5 km/h and heart rate of 178, I was afraid to do too much. I decided to give up. I could, perhaps, do a little more (3-4%, not more), but my mind was not strong. Anyways, I was already very close to my maximum. The detailed results will be ready in few days and Caroline will explain them to me. For now, I know that my VO2Max is 54. Not bad for a former obese. In fact, at my age, anything more than 46 is considered as excellent. Thanks to my dad for giving me good genes :) And big thanks to Caroline Brunet for her professionalism, enthusiasm and detailed explanations she provided me before the test. She is a great lady and a great athlete. She will be inducted in the Canadian Hall of Fame of Olympians in about two weeks. She really merits this honour.

The test looks like this (see image above)