Department of Kinesiology, CSUS

Got the opportunity to go to CSUS and see Dr Roberto Quintana to do a VO2 max test today. Hie performance lab is located on the CSUS campus in the Solano Hall on the second floor. My main purpose was to find out my baseline VO2 and to derive a gameplan on improving performance based up science.
The purpose of the VO2 max test is to assist the athlete in determining the correct training intensity to maximize efficiency in those efforts. Since most people exercise incorrectly, the VO2 assists in leveraging workouts for each individuals physiology, and assists in determining training zones for maximum efficiency.
I arrived to the lab, and Dr Quintana assisted me in the set up. We removed my pedals and set the bike up to my measurements. This process took about 30 min to get every thing dialed in.
The test consisted of breathing thru a tube which captured the oxygen consumption. I was to go at 4 minute intervals at various wattages and then give a perceived rate of exertion at each increment. As the workload increased, the increments were reduced to two minute intervals until fatigue. VO2 max is reached when oxygen consumption remains at a steady state despite an increase in workload.
The test started out like a walk in the park, my heart rate was low, and the effort was light, then it became increasingly more and more difficult to maintain. It seemed like the minutes became longer and longer. My form then completely broke down and I was at maximum effort. And then it was over.
Dr Quintana did an excellent job breaking down the data and it provided very useful to get the science behind the data. I left with some very valuable information and a little encouragement to not give up cycling!
All in all, a 5 star experience. If you are looking to get the supporting data, and methodology to your training program, I highly recommend you check out Dr Quintana at the CSUS SHAPE & Human Performance Research Laboratories.