Journal of Human Kinetics volume 44/2014, 121-127 DOI: 10.2478/hukin-2014-0117 Section II‐ Exercise Physiology & Sports Medicine 121 Reference Values of Maximal Oxygen Uptake for Polish Rowers by Andrzej Klusiewicz 1, Michał Starczewski1, Maria Ładyga1, Barbara Długołęcka2, Wojciech Braksator3, Artur Mamcarz4, Dariusz Sitkowski1 The aim of this study was to characterize changes in maximal oxygen uptake over several years and to elaborate current reference values of this index based on determinations carried out in large and representative groups of top Polish rowers For this study 81 female and 159 male rowers from the sub-junior to senior categories were recruited from the Polish National Team and its direct backup All the subjects performed an incremental exercise test on a rowing ergometer During the test maximal oxygen uptake was measured with the BxB method The calculated reference values for elite Polish junior and U23 rowers allowed to evaluate the athletes’ fitness level against the respective reference group and may aid the coach in controlling the training process Mean values of VO2max achieved by members of the top Polish rowing crews who over the last five years competed in the Olympic Games or World Championships were also presented The results of the research on the “trainability” of the maximal oxygen uptake may lead to a conclusion that the growth rate of the index is larger in case of high-level athletes and that the index (in absolute values) increases significantly between the age of 19-22 years (U23 category) Key words: Polish rowers, VO2max, reference values Introduction For several dozen years maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) has been regarded as the primary physiological index used for the assessment of the organism’s cardio-pulmonary fitness and predisposition towards success in endurance sports (Hue et al., 2000; Klusiewicz et al., 1999; Legaz-Arresea et al., 2007; Losnegard and Hallén, 2014; Millet et al., 2003; Suriano and Bishop, 2010; Yagüe et al., 2013) Indeed, a strong relationship between the place taken in international regattas and VO2max values achieved by the athletes has been demonstrated (Secher et al., 1982) Currently, based on longterm observations of an outstanding senior rower, a medal winner at seven Olympic Games and World Championships, a correlation has been suggested between competition results and the capacity to maximally uptake high amounts of oxygen (about 6.0 l/min) and the peak power attained in the incremental exercise test on a rowing ergometer (Lacour et al., 2009) The athlete’s capability to withstand heavy training workload until the age of 32 was an additional factor in this case Another study (Mikulic, 2011) showed that within a five-year observation period, starting from the age of 16 years, the world–class rowers demonstrated a systematic and significant increase (26%) in the maximal oxygen uptake up to the level of about 6.6 l/min (i.e 70 ml/kg/min) - Department of Physiology, Institute of Sport, Warsaw, Poland - Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, The Josef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport in Biala Podlaska, Poland - Department of Cardiology, Hypertension and Internal Diseases, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland – III Department of Cardiology and Internal Diseases, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland Authors submitted their contribution to the article to the editorial board Accepted for printing in the Journal of Human Kinetics vol 44/2014 in December 2014 Unauthenticated Download Date | 1/25/17 6:48 PM 122 Reference values of maximal oxygen uptake for Polish rowers exhaustion, blood samples were collected for determination of the lactate concentration with the use of the Super GL (Dr Müller, Germany) devices Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) was defined as the highest amount of oxygen consumed by the athlete’s organism during one minute of the test The maximal intensity exercise necessary for estimation of VO2max was defined by the following criteria: the VO2 plateauing with increasing workload, the post-exercise blood lactate concentration >8 mmol/l, the Respiratory Exchange Ratio (RER) >1.1 and the attainment of the age-adjusted maximal heart rate expressed as HRmax = 220 – age of the subject If at least two of the above criteria were met during the exercise, the attained effort and oxygen uptake were regarded as maximal For statistical analysis of the results means (x) and standard deviations (SD) of the examined parameters (x) were calculated The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to check if the distribution of examined variables was normal To compare the results, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used For detailed comparisons (between groups) the post-hoc Tukey´s test for unequal samples was utilised The level of statistical significance was set at p (x + 0.5 SD) FSJ – female sub-juniors, FJ – female juniors, FY – female U23, FYLW – female U23 lightweight MSJ – male sub-juniors, MJ – male juniors, MY – male U23, MJLW – male junior lightweight, MYLW – male U23 lightweight Table The highest mean values of maximal oxygen uptakes (VO2max) attained by the top Polish rowing crews who over the last five years competed in the Olympic Games (O.G.) and World Championships (W.Ch.) Crew Regatta Place taken [l/min] 2xKA 4xMA 4-ML* O.G 2012 W.Ch 2010 O.G 2008 W.Ch 2009 O.G 2008 W.Ch 2009 III III I I II III VO2max [ml/kg/min] 4.45±0.11 63.3±1.8 6.08±0.65 5.24±0.48 5.31±0.50 64.9±6.1 70.7±7.1 71.9±7.3 2xKA – a women double scull, 4xMA – a men quadruple scull, 4-ML – a men lightweight coxless four * different members of the crew in 2008 and 2009 © Editorial Committee of Journal of Human Kinetics Unauthenticated Download Date | 1/25/17 6:48 PM 124 Reference values of maximal oxygen uptake for Polish rowers Figure Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) in the examined female rowers from various age groups (n=81) # - significantly different from the 15-years old level (p