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Excerpt
It has been suggested that children are less likely than adults to achieve a plateau in VO2 at maximal exercise. Direct comparison, whereby test protocol, gas exchange measurements and plateau definition are similar between children and adults. However, is not apparent in the literature. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare the achievement of various criteria for maximal effort in boys (10.7 ± 0.6 yrs, n = 17) and men (22.5 ± 2.0 yrs; n = 21). Prior to measuring VO2max, each subject performed a practice exercise test on a treadmill. On a second day, VO2max was measured during a treadmill exercise test conducted at 5.0 mph with 2.5% increases in slope every 2 min. VO2max was 51.8 ± 6.2 ml·kg−1·min−1 in the boys and 52.5 ± 5.1 ml·kg−1·min−1 in the men (P > 0.05). HR (206 ± 5 vs. 196 ± 7 b·min−1) at maximal effort was higher (P < 0.05) in the boys, while the RER (1.13 ± 0.04 vs. 1.05 ± 0.03) and blood lactate (14.4 ± 2.4 vs. 7.3 ± 2.5 mmol·L−1) at maximal exertion were higher (P < 0.05) in the men. Comparison of maximal effort criteria indicated that 11.8% of the boys and 23.8% of the men achieved a plateau (P > 0.05). All the boys achieved age-specific HR and RER criteria, while in the men 88.9% achieved the HR criterion and 85.7% achieved the RER criterion (P > 0.05). A greater (P < 0.05) proportion of men (100%) achieved the age-specific blood lactate criterion than boys (81.3%). These results suggest that plateau achievement is not maturation dependent, and with the exception of a blood lactate criterion, boys and men have similar rates of achieving criteria that are typically used to define a maximal effort.
