Int J Sports Med 1991; 12(4): 379-383
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-1024698
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Ventilatory Threshold and Maximal Oxygen Uptake during Cycling and Running in Female Triathletes

D. A. Schneider, J. Pollack
  • Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Health, Sport, and Leisure Studies, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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Publication History

Publication Date:
14 March 2008 (online)

Abstract

Maximal oxygen uptake (V̇O2max) and the ventilatory threshold (Tvent) were measured during cycle ergometry (CE) and treadmill running (TR) in a group of 10 highly trained female triathletes. Tvent was defined as the V̇O2 at which the ventilatory equivalent for oxygen increased without a marked rise in the ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide. Female triathletes achieved a significantly higher mean (±SE) relative V̇O2max for running (63.6 ± 1.2 ml·kg-1·min -1) than for cycling (59.9 ± 1.3 ml·kg·min-1). When oxygen uptake measured at the ventilatory threshold was expressed as a percent of V̇O2max, the mean value obtained for TR (74.0 ± 2.0% of V̇O2max) was significantly greater than the value obtained for CE (62.7 ± 2.1% of V̇O2max). This occurred even though the total training time and intensity were similar for the two modes of exercise. Female triathletes had average running and cycling V̇O2max values that compared favorably with maximal oxygen uptake values previously reported for elite female runners and cyclists, respectively. However, mean running and cycling Tvent values (V̇O2 @ Tvent as%V̇O2max) were lower than recently reported values for single-sport athletes. The physiological variability between the triathletes studied and single-sport athletes may be attributed in part to differences in training distance or intensity, and/or to variations in the number of years of intense training in a specific mode of exercise. It was concluded that these triathletes were well-trained in both running and cycling, but not to the same extent as female athletes who only train and compete in running or cycling.