Now the question is how do you compare the VO2max of athletes? Take a look at these two rowers, which one has the higher VO2max? Now there are two ways to answer this question. We can measure the total amount of oxygen the athlete uses in one minute. And this is called the absolute oxygen consumption. And is measured in liters per minute. The problem with total oxygen consumption values is that it's not possible to compare athletes to determine if one has the superior aerobic development compared to the other. The athlete with the higher muscle mass, will usually have a higher absolute oxygen consumption. Because more muscle mass is being used. A better method is to compare how much oxygen an athlete consumes per kilogram of body weight each minute. And this is called relative oxygen consumption, and makes it possible to compare the VO2max of athletes who have different levels of muscle mass. So, this chart shows a comparison of the average relative VO2max values for athletes who participate in a variety of sports. Males are in blue and females are in pink. Cross country skiers have the highest VO2max values. And they're followed by marathon runners, and then at the very bottom are the softball players who have the lowest VO2max values. Now you might take some time to research the VO2max values for your sport. This will provide you some idea as to what size aerobic engines that you're dealing with. The highest reported VO2max values in male runners have been recorded by English runner Dave Bedford and Kenyan legend John Ngugi, at 85 mls of oxygen/kg/minute. Joan Benoit, who was the winner of the inaugural 1984 women's Olympic marathon in Los Angeles has the highest recorded VO2max for female runners at 79 ml/kg/min. Scandinavian cross country skier Bjorn Daehlie has been measured at 93 ml/kg/min. Now very, very few athletes have a VO2max over 90 ml/kg/min. And yet Oskar Svendsen, also from Norway, has reported to have the highest VO2max at 97.5 ml/kg/min. Now, in contrast, the V02max values measured in the healthy young male is usually between 45 and 55 mils/kg/minute, about 60% lower than in elite athletes. Therefore, even in an average increase of 5 to 15% with very intensive training, the average healthy person will never achieve VO2max values of elite athletes. There is no question that a reasonably high aerobic capacity is important for athletes in most sports. However, movement economy helps athletes effectively use their aerobic capacity. The economy of movement helps conserve precious oxygen. It's a bit like driving a car that is not tuned properly, and wondering why the mileage is well below what the car is supposed to achieve. A more economical athlete will run faster using less oxygen and will therefore be slower to fatigue. A good example of the importance of movement economy in elite performance is Steve Prefontaine who had a VO2max of 84.4 mils/kg/minute. And Frank Shorter who had a VO2max of 71.3 mils/kg/minute. Now these athletes differed by 16% in terms of their VO2max. Yet their best 1 mile time or 1.6 kilometer time differed by less than 8 seconds, or 3.4%. There was hardly any difference at all in their best 3 mile time which is 4.8 kilometers. The difference was only about 0.2 seconds. Based on the VO2 mex Prefontaine should have been better by at least 16% at all distances. It's not uncommon for athletes who have a similar VO2max value to have very different performances. Keep in mind that a VO2max test provides just one small piece of insight into the athlete's performance potential. The test only lasts a few minutes, and doesn't provide any indication at all of the athlete's fatigue resistance. Athletes whose performances do not match their VO2max are probably not moving economically. They require more oxygen and will fatigue more quickly. Or the may be mentally unprepared and have a very low fatigue resistance. Or there may even be other factors involved that we don't even know about.