As a result, the animals had diminished endurance, with a maximal oxygen capacity about 60 percent lower than normal.
Averaged, the results may suggest that a certain exercise program reliably will produce certain results - that jogging, say, three times a week for a month will improve VO2max (maximal oxygen capacity) or reduce blood pressure; and for almost any given group of exercisers, those results are likely to hold true.
To evaluate the maximal oxygen capacity a mathematic formula was applied.
Possible approaches could involve measuring maximal oxygen capacity, muscle strength and/or monitoring physical activity with monitoring devices during the day [ 40].
However, the normal maximal oxygen utilization capacity excluded a respiratory chain defect in contrast to the suggestion in previous reports (27, 28).
On a separate occasion, subjects performed an exhaustive incremental cycling test (Lode Excalibur Sport, Groningen, the Netherlands) to determine maximal power output (Wmax) and maximal oxygen uptake capacity (VO2peak) using an online gas analysis system (SensorMedics, Bilthoven, the Netherlands).
14 In contrast to leisure time physical activity, most occupational physical activity in modern industrialised societies does not include activities with high enough intensity to increase the maximal oxygen uptake capacity (physical fitness).
Several include: increased maximal oxygen uptake capacity (V ˙ O 2 max ), improved blood-pressure control [ 10], decreased arterial stiffness [ 11], decreased systemic inflammation [ 12], improved solute removal by dialysis [ 13, 14], increased muscle mass, quality and force [ 15], and favorable psychological adaptations (e.g., higher perceived quality of life) [ 16].
At the end of the program, the men had increased their maximal oxygen uptake, or endurance capacity, by an average of 10 percent or more, with no significant differences in the gains between the two groups.
In comparison to other athletic species of similar size, the aerobic capacity or maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) of Thoroughbreds is superior (>200 ml O2/kg/min) [3], [3], and is achieved by a remarkable oxygen carrying capacity and delivery facilitated by structural and functional adaptations involving the respiratory and cardiovascular systems [5].
Most importantly are the changes in the cardiovascular (decreased maximal heart rate, decreased cardiac output), pulmonary (decreased total lung capacity, decreased maximal oxygen uptake), and musculoskeletal (decreased strength and bulk, decreased flexibility) system.
