Maximum Oxygen Uptake
Category: Fitness · 3-page printable PDF · Ages 9-10 · Free for ConnectedPE members
A senior-secondary exercise physiology lab on the gold-standard measure of aerobic fitness: VO₂max. Students conduct a sub-maximal fitness test, use their results to calculate predicted maximal oxygen uptake, and analyse the relationship between aerobic capacity, training and athletic performance.
The sub-maximal protocol is the practical heart — students experience how physiologists estimate maximal capacity without maximal exhaustion, and confront the assumptions and error sources baked into prediction equations. The analysis extends into training: how aerobic capacity responds to conditioning, why VO₂max differs across sports, and what it does and doesn't predict about performance.
Three pages covering protocol, calculation and analysis, designed for Year 9–10 and senior PE. Slots into an energy-systems or fitness-testing topic, and pairs with the Heart Rate Responses and Cardio-Respiratory System labs for a complete acute-responses practical sequence.
What students learn
Students conduct a sub-maximal fitness test, calculate predicted VO2max, and explain the relationship between aerobic capacity, training adaptations, and sport performance.
Topics: Exercise Physiology, VO2max, Aerobic Capacity, Lab Activity, Senior Secondary
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- Stretch It — The eBook — Ages 8-12, 10-16
- Work It — The eBook — Ages 8-12, 10-16