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Home > PDHPE > Core 2 - Factors Affecting Performance > How does the body respond to aerobic training? > How does the body respond to aerobic training?

The oxygen uptake (VO2) of an athlete is the amount of oxygen (litres or millilitres) which the body uses in a minute. It is measured in litres per minute. It should not be confused with the ventilation rate, which is the total amount of air per minute passing in and out of the lungs.

Oxygen uptake is calculated using the following formula:

VO2	= millilitres of oxygen used per kilogram of body weight per minute (litres per minute) = mls/kg/min

Training increases an athlete’s ability to take oxygen into the body and use it. The factors that contribute to this increased ability are:

• increased cardiac output
• higher ventilation rates
• higher energy stores in muscles
• an increased ability of the muscles to utilise these stores.

Oxygen uptake is believed to be one of the best indicators of an athlete’s fitness. Most training works to improve the athlete’s ability to move oxygen into the cells and to improve the ability of the cells to use the oxygen.

How does oxygen uptake change as result of training?

The following table represents an individual’s oxygen uptake during exercise, before undertaking a training program (pre-training) and following a training program (post-training). Figures shown in the table represent the amount of oxygen being used by the body during a level below a maximal effort and at a maximal effort. This is shown in litres per minute. (It is important to remember that oxygen makes up only 20% of air and only a small percentage of this is absorbed during each breath.)

	Resting	Submaximal exercise	Maximal
Pre-training	0.275 Litres	1.49 Litres	2.70 Litres
Post-training	0.275 Litres	1.49 Litres	3.20 Litres

Student activity
What does this table tell us about oxygen uptake for trained and untrained athletes: at rest? during submaximal levels of exercise? during maximal levels of work? Give an explanation for oxygen uptake at each level of work. How does oxygen uptake affect performance? Check your answers here.

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