An HRM Primer

Great post, and very thorough. Thank you for taking the time to explain it to us! This is definitely helpful. One question I've had is where can you get a VO2 max done? Is it something I would call a physician to get? I know they only do VO2 submax at the gym I belong to. Just wondering where you would find something like that, and approximately how much something like that would cost to have done? I'd love to have better accuracy with my calories burned and with my fitness goals overall.

The problem is not just finding a place that can do a VO2max test, but then actually DOING one and getting good results. It's not easy. Many people cannot push themselves hard enough to actually reach a true HR or VO2 max.

I have an advantage in that I have been tested --albeit 25 years ago-- and I know the subject and my body in great detail, so I can do a pretty good job of "guesstimating". One thing I think I have mentioned before--at the center where I am working now, we use a submax test program on a Life Fitness treadmill for the aerobic portion of our fitness assessment. It's a 5 min walking test--1 min flat and 4 min @ 5% grade (you select the speed between 2.0 and 4.5 mph). The more I use it, the more I am liking the results. I tested my coworker and he got the exact same score as he did doing a 1-mile run test earlier. I also did it on myself on Sunday and got a number that is within 5% of my max these days. So, if you have access to a newer Life Fitness 95T, 97T or Classic, I would recommend trying this on yourself.

There is another alternative. I can't believe I am saying this, but Lifetime Fitness is offering VO2 metabolic testing at many of their clubs. They don't do a max test, but they do take you beyond your anaerobic threshold, and you do get a reading of *actual* calories burned at different submax HRs and workloads. From this, you can do some extrapolating and that will most likely be sufficient. Just beware of the handout and "speech" that comes afterwards. Basically, the "report" contains the old "fat burning" logic, only in a more detailed form. Ignore the "fat burning" nonsense and you will still get a LOT of good information about YOUR response to exercise. It's about $250.