Metabolic Fitness Testing

After doing an initial test you will unlock a wealth of information about your metabolism and current fitness level. There are however a few key results for both improving your fitness or athletic performance.

VO2 Max – the maximum rate of oxygen consumption during intense exercise, is a critical measure of an athlete’s aerobic capacity and endurance. It reflects the efficiency with which the body can transport and utilize oxygen in the muscles during sustained physical activity. A higher VO2max allows athletes to perform at higher intensities for longer periods without fatiguing, making it a key factor in sports that require endurance, such as running, cycling, and swimming. By training to improve VO2max, athletes can enhance their overall performance, delay the onset of fatigue, and achieve better results in both aerobic and anaerobic activities.

FatOx & Fat/Carb Burn% – Knowing your FatOx levels—the exercise intensity at which your body burns the most fat as fuel—can be highly beneficial for athletes. By identifying your FatOx, you can optimize your training sessions to enhance fat oxidation, which is particularly valuable in endurance sports where efficient energy use is critical for prolonged performance. Training at or near your FatOx can improve your metabolic flexibility, allowing you to rely more on fat stores during long-duration activities, thereby sparing glycogen and delaying the onset of fatigue. This knowledge enables you to tailor your workouts to increase fat-burning efficiency, improve endurance, and manage body composition, all of which contribute to better athletic performance and overall fitness.

Training Zones & Recovery – Metabolic Testing gives you a true Aerobic and Anaerobic Threshold value which means your Training Zones will be correct! Often when performing more basic field tests (FTP, 5k run, Etc) the Anaerobic Threshold value will often be 5-10beats higher meaning your training zones could be completely out. Also through training your aerobic and anaerobic threshold will change – so it’s important to reassess to see progress and reset training zones. We also use a muscle oxygen sensor in our performance tests which has been shown to give similar results to blood lactate testing but in a non evasive manner. As we use both the Calibre Metabolic Analyser (measuring respiration – O2/CO2) and the Train.Red muscle sensor (measuring SmO2 – muscle oxygen saturation) we not only cover all bases but gain additional insights into the exact recovery we need both short term during a session and long term within a structured plan for your triathlon, cycling or fitness goals.