Gabe Mirkin, M.D.
Lance Armstrong is arguably the greatest endurance
athlete of all time. Edward F. Coyle, professor at the University of
Texas, has tested him in his laboratory several times over the
years. We can be certain that Lance has extraordinary genetic attributes. A
laboratory measure of a person’s genetic ability to compete
successfully in endurance events is called the VO2max, the
maximum amount of blood the heart can pump in a given time
span. Lance’s value was 6 liter/min (expressed per body weight
as 75-85 ml/kg/min). Of the hundreds of athletes he has tested,
Coyle has found only two other athletes in that range. To have
great endurance, (and a high VO2max) you have to have a large
heart that has to be able to pump huge amounts of blood with
each beat. You also have to have a dense collection of blood
vessels to deliver oxygen to the muscles and the types of muscle
fibers that can generate, power efficiently and resist fatigue.
This doesn’t mean that training is not important. An
athletic, lean 20 year old usually has a maximum oxygen uptake
of around 40-50. If he stops exercising, it may drop to 30. If
Lance becomes a couch potato, his VO2max would drop, but only
to about 65. That means that he would still be able to beat most
bicycle racers, even when he stops training.
Now we know that if you want your child to grow up to be
a champion athlete, he or she must have the right genes, choose
the right sport and train very hard in that sport from an early age.
With few exceptions, the time of multiple-sport athletes is gone.
Champion gymnasts, runners, swimmers, and power athletes
usually start training before age 10 and specialize in their chosen
sport 12 months a year. Before you expose your child to such
intense specialization that it limits his other interests, it is
reasonable for you to see how he compares to other children at
the same age and experience. A test of VO2max may help you
decide if your child is spending his energies in the right place; if
the base VO2max is less than 40, he has little chance of being a
world-class athlete in an endurance sport.
Journal of Applied Physiology, March 17, 2005