How to Test Swimmers in the Pool with VO2 Master

There are two prime reasons for considering VO2 testing for swimmers:
1) As an assessment of VO2max, which has been shown to correlate to middle distance swim success. This type of testing also has a useful purpose in tracking the effects of training on an athlete’s physiology, to ensure the desired changes are occurring in response to a given stimulus.
2) The second reason for looking at VO2 data, which should be done across a wide range of intensities, is to view how efficiently swimmers are making use of the available fuels for performance. Increasing speed at reduced levels of oxygen consumption are a key metric to improving performance across all distances, but especially for endurance athletes.
There are clear differences between elite swimmers and other athletes in terms of oxygen utilization in the water. One study showed swimmers had a higher VO2 max swimming compared to cycling (58.4 compared to 51.3). Swimmers were also able to attain higher max HR in the water when compared to triathletes (184 vs 174). Whereas triathletes showed much higher VO2max scores in cycling vs swimming (68.2 vs 53.0). These observations confirm the concept of sport specificity, and the training adaptations that occur in elite athletes over years of training. The structural development of muscle specific mitochondrial density in addition to the central benefits of cardiac and respiratory changes allow for these differences between swimmers and multi-sport athletes. VO2 utilization also relies on the functional differences in coordination, stroke efficiency and body position.
The best means of examining efficiency using VM is to develop an individualized step test (GXT - Graded Exercise Test) that allows an athlete to performance steady state swim speed for 2-3 minutes (100-200m intervals depending on swim ability), and test the VO2 during a set 30 second rest interval between steps. Total number of steps can be between 3-8, starting at very low speeds, and gradually increasing with each step, until a race pace, or maximal effort is achieved. The data collected between each step can be graphed on the x-axis, against the swim speed on the y-axis to create and “efficiency” curve, and track progress over time.
Additional data sets can also be collected through this GXT approach, including HR, NIRS (Moxy data), stroke rate (RPM), stroke efficiency (distance per stroke) and respiratory frequency (number of breaths/100m).
WHAT IS VO2 MASTER?
The VO2 Master Analyzer is the ultimate portable metabolic analyzer. At a weight of 200 grams, the VO2 Master Analyzer provides the best field testing equipment currently available. No tubes, cables or backpacks needed. Testing data is streamed directly to our free mobile app where it can be viewed in real time. Additionally, the app will draw data from a wide variety of other physiologic testing equipment, including HR monitors, Power Meters and Moxy monitors as examples. Test VO2 Max, estimate resting metabolic rate, determine training zones, examine breathing coordination and more. The possibilities for physiologic testing are now endless.
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[@moiyamoyam5761]

Great discussion in terms of efficiency rather than concentrating only on increasing the VO2MAX. :)