Oxygen uptake during the first minutes of heavy muscular exercise

Oxygen uptake, heart rate, pulmonary ventilation, and blood lactic acid were studied in five subjects performing maximal work on a bicycle ergometer. After a 10-min warming up period work loads were varied so that exhaustion terminated exercise after about 2—8 min. Peak oxygen uptake and heart rate were practically identical (sd 3.1% and 3 beats/minute, respectively) in the experiments. The heavier the work was and the shorter the work time the higher became the pulmonary ventilation. There was a more rapid increase in the functions studied when the heaviest work loads were performed. It is concluded that aerobic capacity can be measured in a work test of from a few up to about 8 min duration, severity of work determining the actual work time necessary. Duration of work in studies of circulation and respiration during submaximal work should exceed 5 min. Submitted on June 23, 1961