Comparison of effects of training on Vo2max in girls and young women

Eight girls (12-13 years) and eight young women (18-21 years) trained for 14 weeks. The training sessions were conducted for 30 minutes, 3 times weekly and consisted of running and bench stepping. A treadmill test was used to elicit Vo2max, VEmax, and HR max and it was administered prior to training and after the 2nd, 6th, and 14th weeks of the training. The same test was administered twice, initially and after 14 weeks, to the eight girls and eight women in control groups. After training, both the girls and women had a significantly higher Vo2max regardless of whether Vo2max was expressed in l/min or ml/kg per min. The training groups also increased their VEmax values significantly, however, HR max was not influenced by the training. Not only did the girls and women increase in their Vo2max by a similar magnitude, but they also demonstrated similar rates of change in Vo2max during the training. In addition the most rapid rates of improvement occurred during the initial two weeks of training, and both training groups improved throughout the 14 weeks.