Physical work capacity of young men in Sweden

Each year between 1961 and 1975 all male students in a secondary school were submaximally tested on several occasions on bicycle ergometers with regard to estimated maximal aerobic power. The school is situated in central Sweden (Falun). The students were between 16 and 20 years of age. Data from the tests in Falun and data compiled from other sources cannot confirm the hypothesis that young men of today have a lower maximal aerobic power than young men of the 1960s. The results indicate that Swedish boys aged 16 to 20 have, on average, a maximal aerobic power of about 45 ml O2 X (kg x min)-1. The standard deviation is about 8 ml O2.