The influence of verbal encouragement during assessment of maximal oxygen uptake

This study examined the influence of verbal encouragement on the attainment of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) for competitive runners (n = 14) and untrained non-athletes (n = 14). Two maximal treadmill tests were performed with verbal encouragement or no encouragement. VO2max, respiratory exchange ratio (RER), heart rate, and blood lactate concentration were determined. Encouragement resulted in significantly (p < 0.05) higher values for VO2max (44.9v42.8 ml/kg.min-1), treadmill run time (14.3v12.4 mins), RER (1.10 +/- 0.98), maximal heart rate (196.0v192.7 bpm) and blood lactate (110.5v93.7 mg/dl) for the untrained subjects. VO2max, RER and maximal lactate values were not affected by verbal encouragement for the competitive runners, however, treadmill run times and maximal heart rate were significantly higher with encouragement. These results suggest that attainment of VO2max is not dependent on external encouragement for highly trained competitive runners. However, encouragement may be necessary to assure attainment of VO2max for untrained non-athletes.