HEALTH
The healthy firefighting heart By Jim McDonald, Firefighter/ Strength & Conditioning Professional
So the department says everyone needs to do a MET test and get 12 METS or better for VO2 Max to stay online. VO2 what?! And what is a MET, anyway? Sounds like scientific mumbo jumbo. “What does it mean, and why is it important to me?” You might ask yourself these questions the next time you’re hooked up to an incline treadmill with what looks like ER life support. So, here it is: VO2 Max (and METs), decoded.
WHAT IS A MET? A MET is a Metabolic Equivalent of a Task. It’s an objective measure of the ratio of the rate at which a person expends energy, relative to his or her mass, while performing some specific physical activity compared to a reference. That reference is set by convention at 3.5 mL of oxygen per kilogram per minute, which is roughly equivalent to oxygen consumed when sitting quietly at rest. More simply put, it’s a measurement of how hard you’re working compared to when you are at rest. For example, a typical human sitting quietly will consume 1 MET (3.5 ml/ kg/min) of oxygen. The standard for active duty firefighters is 12 METs or 42 ml/kg/min: 12 times more oxygen consumed than while at rest.
WHAT IS VO2 MAX? VO2 max is a measurement of how efficiently an individual’s body utilizes oxygen during a sustained period of maximum effort. In other words, it’s a proxy for a measurement of cardiovascular fitness. The standard of 12 METs is the same as a VO2 max of 42 ml/kg/min. The average sedentary (inactive) male achieves a VO2 max of about 35 to 40 mL/kg/min. If you look at the firefighter standard of 42 ml/kg/min, you’ll see it’s not much higher than a sedentary individual. This standard is easily achievable with moderate activity and a basic fitness program.
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