Physiology Assessments

A physiology or fitness assessment allows us to find out how your body performs as it does, as well as where your strengths lie, and what aspects of your physiology might be limiting your progress.

We pride ourselves on providing you with a great experience on the day, as well as useable, relevant and easy-to-understand feedback. The main modes of exercise for the testing we offer are running, cycling or rowing.

Our testing can assess:

  • VO2max – the greatest amount of oxygen you can take in and use, which acts as a ceiling on your endurance/aerobic fitness
  • Lactate thresholds – useful for developing training zones, event-specific training, pacing strategies.
  • Running economy – how efficient you are when running, particularly relevant for the longer-distance endurance athlete (running)  For more detailed information on this variable have a read of our article explaining running economy
  • Maximal aerobic power output – your highest power output for the last minute of the max test (cycling), acting as a ceiling to where you can get your threshold powers.
  • Fuel utilisation – how much fat and carbohydrate you use in grams/min; particularly useful for endurance and ultra-endurance athletes

Anyone can access our service.  Test protocols are adapted to suit the individual, whether you are a beginner or experienced athlete, and to suit the sport/event for which you are preparing.

The purpose of the testing is to give you specific, individualised training advice based on your physiology, so it is most suited to people who are training for a particular sport or event.

Running and cycling assessments are our most popular. These involve a 2-part test to assess your submaximal and maximal physiology.  You can find out more about the run testsRun test   You can find outmore about the bike tests here.‌

Within a week of your visit, you will receive a detailed written report, containing all the data we collected, with an explanation of what it all means, where your strengths and weaknesses lie, and what type of training could be done to target the relevant aspects of your physiology that will help you achieve your goals. We also include an example of how to put together a training week, ie how many times a week you should aim to do each particular type of training session.

 

 

A standard test (VO2max and submax) is £199.  If two people come in together for testing, each would get a 10% discount, and if you book a second visit within 12 months of the first you would get a 10% discount.  Bespoke test protocols and packages for groups can be delivered so please contact us for exact pricing.