Why are some people naturally better at sports than others?

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Why are some people naturally better at sports than others? –

An Introduction to VO2 Max

Every cell consumes oxygen for respiration, to make energy. Muscle cells that are used in exercise need energy to contract. So it makes sense that they will use more oxygen during exercise. Therefore to be good at sport, getting as much oxygen as possible to those cells is vital. This is called the maximum oxygen consumption and is characteristically very high in great athletes.

The measurement for maximum oxygen consumption is VO2 max, or the volume of oxygen consumed by the body each minute during exercise. Because oxygen consumption and energy expenditure are related, measuring one means you are also measuring the other. Basically, the bigger a person’s VO2max the better they are at sport!

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VO2 max can be determined by considering 3 factors:

  1. Cardiac output (or the volume of blood pumped by the heart in one minute)

This is calculated from the heart rate (or the number of beats per minute) and the stroke volume (how much blood is pumped at each beat).

  1. The oxygen carrying capacity of the blood (or the number of haemoglobin in the red blood cells)
  2. The amount of muscle and its ability to use the oxygen supplied.

In other words, to have a high VO2 max (and be better at sport), you need to ...

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