Exercise Testing and Assessment

Exercise testing measures how the body responds to effort, and its central laboratory output is peak oxygen uptake (peak VO2), a strong measure of aerobic fitness.

The term maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) is reserved for a test that shows a plateau or other convincing evidence that a true maximum was reached. For the sport and exercise medicine (SEM) clinician, testing turns vague questions about fitness and fatigue into objective information for diagnosis, exercise prescription and training monitoring, always read alongside the clinical picture.

This page covers what cardiopulmonary exercise testing measures, the thresholds, field and submaximal tests, the safety rules for running a test, and how training load and overreaching are monitored.