Measuring Your Aerobic Max For Goalkeeping Success

Yup, just did 12 laps because your trainer said it was good for you. Did he test your aerobic max? Or, you possibly did 1 hour of extremely intense sprint sessions, because that same trainer felt it would be good to see you writhe in pain a little bit. Did he test your aerobic max? I bet the answer is no. Many goalkeeper trainers that I had the so called pleasure to train with just got you to work hard, and then assumed that you were in tip top aerobic shape. It’s just not acceptable in this day of modern football to assume, and assumptions don’t provide solid results. VO2 Max is certainly a great way to gauge your aerobic conditioning, and it takes tonnes of money and research to gauge relevant results. the following article provides methods you can use at home to gauge your VO2 Max and measure your aerobic ability.

Grassroots soccer players don’t really have a significant gauge to measure their VO2 Max, unless you are cashed up or have hijacked a sports scientist from a local university. Following are two ways to firstly have your doctor measure your own VO2 Max, and secondly allow you to gauge a rough measurement of your VO2 Max at home:

"HDL cholesterol – this is our "good" cholesterol, and it has a positive association with VO₂ max. That is, as HDL cholesterol goes up, VO₂ max goes up.

LDL cholesterol, Body Mass Index (BMI), Smoking, and long-term Blood Glucose Levels – quite a long list, no doubt, and all of these factors, from "bad" cholesterol to BMI have a negative impact on VO₂ max. As they go up, VO₂ max goes down."

Getting your local GP to measure the above markers and get the results to you on paper can allow you to understand your aerobic potential and plan to gain the best out of your goalkeeping performance (it should be measured both in the pre-season and during the season to measure any differences. The next best way is to measure it at home:

"Another predictor that requires no equipment is the Cooper test. In this test you run 12 minutes all out, and you take the distance you ran (in meters) and subtract 505, then divide that number by 45, and you have a predicted value in ml/kg/min. Again, this is a gross estimation and not as personal as even tracking the progress of your markers."

The Cooper 12 minute test is a great way to get a rough estimate of your VO2 Max. If you have a treadmill you can pretty easily get the above measurement, or if you are signed on with your local gym like Fitness First or 24 Hour Fitness for example, you can hop on a treadmill there and get an understanding of your VO2 Max. Happy running!