What VMA is and how long you can hold it
VMA, or vVO2max, is the running speed at which the body consumes its maximum oxygen, its VO2max. Most athletes can hold it for four to eight minutes, and it is used to predict performance over efforts of 5 to 10 minutes. Short intervals around it are a classic session.
The Léger-Mercier formula links the two: VMA in km/h equals VO2max in ml/kg/min divided by 3.5.
Further reading: Wikipedia — Vitesse maximale aérobie (in French) ↗
The Runkyz test, minute by minute
The test follows the VAMEVAL, which Georges Cazorla and Luc Léger published in 1993. Published descriptions start at 8 or 8.5 km/h depending on the source; Runkyz starts its stages at 8.5 km/h.
Warm up for 10 minutes
The session opens with 10 easy minutes.
Follow the stages
The belt goes up by 0.5 km/h every minute. The banner announces the next stage in advance, so you have time to press the button on the console.
Stop when you cannot follow
The last full stage you held is your VMA. Note its speed.
Cool down for 5 minutes
The session ends with 5 very easy minutes.
Before you start
The test is a maximal effort. Do it rested, after a few weeks of regular running, and clip the safety key to your clothes. If you have any doubt about your health, ask a doctor first.
A belt has no air resistance, so the same speed costs a little less effort than outdoors. Jones and Doust found that a 1% incline made up the difference for nine trained runners between 10.5 and 18 km/h. The Runkyz ramp runs at 0% incline: your result may sit slightly above what a track test would give you.
Further reading: Jones and Doust, Journal of Sports Sciences, 1996 ↗
What to do with your VMA
Sessions near your VMA are short intervals: Runkyz has Billat 30/30, 10 × 400 m, the Pyramid and Yasso 800s in its VMA family. The table converts a VMA into the pace and the 400 m lap time at 100% of it.
| VMA | Pace per kilometer | 400 m lap |
|---|---|---|
| 10 km/h | 6:00 | 2:24 |
| 12 km/h | 5:00 | 2:00 |
| 14 km/h | 4:17 | 1:43 |
| 16 km/h | 3:45 | 1:30 |
No time for a ramp test? Use a 5 km time
Runkyz also recalculates every pace from a 5 km time. After that, your best times in the game, from 400 m to the marathon, keep your paces up to date as you improve.
IN RUNKYZ
The VMA ramp test is in Runkyz.
It runs on Wild Ring, a free course: do it once and the game calculates the pace of every session.
