A Critical Evaluation of Current Methods for Exercise Prescription in Women and Men
Fixed % of VO2max, peak power or HRmax misplace people across intensity domains
Participants
n=100 (46 women, 54 men). VO2max 3.06±0.41 L/min (women) and 4.10±0.56 L/min (men).
Protocol
Cardiopulmonary ramp-incremental test: VO2max, peak work rate (WRpeak), HRmax and lactate threshold (LT).
Several 30-min constant-work-rate trials to find the maximal lactate steady state (MLSS).
LT and MLSS split each person's intensity spectrum into moderate, heavy and severe domains; fixed-percentage prescriptions were then checked against those domains.
Key Findings
Where LT and MLSS fell, as a % of maximum, varied enormously between people:
%VO2max: LT 45–74%, MLSS 69–96%
%WRpeak: LT 23–57%, MLSS 44–71%
%HRmax: LT 60–90%, MLSS 75–97%
Women reached LT and MLSS at a higher %VO2max and %HRmax than men.
So any fixed percentage lands different people in different domains: fixed-%-of-max prescription "conform[s] poorly to exercise intensity domains" and does not control the metabolic stimulus.
Practical Application
In 100 adults (46 women), the maximal lactate steady state fell anywhere from 69% to 96% of VO2max, 44–71% of peak ramp power and 75–97% of HRmax (lactate threshold 45–74%, 23–57%, 60–90%), and women sat higher than men — so zones set as fixed percentages of a maximum put different people in different intensity domains — anchor zones to a measured threshold (LT/MLSS or a validated proxy), not to % of VO2max, ramp-test peak or HRmax.
A "75% HRmax" easy ride can be moderate for one athlete and heavy for another; the same holds for % of ramp peak power.
Limitations
Cross-sectional: no training outcome, only where thresholds sit.
Training status of the sample is not described in the abstract; the spread may be narrower in homogeneous trained groups.
Ramp-test percentages depend on the ramp slope; the WRpeak ranges are protocol-specific.
How this entry was checked and changed
Why this level
regraded 2026-09-26 from A: cross-sectional measurement study, n=100
Content correction 2026-09-27
The entry described a different study (FTP vs RCP vs CP; "n=15 male, extended 22-30"; FTP–RCP r=0.86-0.93; "FTP below RCP"; "CP ~5-10 W above FTP"; warm-up effects) -> this paper compares fixed % of VO2max, WRpeak and HRmax with LT/MLSS domains in n=100 (46 women); FTP, RCP and CP were not studied. Rewritten entirely.
Practical bullets on FTP/CP interchangeability and HIT anchoring removed -> replaced by the paper's finding (anchor zones to thresholds, not fixed % of max).
Level A -> B+ (cross-sectional, n=100); Tier 2-3 -> 1; Sport "cycling, swimming" -> cycling; journal line corrected to MSSE.
Cross-reference descriptions checked against the cited entries' current content; wrong years, wrong entries and claims the cited entry does not make were corrected.