Physiology & Psychology: Performance Benchmarks

Cardiac output is the heart rate times the stroke volume.
During exercise, heart rate and stroke volume increase thus increasing cardiac output.
Cross country skiers have a much higher maximum cardiac output than many other popular sports.
The distribution of cardiac output changes during rest compared to exercise to allow more blood supply to working
muscles.
Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) is the body's maximum ability to supply oxygen to working systems during
exercise.
Cross country skiing requires a high VO2 max compared to many popular sports.
Olympic Gold medal winners have a VO2 max no lower than 6 liters per minute for men, and 4 liters per minute for women.
Olympic cross country skiers must maintain a lean body mass with a low percent body fat for optimum performance.
Body Mass Index uses height and weight to estimate fatness, a truer estimate of percent body fat is a skinfold assessment.
Essential fat is necessary for temperature regulation, shock absorption, and regulation of essential body nutrients.
The three systems for producing ATP are the ATP-PCr system, the glycolytic system and the oxidative system.
Energy expenditure varies greatly from rest and exercise.
The average energy expenditure for cross country skiers is 24 kcal/min for males and 18 kcal/min for females.