Watts Doc #21: VO2max and The Most Interesting Protein In The World

Empirical Cycling Podcast · Watts Doc #21: VO2max and The Most Interesting Protein In The World

This episode explores how and why hemoglobin's function emerges from its structure, which makes it a critical component in the oxygen distribution chain. We also discuss the lungs, why VO2max isn't related to hematocrit, and vascular capacity for blood storage before diving into a classic phlebotomy study that ends with a question mark that hints at the central importance of the heart.​

Show Notes
Blood value correlations with vo2max, Figure 1
​https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30549016/

Effects of detraining on cardiovascular responses to exercise: role of blood volume
https://journals.physiology.org/doi/pdf/10.1152/jappl.1986.60.1.95

Hemoglobin dissociation curve with right (Bohr) and left (Haldane) shifts.

Myoglobin vs hemoglobin O2 binding curves with approximate arterial and venous O2 pressures. Image courtesy of Robert Prince.