ABSTRACT
It is generally known, that cardio-respiratory parameters, oxygen uptake (VO2, liters min 1)
and heart rate (HR, beats min1), are related to different climbing conditions. According to Mermier et al. (1997), HR, lactate, and VO2 increase with the degree of difficulty of a climbing route (tested in different inclinations of the climbing wall). The relationship between HR and VO2 is non-linear in climbing (Mermier et al., 1997), compared to running and cycling. This observation was confirmed by Sheel et al. (2003), which he attributes to the fact that climbing requires the use of intermittent isometric contractions of the arm musculature and the reliance of both anaerobic and aerobic metabolism. According to Watts and Drobish (1998), VO2 does not increase with the inclination of the wall (measured on a treadwall), whereas the HR increases progressively. A possible explanation of the unexpectedly missing VO2 increase is that VO2 peak values are lower in arm work than in leg exercise (Vokac et al., 1975) whereby the finger reaction forces increase with the angle of inclination (Fuss & Niegl, 2007a). According to Booth et al. (1999), VO2 and HR increase linearly with the climbing speed (measured on a treadwall). According to Watts (2004), climbers do not typically possess extremely high aerobic power, typically averaging between 52-55 ml kg1 min1 for maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 peak). Performance time for a typical ascent ranges from 2 to 7 min and VO2 averages around 20-25 ml kg
min1 over this period. Peaks of over 30 ml kg1 min1 for VO2 have been reported. VO2 tends to plateau during sustained climbing yet remains elevated into the post-climb recovery period (Watts, 2004).
