Maximal Fat Oxidation is Related to Performance in an Ironman Triathlon
Abstract
Abstract The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between maximal fat oxidation rate (MFO) measured during a progressive exercise test on a cycle ergometer and ultra-endurance performance. 61 male ironman athletes (age: 35±1 yrs. [23–47 yrs.], with a BMI of 23.6±0.3 kg/m2 [20.0–30.1 kg/m2], a body fat percentage of 16.7±0.7% [8.4–30.7%] and a VO2peak of 58.7±0.7 ml/min/kg [43.9–72.5 ml/min/kg] SEM [Range]) were tested in the laboratory between 25 and 4 days prior to the ultra-endurance event, 2016 Ironman Copenhagen. Simple bivariate analyses revealed significant negative correlations between race time and MFO (r2=0.12, p<0.005) and VO2peak (r2=0.45, p<0.0001) and a positive correlation between race time and body fat percentage (r2=0.27, p<0.0001). MFO and VO2peak were not correlated. When the significant variables from the bivariate regression analyses were entered into the multiple regression models, VO2peak and MFO together explained 50% of the variation observed in race time among the 61 Ironman athletes (adj R2=0.50, p<0.001). These results suggests that maximal fat oxidation rate exert an independent influence on ultra-endurance performance (>9 h). Furthermore, we demonstrate that 50% of the variation in Ironman triathlon race time can be explained by peak oxygen uptake and maximal fat oxidation.
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- Authors
- Frandsen, J., Vest, S., Larsen, S., Dela, F., & Helge, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- Corresponding author
- Frandsen, Jacob
- Venue
- International Journal of Sports Medicine
- Publisher
- Georg Thieme Verlag KG
- Published
- 2017-10-19
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 13
- Pages
- 975-982
- ISSN
- 0172-4622 (ISSN-L)
- 1439-3964
- OpenAlex
- W2766260434
- Cited by
- 74
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 7
- FWCI
- 10.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Sports Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Keywords
- maximal fat oxidation, Ironman triathlon, peak oxygen uptake, body fat percentage, race time, endurance athletes, substrate utilization
- MeSH terms
- Adipose Tissue, Adult, Bicycling, Competitive Behavior, Exercise Test, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Oxidation-Reduction, Oxygen Consumption, Physical Endurance, Regression Analysis, Running, Swimming, Young Adult
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