oxygen plateau

A condition reached by an athlete exercising at increasing workloads whose oxygen consumption no longer increases with further increments of workload. The oxygen plateau is most easily studied under controlled conditions (e.g. on treadmill or bicycle ergometer). Results vary according to the type of exercise equipment and type of workload increment (such as increases in speed or gradient). The plateau does not occur in all subjects; oxygen consumption of some subjects increases steadily with increasing workloads until exhaustion.