Deficit de Oxigênio Acumulado e Produção de Energia Anaeróbia (Accumulated Oxygen Deficit and Anaerobic Energy Release)

The aim of the present paper is to present an historical perspective of the use of the Accumulated Oxygen Deficit as an indicator of the anaerobic energy release and to analyse the assumptions in which the Accumulated Oxygen Deficit method is based. This method has been used since the end of the 1980 decade to assess the anaerobic ability of sportsmen and allows the Accumulated Oxygen Deficit estimation during supramaximal exercises. The method requires a previous estimation of the total energy cost of the exercise. The later is calculated by extrapolation of the energy cost observed during submaximal exercise. The theory that supports the AOD concept may be simple, but the assumptions in which is based on are not easy to prove. The assumptions of the method are: i) estimation of the submaximal energy cost from the oxygen uptake-exercise intensity relationship; ii) estimation of the supramaximal energy cost by linear extrapolation of the submaximal energy cost; iii) stability of the supramaximal energy cost during exercise. Despite the fact that some criticisms have been addressed to the method, until the present time no one has presented an alternative method that would be independent from the above mentioned assumptions and presented an acceptable validity.