Pure Fitness Training Blog: VO2 max: Lesson 1
But performance, that is something that you are likely aware of. Whether it is performance in a race, a training ride, at boot camp, or even performance on the daily walk around the neighborhood, it is evident when your performance improves, and it feels good!
So have you ever wondered why you get better at working out, or more specifically, what is going on inside your body that allows your performance to improve? You probably have NOT wondered about that, but I think about it all the time! Today I would like to begin a three part series describing why your performance of various activities improves with training, or, why you get better at exercise.
Let us start with cardiovascular adaptations. The capacity of one?s cardiovascular system (or, more accurately, cardiorespiratory system) is reflected by a measure called VO2 max. This value describes a person?s maximal ability to take in oxygen and use it for energy production, and is one indicator of fitness level. VO2 max values vary according to age, gender, body size, fitness level and genetic endowment, and are expressed in the unit ml/kg/min (milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute.)
To gain some perspective on V02 max levels, here is a chart detailing VO2 max values of different populations:
Population?????????????????????????????????????? Males????????????????????????? Females
Healthy
Lance Armstrong???????????????????????????????85????????????????????????????????-
Cross-country skiers????????????????????????? 84??????????????????????????????? 72
Distance runners???????????????????????????????? 83????????????????????????????????62
Sedentary, young?????????????????????????????? 45???????????????????????????????? 38
Sedentary, middle-aged???????????????????? 35??????????????????????????????????30
Diseased
Post-heart attack patients?????????????????? 22???????????????????????????????? 18
Severe pulmonary
disease patients?????????????????????????????????? 13???????????????????????????????? 13
Animal 'Athletes'
Thoroughbred Horse??????????????????????????? 180 !
Sled-Dog Huskies??????????????????????????????? 240 !!!
Second, as one ages, VO2 max decreases (as most functions, unfortunately?.luckily you will all have access to a LONGEVITY MANUAL soon!) This decrease commonly parallels and is caused by a loss of muscle mass as one ages and, more importantly, the general decline in physical activity level as one ages.
Third, dynamic, full-body exercise, such as cross country skiing, promotes the highest increase in VO2 max since all muscle mass will be recruited during the training, as opposed to minimal upper body muscle mass contribution as seen in cycling and/or running. (It should be noted, the values for skiers and distance runners, as well as Lance Armstrong, are very high, and would represent those genetically blessed with a high VO2 max value. Any value over 45-50 is generally considered to be ?superior? for the average person.)
Fourth, the presence of a cardiac or pulmonary disease greatly reduces VO2 max, because those two systems are critical for delivering oxygen into the blood and then moving the oxygenated blood to active skeletal muscles.
Finally, just to put it in perspective, humans have nothing on many animals when it comes to VO2 max values, so do not try to race them.
Now that we know what VO2 max is, next week we will learn why it improves with training, specifically the adaptations made in the heart to ensure more blood is delivered to active muscles.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. For the next week Grass Fed Whey protein is on sale!!! Grab a tub for $35, a ten dollar savings. We have vanilla and chocolate in stock at the gym.
2. Be on the look-out for a T shirt order sign-up sheet at the gym soon!
3. Note that on Saturday, September 15, in place of regular boot camp we will have a RECOVERY CLASS. This will consist of concentrated foam rolling, soft tissue work, corrective exercise, range of motion, and flexibility work. Do not think that you do not need this, because you do.
Have a great week!
TEAM PURE
Source: http://pure-ft-blog.blogspot.com/2012/08/vo2-max-lesson-1.html
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I know I?ve been neglecting Whimsical things, but I saw something recently that got me laughing, so I thought I?d pass it along.
Researchers have finally found a compound that may offer the first effective and hormone-free birth control pill for men. The new study shows that the small molecule makes male mice reversibly infertile without putting a damper on their sex drive. When the animals stop taking this new form of birth control, their sperm rebound and they are again able to produce perfectly healthy offsprings.