When given the choice between deep, rhythmic, more diaphragmatic breathing, or short rapid almost hyperventilatory breaths, it is almost instinctive to think that the aforementioned strategy is more advantageous than the latter. Certainly, one would assume that the quest for oxygen will be much more fruitful when your respiratory rate is more controlled, substantial, and relaxed. However, as of late, we have noticed an alarming trend in many of the clients that we have tested; and this trend becomes even more alarming when it is justified by misinformation….
Permalink to The Benefits of VO2max Testing
The Benefits of VO2max Testing
The elaborateness of VO2max testing is to some people a luxurious non-necessity reserved only for people with western European accents or for those who love to impress with the latest in technological revolution. That was indeed the case… back in 1971. Now, with modern methods of Vo2 (that’s short for “volume of consumed oxygen) max testing, it’s quite simple to keep regular tabs on your current oxygen consuming capabilities. However, the question remains in the back of the heads of many-a-skeptic as to how participating in this type of test is beneficial to their athletic proficiency. For one, the maximal amount of oxygen carried/consumed by the working muscle is the true limitation to overall aerobic capacity and is regarded as the “standard” by which all endurance athletes are compared. While it is important to know where one’s limits truly lie, the Vo2max is merely a physiological reference point that is optimistically a second-rate determinant of endurance capacity and of little consequence during a season-long training structure. The hidden elements of the information gleaned from a Vo2max test provides the real physiological foundation for addressing athletic need in a particular area. This is the type of information can only be elucidated from Vo2max protocols, and is the basis for what adds or subtracts from your efficiency as an endurance athlete.
Permalink to Let Me Tell You Why You Need Oxygen
Let Me Tell You Why You Need Oxygen
These little blog inputs that I have been seriously neglecting as of late I’ve noticed typically get one of two reviews: 1) It was great, but very condensed or 2) it was a mishmash of personal experience forcefully blended with enough technical jargon to make even a well-spoken British man nervous. So, I’ve decided to take a slightly different tack and instead focus on something that, not only everyone can understand, but also identify-with as well as putting things in terms that reduce the glazing sensation only brought about by that first ingredient of boredom- confusion.
Permalink to Translating the Lingua Cycliste’ part I
Translating the Lingua Cycliste’ part I
Cyclists are a different breed, I grant you, but until you hear them (alright, US — you got me…) speak about their sport, you never realize the magnitude of departure from the norm. Just one conversation reveals this complex and systematic language packed with phrase after acronym whose meaning only draws credibility from the tone of confidence of the cyclist who speaks them. On the outset, you would think this language actually has basis on something firm, something solid. But as you begin to become more and more inoculated, eventually adopting it for yourself, you start to realize that 2/3 of this language is nothing more than a literary house of cards. What makes this situation even worse is the generational inheritance of our vocabulary. Propagating this language to cycling novices is one thing, but when it is based one’s own superficial understanding, they begin their cycling careers at a severe disadvantage. I hate to paint such a bleak picture, but what I plan to do is provide some clarity and understanding so that the language itself doesn’t have to be altered in any way, only used in the proper context. In doing so, you will add a level of clarity to your training that will allow you to predict, rather than guess at a solution, when something goes awry.
Permalink to The Truth About Max Heart Rate
The Truth About Max Heart Rate
As of late, I have received numerous questions via email or phone regarding training zones, what zones mean, and how max HR is important to the success of zone calculation. What I plan to do with the rest of this document falls along the same vane of information as my recent “Lingua Cycliste” article. I want to explain exactly what max HR is, how it can be used, and how it can function to the benefit or detriment of your training. First of all, max HR is defined by many-a-textbook as the maximum rate at which your heart can beat and still produce a suitable cardiovascular output. We have all been confronted with data from our various performance devices which tells us the maximal HR we achieved during a specific bout of exercise. Of course, with increasing intensity, the probability of achieving a “new max” (in parentheses for a reason…) becomes higher. However, it is very interesting to note that this “new max” shouldn’t be considered a new max HR at all- it is only a new percentage of your theoretical max HR. We’ve all been inoculated with the ole’ “220-your age” idealistic metric towards zone calculation. What this naturally assumes is that, as you age, your natural (or theoretical max) decreases. This is simply not the case. Now, your ability to achieve a certain level of max most certainly does, but this is only linked to the hormonal decline in an achievable level of fitness, which DOES decline with age, of course.
