VO2max

The monthly newsletter of RunCoachJason.com

Dr. Jason Karp, professional coach, consultant, freelance writer

Director & Coach, REVO₂LT Running Team™

November, 2007

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In this issue:

VO₂max and Interval Training

Running and Atherosclerosis

Muscular Strength Training

Central Nervous System Fatigue

Customized Training Programs

In Press

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VO₂max and Interval Training

Research has shown that the key to improving VO₂max is to run at or close to the velocity (speed) associated with VO₂max (called “vVO₂max”).  A study published in Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport in February, 2007 compared a group of runners who did an interval workout twice per week for 10 weeks consisting of 8 x 60% of the time they could sustain VO₂max at vVO₂max with a 1-to-1 work-to-rest ratio (3 to 3.5 minutes at vVO2max with equal time as recovery) to a second group that also did an interval workout twice per week for 10 weeks consisting of 12 x 30 seconds at 130% vVO₂max with 4.5 minutes recovery and to a control group that ran for 60 minutes at 75% vVO₂max four times per week for 10 weeks.  Overall, the first group showed greater physiological and performance changes, improving VO₂max by 9.1%, vVO₂max by 6.4%, the time vVO₂max could be sustained by 35%, the speed at the lactate threshold by 11.7%, and 3,000-meter performance by 7.3%.  The second group improved VO₂max by 6.2%, vVO₂max by 7.8%, the time vVO₂max could be sustained by 32%, and 3,000-meter performance by 3.4%, but did not improve the speed at the lactate threshold.  The control group that did no interval training did not show significant changes in any of these variables.  While the percent improvements for each interval training group were statistically greater after training than before, the groups were not statistically different from each other.  In absolute terms, however, using longer intervals (60% of the time you can sustain your speed at VO₂max, which would equal about 3 to 4 minutes) is better than using shorter intervals with longer recovery periods, even when those shorter intervals are run at a higher intensity.

Want to learn more about how to improve your VO₂max?  You can order my popular CD collection, The 3 Players of Distance Running, in which you’ll get all the info you could ever want on VO₂max, running economy, and lactate threshold, including specific workouts to help you reach your running goals, all presented in a colorful slide presentation!  Purchase any CD for $9.95, any 2 CDs for $17.95, or the whole set for just $23.95 (plus $2.95 shipping).  Just go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/merchandise or e-mail jason@runcoachjason.com.  

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Running and Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease of the arteries caused by cells that accumulate in arterial plaques and produce factors that cause damage.  One of those factors, called tumor necrosis factor (TNF), causes plaque stability, dysfunction of the endothelial lining of blood vessels, and inflammatory damage of the arterial wall.  A study published in Journal of Applied Physiology in September, 2007 found that people who performed high-intensity aerobic exercise for 12 weeks (30 to 40 minutes at 55 to 60% of maximum heart rate for 2 weeks, 65 to 75% of max HR for 2 weeks, and 75 to 80% of max HR for 8 weeks) showed a significant decrease in the production of TNF compared to those who performed moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (30 to 40 minutes at 55 to 60% of maximum heart rate) for 12 weeks.  Both groups showed similar improvements in aerobic capacity.  

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Muscular Strength Training

While many people run with heart rate monitors, knowing at what percentage of their maximum heart rate they’re running, how many people know at what percentage of their maximum muscle strength they’re training when they lift weights?  Admittedly, using relative intensity with strength training is a bit more complicated than with running since we have only one cardiac muscle (and thus one max heart rate) but many skeletal muscles (and thus many max strength values). 

 

To strength train using relative intensity, you need to know your maximum strength, which is called the one repetition maximum, or 1-RM (the maximum amount of weight you can lift just once).  Since you have different 1-RMs for each muscle group, you should perform 1-RM tests for each muscle group.  Warm up with 5 to 10 repetitions using a moderate weight (40-60% of your perceived maximum).  Then do another 3 to 5 reps with a slightly greater weight (60-80% of perceived maximum).  Make a conservative increase in the amount of weight, and try to lift the weight just once.  If the lift is successful, rest for 3 to 5 minutes before making another slight increase in weight and trying to lift the weight again.  Repeat these steps until you have reached a weight that you cannot lift.  Once you have reached that weight, decrease the weight slightly (but still more than what you successfully lifted in the prior attempt), and try to lift the weight.  The goal is to isolate the exact amount of weight you can lift just once.  Make sure you take enough time between lifts to adequately recover.  Because of the strenuous nature of 1-RM tests, work with a spotter or friend or ask a personal trainer to help you.  Alternatively, you can estimate your 1-RM with the following equations using any submaximum strength exercise performed to fatigue:

Males: 1-RM = weight lifted in pounds / [1.0278 – (number of reps x 0.0278)]

For this equation, you can use any combination of weight and reps as long as the number of reps to fatigue are 10 or less.

Females: 1-RM = (1.06 x weight lifted in kilograms) + (0.58 x number of reps) – (0.20 x age) –  3.41

For this equation, women should lift a weight that is 45% of their body weight. 

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Central Nervous System Fatigue

The prevailing evidence and thought among scientists is that fatigue, at least during short-term exercise, is caused by changes occurring in muscle, including acidosis from an accumulation of hydrogen ions, increases in the metabolites adenosine diphosphate, inorganic phosphate, and potassium, and depletion of fuel like creatine phosphate and glycogen.  However, some research supports that the central nervous system (CNS) can cause fatigue by reducing its command sent to the muscles—most notably experiments bypassing the CNS by electrically stimulating the nerve supplying the muscle of interest.  The CNS seems to play a significant role in fatigue during prolonged exercise, like marathons and ultramarathons, when there are changes in the levels of the brain neurotransmitters, which increase the perception of effort and lead to feelings of tiredness and lethargy.  Since the CNS command to the muscles can be reduced from the CNS being inhibited directly from changes in brain neurotransmitters or from feedback from the muscles’ metabolic condition, it’s possible that under conditions that represent a risk to organs, especially the heart, yet to be discovered inhibitory signals may be sent to the brain.  In response to these signals, the neural command is dampened and the muscles’ power output consequently declines in an attempt to prevent damage to the heart.  This may partially explain why your maximum heart rate is lower at altitude, since the lower oxygen availability would put the heart at risk at a lower heart rate than at sea-level.  So the reason we slow down may ultimately be because our brains are trying to protect our hearts. 

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Customized Training Programs 

If you’re training for any distance from the 800 meters to the marathon and want a science-based program suited to your needs, try Dr. Jason Karp’s popular customized training programs for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels!  To receive your own training program, contact Coach Jason at jason@runcoachjason.com or go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/merchandise.  And don’t forget, you can run in style and comfort with RunCoachJason.com’s official REVO₂LT Running Team™ lightweight dri-fit T-shirt.  To order, just go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/merchandise.

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In Press...
How They Train: A Study of U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifiers, data from my research documenting how the best marathoners in the U.S. train, with comparisons made between men and women and elite and national-class runners, appears in the November, 2007 issue of Running Times.

Rare Air, my article on altitude training, appears in the November, 2007 issue of Running Times.

Have you ever wanted to run outside without a shirt or wear a tight-fitting camisole but didn’t feel you had the chest for it?  Most men wish they could have a chest like a caveman, symbolic of their strength, while most women wish they could have a firm, sexy chest that cause men to thump theirs in caveman-like admiration.  Caveman Chest, the final part of my Better Body series that describes how to get the chest you’ve always dreamed of, along with a chest training program, appears in the November, 2007 issue of Ultra-Fit magazine.

Ever notice when you go to the gym that you can lift a lot of weight but can’t run on the treadmill for more than a few minutes?  Or maybe you can do cardio for hours but can’t do a single push-up or chin-up?  You’re not alone.  We all have our strengths and weaknesses.  What’s Your Fitness Level, my article that describes a number of fitness tests with accompanying rankings, appears in the November, 2007 issue of Ultra-Fit magazine.

The Three Players of Distance Running: An In-Depth Look at Lactate Threshold, Part 2 of my series that explores the physiology of distance running, appears in the Fall, 2007 issue of Track Coach, the official technical publication of USA Track & Field.

Carbohydrates and the Distance Runner: A Scientific Perspective, my research-based article on the role that carbohydrates plays in distance running, with recommendations for maximizing muscle glycogen synthesis, appears in the Fall, 2007 issue of The Coach, the United Kingdom’s track and field coaching magazine.  

Ever wonder how many miles you should run to maximize your performance? How Much Mileage is Enough?, my article that explores the question of how much mileage is necessary to maximize VO₂max and other variables related to performance, appears in the November/December, 2007 issue of Colorado Runner and in the Fall, 2007 issue of The Coach, the United Kingdom’s track and field coaching magazine.

Running Between the Lines, my article on what you need to know to run effectively at the track, appears in the Fall, 2007 issue of Duke City Fit.

My Fitness News contributions on the importance of goals and exercise and breast cancer appear in the November, 2007 issue of Oxygen magazine. 

A Matter of Survival: Training to Combat Fatigue, my article on the specific causes of fatigue in different races, with workouts to combat fatigue, appears in the December, 2007 issue of Running Times, on newsstands in November. 

My Fitness News contribution on caffeine for sore muscles appears in the December, 2007 issue of Oxygen magazine, on newsstands in November. 

Also look for my fat-burning program in the “You Ask, We Answer” column in the December, 2007 issue of Oxygen magazine, on newsstands in November.

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©2007 Dr. Jason Karp.