Improve VO2Max

tsazani wrote: »

I try to use my resistance training sessions LIKE a HIIT session. If I can get a "twofer" I'll take it. I hope I'm not shortchanging myself trying to do this.

For my 30 min full body resistance training sessions I do 7 sets. One for each major body part.

My HR goes over 100% MaxHR on some sets. And in the 90s% on the others. I try to do my reps very slowly so I spend probably 40-60 seconds doing a set. Then I rest until my HR goes to 75% MaxHR. Usually 2-3 minutes.

So out of my last 30 minute resistance training session:

5 min are in RED zone. 15 min in YELLOW zone. 8 min in GREEN zone. And 2 min in BLUE zone. Polar Beat calls this "Maximum Tempo Training" which is as hard as they go. I HOPE I'm not overdoing it.

My cardio is almost all GREEN zone. My yoga is almost all BLUE zone.

Seeing you say you go over maxHR, all of your training is in the GREY zone. If you dont know your maxHR you cannot actually use zones as a training reference. 220-age gives me a maxHR of 162, ive just come back from a two hour ride where my averageHR was 153, so i spent 2 hours in the RED zone?

tsazani wrote: »

OK. So far my MaxHR = 171. So I'm going to set my Polar Beat to age 49 instead of my true age of 61. See how that goes.

Last Monday when I went crazy during resistance training my heart rate hit a MAX of 171. It's the highest heart rate I've achieved this year. Second highest max was 169.

So I'm basically a 49 year old undertraining as if I were a 61 year old.

There should be a place in polar beats to set your max heart rate. No need to change your age.

tsazani wrote: »

"There should be a place in polar beats to set your max heart rate. No need to change your age."

There is a place but it still defaults to 220-age=MaxHR. Lowering my age by 12 years will force it to do it right. I hope.

I'm going to test it tomorrow. It's cardio day. I'm going to try to stay in the GREEN zone. Let's see what happens.

Changing your age will throw other metrics off.

Just change the max heart rate in polar beats and save it. That is all you should have to do.

Quite a bit of good discussion in this thread, but a couple of points really stood out to me.

Psychgrrl wrote: »

I’ve been able to move mine up bit by bit every year. I get tested annually in a fitness lab at the university where I work.

I do 20 minutes of interval training 1-2 times per week. Along with all the other stuff that doesn’t really affect it.

amandaeve wrote: »

I totally recommend a VO2 max lab test. If I followed the Garmin model I would be off by more than a whole zone. Getting personalized zones has been incredibly helpful.

Also, it seems like a few people here are confusing VO2 max with Max heart rate. Max heart rate is entirely dictated by Gene's and age. VO2 max is only to an extent, the rest varies by training style.

First, just about every study relating to VO2max shows that improvements are greater only if people exercise more frequently up near or above their current VO2max. Oxygen deficit creates the demand and the body adapts. Shorter intervals up well beyond VO2max or longer intervals up just near the max seem to be debated, but nobody really debates that both impact improvements.

And second, as for testing I personally don't think we have to go to a lab. But the only way to measure improvements is some type of baseline testing, and a lab does provide that. People can also do DIY testing if they are consistent in the type they choose. The final number in lab vs DIY will probably vary, but changes should show up reasonably similar with both. Keep in mind that even many studies state that VO2max can vary day to day, with weather, etc. Using an average of tests might help.


Heart rate... Yeah, toss most of the formula's out the window IMHO. They work for some, not at all for others, and to some extent vary too much within an individual person to be a true gauge. They are also IMHO more impacted by training levels and/or intensities of training than we can account for accurately. I've set PB times on an exercise with HR levels below my norm, and I've had days where a normal workout gets my HR up beyond normal. Use what applies better to yourself.


In my experience my overall HR trends were more impacted by volume of cardio. My overall VO2max trends seem to be more impacted by intensity. Both is best, but I don't always make time for both.

tsazani wrote: »

I pushed my birthday back 12 years and did cardio. For the first time since I've been using my Polar Beat it FELT like REAL cardio. Using 220-age in GREEN zone always FELT too easy.

Ave HR over 30 min = 74% MHR. I even sweated a bit. I could sing as I exercised but not easily. Burned a few more calories too.

Tomorrow I'm going to do cardio again but with my correct birthday AND putting MHR = 171. See how it feels.

Dude. Are you listening to anything anybody is telling you?

OMG!

tsazani wrote: »

OldAssDude. Yes. I listen to everybody. I'm just playing around with my toys. I'm still doing the exercise. IMHO 80% of exercise success is just showing up.

You do know that 80% of the adult population doesn't even do the minimum recommendations of exercise. So just showing up puts me in the top 20%.

I wanted to see what exercising like a 220-age = MaxHR 49 year old would feel like. It felt like cardio used to feel when I didn't use "instruments". For the first time in months.

Earlier this year you wanted to your VO2 max number to be in the "elite" category.

My VO2Max is 32. As a 61 year old male this is considered "moderate". I'd like to get to 41 which is "elite" for my age and sex

If you want to get to an elite level of fitness you're going to have to a whole heck of a lot more than just showing up. Significantly more. Really if you want your VO2 max to go up in general (never mind to elite levels), you'll have to do more than just show up.

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter to your success if 20% of the adult population (whose adult population?) is getting a recommended amount of exercise a week. It's not a competition. Of course it also doesn't make your MaxHR calculation any more valid.

tsazani wrote: »

I pushed my birthday back 12 years and did cardio. For the first time since I've been using my Polar Beat it FELT like REAL cardio. Using 220-age in GREEN zone always FELT too easy.

Ave HR over 30 min = 74% MHR. I even sweated a bit. I could sing as I exercised but not easily. Burned a few more calories too.

Tomorrow I'm going to do cardio again but with my correct birthday AND putting MHR = 171. See how it feels.

Good stuff, you are heading in the right direction. Ultimately you just need to push yourself a little bit at a time to see improvements, however if you use the zones and have a bit of structure to your exercise you will see faster improvement.

tsazani wrote: »

I really need to let my lower back get completely better before I test myself for my real MaxHR.

Wearing my chest band I'm going to run 400 M as fast as I can and then walk back. Repeat run / walk 3 more times.

Thinking about my back. Maybe I'll free style swim 100 M as fast as I can. Slow breaststroke back. Repeat FS/BS 3 more times.

I'll use the highest HR as my MaxHR.

Earlier in this thread AnnPT alluded to this (and I agreed), don't try and do any sort of performance related testing when you're sick and/or injured. Remember that logical rule you had of not getting injured? Apply it here. Of course you can't always control whether or not you'll get injured, but this is one of those times when you're firmly in the driver's seat.

Also this post on the TrainerRoad forums might be food for thought.

tsazani wrote: »

Did cardio using my own age (61). Duration 30 minutes. AveHR = 73% MaxHR. Burned 300 cal.

As a 49 y/o yesterday. Duration 30 min. AveHR = 73% MaxHR. Burned 335 cal.

The effort/intensity I used was exactly the same. Time of day the same.

It seems my 49 year old self burns 10% more calories than my 61 year old self.

Did you also change your max HR on your profile for your correct age?

Have you considered signing up for endurance events ie run/triathlon? This can motivate you to train and at the end of the day maybe learn if you are improving given you’re current methods.

Tennis might be great for you. People who can find a type of exercise they love and look forward to have it made.