frankwbrown wrote: »

Daily step goal: 10,000
Fri 9/8: 9,339
Sat 9/9: 2,454

@frankwbrown Hope your back is feeling better soon, Frank!!
Jessica

Sunday steps 3749

I'm up about 3 lbs.

Cyncia85 weigh-in for Sat. 9/10
PW = 207.6
CW = 210.4

This is a long post about VO2 max.


A couple months ago I upgraded my smartwatch. My Garmin smartwatch has a VO2 max performance stat. Improving this number is one of my goals as I progress along my fitness journey.

Sharing what I've gathered about VO2 max in case you're new to this stat and would also like to improve it...
Disclaimer- please check with your preferred health professional.

VO2 Max is an indicator to help improve your aerobic fitness. It shows how much oxygen your body absorbs and use while working out. V= volume. O2=oxygen.

"VO2 max shows how well your heart pushes blood to your muscles and how efficiently your muscles can extract that oxygen from your circulating blood. " (Cleveland Clinic Link)

Improving your VO2 max is related to how much cardio you can handle. For example, as you improve the number you will be able to hike, swim, or run with more intensity and longer periods of time.

How to improve it:
-High-intensity training (HIIT), which requires doing a few minutes of intense aerobic exercise, reducing intensity for a few minutes and then increasing again.
-Low-intensity training like running, biking, hiking or rowing.
- Decrease body fat percentage and preserve lean muscle mass

5. Find Your 5K and 10K times
If you’re a runner, you may find it helpful to know how fast you can run 5 kilometers and 10 kilometers. The pace that you can run these two distances roughly correlates with the pace you need to run at to achieve 90 to 95 percent of your max heart rate.




"The first thing to understand is that a higher VO2 max is generally better than a lower VO2 max. A higher VO2 max means that your body is better at taking oxygen from the air and delivering it to your muscles. The more oxygen your muscles can get, the more nutrients you can aerobically transform into the molecular fuel (ATP) that your muscles use to contract and perform. This is important because your aerobic metabolic pathways are by far your most efficient source of energy for your body. " (Garmin link)

The above chart can help determine goals. And to figure out a timeline...

"Many of the studies have found the largest increase in Vo2 max have used a 10-week training program consisting of six workouts per week." (Healthline link)

Increasing your overall levels of cardiovascular fitness is associated with benefits such as:

increased lifespan
better quality of life
reduced stroke risk
reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer
improved mood
better sleep


Sources:
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-is-vo2-max-and-how-to-calculate-it/

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/blog/fitness/whats-a-good-vo2-max-for-me/

https://www.healthline.com/health/exercise-fitness/how-to-improve-vo2-max#:~:text=How long does it take,to make your workouts harder.

Weigh day
PW 181.1
CW 179.9

Weigh In Day: Saturday
PW (Previous Weight): 205.8
CW (Current Weight): 208.6

@Becoming_A_Butterfly Just wanted to mention this, because last week you were also a few days late. The week for the groups and spreadsheets end on Saturday, so if you aren't able to post before Sunday mornings, your weight will not be taken into account for the group standing. It is possible to change your weigh in day if you want. Also, since this was your first September weigh in for the group, we had your PW as 207.6 which is what you used when you signed up. Just let us know if you would like to change days.

looneycatblue
Wk 2 - Sun, Sep 10
PW: 171.0
CW: 171.8
Gain/Loss: + 0.8

HW: 182.2
SW: 178.8 (started with beg May 2023)
Month 1, May 2023 - End wt = 176.0: loss 2.8
Month 2, Jun 2023 - End wt = 175.0: loss 1.0
Month 3, Jul 2023 - End Wt = 172.2: loss 2.8
Month 4, Aug 2023 - End Wt = 172.2: no change
Month 5, Sep 2023 - Gain/Loss MTD = loss 0.4