Null66

A daily commuter at work suggested this. I'm part way through it but seems good...

BBC Horizon 2012 The Truth About Exercise [Video]

thoughts or other videos???

LGHT

I'll probably watch the video later today, but I've seen the same guy covering other topics and it was a great show. Looking forward to seeing this one thanks for the post!

Null66

I hope others will post links to research papers, other videos and such...

chasm54

He's a qualified doctor iirc, and has done a number of "the truth about" shows for Horizon, which is the BBC's flagship popular science programme.

I remember this one when it came out. It's interesting. It makes the case for short (very short) bursts of maximum effort having a big impact on various metabolic markers like insulin resistance, and suggests that even the exercise-phobic might be prepared to work such short sessions into their routines. Good luck with that, is all I can say.

It also told me something I didn't know before, which is that a significant percentage of the population are "non-responders" to aerobic exercise. That is, they still get some health benefits (lower BP, all that good stuff) but their VO2 max doesn't change, they don't get any "fitter". I found that surprising.

IBOHUNT

I'm new to the game of this VO2max and aerobic bits but my understanding of VO2max is that it's anaerobic in nature and takes effort in the anaerobic zones to improve VO2max. No?

chasm54

No. At least, that's not my understanding - I'm no physiologist.

From what I have read, extended intervals (that is, more than 20 minutes) at above 65% of max HR will make an impact on VO2 max in most people. And 65% of max is, for most people, well below lactate threshold. So if you're doing tempo rides and ftp intervals you'll be pushing your VO2 max up because you are developing your oxygen delivery system.

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that older people exercise at between 65% and 90% of max HR for 20-60 minutes, three to five times a week, to boost VO2 max. High VO2 max correlates well with life expectancy as well as fitness.

EDIT: To say that VO2 max is anaerobic in nature isn't really accurate. VO2 max is about the maximum amount of oxygen you can take in and burn. So the whole system, heart, lungs, blood, capillarisation of muscles - is relevant. Wikipedia has a useful explanation.

bbeasley

I thoroughly enjoyed this video, thanks for sharing. It's motivating to know that wind sprints are good for something other than 1 mile pulls at the front of a group that is a stretch for you.

LGHT

I usually try and do HIIT training and I found this info online that seems to work for me, but is hard to do for a long period of time. I can usually get my heart rate to about 175.

[h=2]Training for VO2[/h] VO2 sessions are typically done at high intensities and typically only last for a short period of time. My two favorites are 60:60s and 3min:1min x 3.



If you choose to do the 60:60 option, you are going to work for 60 seconds hard and 60 seconds easy recovery. If you’re running, this will be faster than 5km race pace and then recovering at a lower pace. I’ve done as many as twenty of these in a session and it’s not pretty. Make sure to warm up for at least ten minutes with some faster strides if you’re running or do some big gear work if you’re riding to really fire up the body.



The 3:1 x 3 option is even worse. You’re going to work hard for 3 minutes and recover for 1, doing three rounds before a longer rest. A really solid beginner session using this format is as follows:

• Warm up - 10 minutes easy
• 3:1 x 3
• Recover for 5-10 minutes easy running or riding
• 3:1 x 3
• Cool down for 10 minutes

As you become more advanced, extend out the length of time you work so that you do either 4 or 5 minute efforts, but keep the total rounds the same.

Null66

OH, UGH... Wish I could unread this... I need to adopt 3:1x3... Dread ensues....

Null66

chasm54
Posted this on my work out log...
Intervals, Thresholds, and Long Slow Distance: the Role of Intensity and Duration in Endurance Training

Seems quite comprehensive.

chasm54

You really don't. Not yet, anyway. I'd suggest you first of all build up your time on the bike so you have a base.

The problem about plunging into high-intensity intervals straight away is not that you'll drop dead, or anything, it is that your capacity to recover will be limited, and if you're not properly recovered between sessions you won't get the desired benefit from the second session, or the third. Eventually you'll just be exhausted and burned out and you won't make as much progress as you'd like. Getting fit is about training plus recovery and doing nothing but high-intensity work makes managing recovery very problematic.

High intensity interval training (HIIT) is great, but needs to be used sparingly. Longer, steadier efforts are easier to recover from and mean you can train effectively every day. If you're going to do HIIT I'd suggest that once a week is enough at first, with a day off or easy recovery ride to follow, and the rest of your sessions at easier pace.

Black wallnut 

Interesting video. It explains my success at both weight loss and athletic improvement. First I spend lots of time on the bike at moderate pace which helps with weight loss and it appears fat retention. Second I do hard workouts where I use HIIT although much more than in the video. Over time I have become lighter plus faster. I have defeated Diabetes according to my Dr. It seems like this DNA testing should maybe be used more to help folks improve health. I would like to know where I rate as far as my ability to improve my VO2 max with exercise. It would make goal setting easier.

Null66

AWESOME!
Congrats!


Doctor says I'm no longer insulin resistant. But diabetes is usually reserved for more severe situations... I feel like I still must watch high insulin response carbs for the long run... I also feel few would do what I did, or more to the point should do what I did.

Perhaps you would share some details?

How long (time) were your moderate rides?

What was your HIIT pattern?

LGHT

Great advice. This exactly what I was told by a long time rider in a local group. He said do several rides to get comfortable on the bike before trying and when you do don't get discouraged if you can only do 1-3 HIIT session and are exhausted quickly. I only do HIIT once a week if I do and only 3-4 session for about 30 minutes. I basically just ride around my block and only spend 30 minutes on the bike if that. Works great if you only have a few minutes and just want to get a quick workout in. I usually just put on t-shirts shorts and riding shoes and go for it. I've noticed my normal longer rides have improved quit a bit and when I need a burst of acceleration to get through a light or up a hill I'm not as winded and my HR isn't through the roof afterward.

Black wallnut 

I'm on Strava and log every single ride. You can find me through the Clyde & Athena BF group, username Mark Stripes. I spend literally hours a week below 140 BPM, my max is in the 169 range(measured or achieved on the bike). I am sure my average ride is more than one hour long plus there are plenty of shorter ones. For example every Thursday evening I have a LBS group ride; the ride in plus the group ride is logged as one ride. After that I have a post ride hoppy recovery beverage before heading home. I usually log the ride home separately so that I can figure my calories to make sure I actually have room in my daily quota for the beverage or two.

My HIIT pattern is a mix of charging after some segments, some as short as .2 mile, these being actual hill sprints. Sometimes on an otherwise easy ride I will charge the hills. Then other times I will do a The Sufferfest Revolver, 16 one minute 95% intervals with a minute rest in between both on the trainer and sometimes on the road or a gravel rail trail.

My job is sitting at a desk dispatching trucks, or better put very sedentary. To counteract that requires extra effort or time on the bike plus I have began a running program as well. Although my motivation for the running currently is so I am better at CX racing which is also although not HIIT is intense and there are short pauses, not enough to recover between efforts.

With my good news comes the caveat that should I regain the weight then I have a 100% chance of going right back to being a diabetic. It is like a second chance.

Null66

THANKS!

The strava comparison helps a lot!
I need miles, miles, and more miles....

Thanks for the HR info as well... Mine's all over the place due to BP meds.

Black wallnut 

Yeah that makes it tough. When I started to get serious about cycling 3.5 years ago with my starting or high weight of 289 my bp was creeping up as was my A1c, as was my lipid numbers....etc. My Dr. was concerned and possibly rightly so. That was part of my motivation but the real motivation was the social side of posting my rides and goal to regain health where many of my friends could see it. The positive feedback I received was indispensable. Still it took me 5.5 months before I really started adding the miles. Then a December bike purchase helped fuel it over that first winter. Since then it has just become more of a passion. I've yet to burnout. In that I am fortunate. However I had already been treated for years before that and my meds were pretty well dialed in.

I have read that of all the exercises people do most will lower BP however weight lifting for some reason tends to raise it. That just means it will be more of a challenge to dial yours in.

Null66

Thanks!

As my life is filled with Irony, BP rose as I started riding more, and lifting less, even as I lost 20lbs.

BP meds trashed riding so mileage is in spite of meds... Might have gotten it right... SO we'll see if I can continue to ramp up.

Shedding heat is a major challenge. Several rides I had downed more then a gallon and still showed signs of dehydration...

jsigone

problem for me, I can't find 1 mile of road w/o a stop light/sign for a mile to do a 3min hard effort AND be close to home to keep the ride short n flat. I don't know you find this in Irvine w/o racing down the bike trails.

Willbird

There is an article in this months Bicycling about older athletes, they were talking about Miguel Indurain who at age 50 in 2012 "had packed on some pounds since his retirement in 1997 but still had a VO2 max comparable to active pro's".

The differences between individuals it seems to me far outweigh the generalities often applied to a given age group of athletes.

I'm beginning to wonder about metabolism too, Myfitnesspal deducts 800 calories per decade for a person my height...if I de-age my profile 10 years it adds 800 cals, another 10 years another 800 cals.

Well if Vo2 max, and other athletic benchmarks seem be quite different than the age old generalities (like 220-age for max heart rate as just one example) said they were, what about metabolism ??

And if Miguel Indurain had NOT trained to be at the top of his game in his peak, had been somewhat active, then went balls to the wall at age 40 til he was 50, what would his VO2 max have been at 50 ??

Bill

LGHT

Ahh I never thought about it that way. I actually do use the bike trials for this ride. It's about a half a mile away so I get a nice warm up and the trial goes on for about 3-4 miles total and I just cruise back home. Luckily we have a ton of various trials dedicated to bike riding.

I even picked up an older Nishiki cross bike I'm going to use during the winter because we have a few miles of all dirt horse trials that leads right up to a park with tons of trials for mountain bikes. It's a bikers paradise right outside my door!

chasm54

You are absolutely right to be sceptical of anything that applies a simplistic formula on grounds of age. One has to remember that these formulae are derived from averages across whole populations. Endurance athletes are a tiny and unrepresentative fraction of those populations. Endurance athletes over 50, even more so.

As for your last question, I don't think there's much doubt that big Mig's VO2 max would have been lower had he not developed himself to his full potential in his youth. But it is interesting that older athletes see similar percentage increases in VO2 max as do their younger peers in response to intensive training. So while it is probably not possible to get as fit as you could have been 30 years ago, it may well be possible to get fitter than you actually were.