Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Maxed Out

Karolee and I went on a little adventure last night. We had to drive all the way to Scottsdale for this but it was worth it. Yes, we did get lost, stupid Map Quest. An hour and a half and $100 in gas later, we arrived at Endurance Rehab and got our Vo2 Max tested. What the heck is that? It's still kind of foreign to me but the best way to explain it is it measures aerobic efficiency via my oxygen intake while I run like crazy on a treadmill. We didn't take any pictures but these are examples of what it looked like:
Hmm, my arms look eerily similar to hers too. I WISH!
Now, by wearing a heart monitor, I know what heart rate zone to stay in to burn fat not carbs. AWESOME! Hopefully, I will become a fat burnin' machine! Heaven knows I have a lot of "fuel" to be one!

I was pleasantly surprised with my test results. I thought they would tell me I have the athletic performance efficiency of a sloth but turns out, I have a good "engine" for running. The guy giving the test said your Vo2 max number is mostly genetic and you can make it only slightly better by training. I guess I got the luck of the draw. Karolee did too! What I really learned, is not every one needs to run at the same speed to be an efficient runner. The test guy put it this way -if you had a big sports car engine, it wouldn't perform best in 2nd gear. Same with running. We're supposed to "shift" as we run. I always thought the faster and harder I run= the more weight I will lose. Not so! It depends on the kind of running you are doing (i.e. track, long runs, interval, etc..) to determine what heart rate zone you should be in. Long story short: Blah blah blah, Vo2, oxygen intake, glycogen, something about lactic threshold. I just need to know what effort I should run at to burn these thighs right of my body.

4 comments:

Karolee said...

Lol! Exactly what I was thinking! I don't know about you, but I'm sore! :) Thanks for taking me with you!

Lil Beck said...

DUDE! I always see runners and I wonder why their strides are so vastly different....isn't there like a technical model they should be following? Like I always see this ripped little chick running past my house and she takes little "trotty" steps like a Geisha. Then I see the kids from the high school track team just kickin it out like machines! So what up? I wanna look like the Geisha....

Stacia said...

That is so cool! It is a tough (uncomfortable) test. I had that same test done at ASU east for one of my labs. It was so interesting. Just so you know ASU east also also has the Bod Pod. It's a machine that looks like a large egg. It is the gold standard of measuring body fat. They do it there for the public too. I'm not sure how much it is but they give you your muscle mass, bone density, fat mass, etc.

Fuller Family said...

So what did your test results say? Are you running efficiently? or what do you need to change. just out of curiousity.