The Fitness Cardio Secret That Propels Lance Armstrong

What is Lance Armstrong doing that you can do to improve your results?

Most people exercise to lose weight, focusing solely on that one single goal. Butwait, it is not only about looking aesthetically pleasing, getting in those tight jeans,or losing ten pounds. It is really about improving your health, and human performance.

Each day when you are huffing and puffing on the treadmill, focusing vigorouslyon keeping yourself lean, have you ever thought about what physically isoccurring in your body besides burning a bunch of calories?

For improved results, more people need to stop focusing solely on calorie burn,and start thinking about improving such fitness values as VO2 Max, or maximumoxygen uptake.

What exactly is your VO2 Max? VO2 Max is defined as the highest rate at whichoxygen can be taken in and used during high intensity dynamic exercise. Whenyou are exercising aerobically on your treadmill, each and every muscle contraction requires oxygen to break down the fats, carbohydrates, and protein;thus, providing energy (ATP) needed to fuel the muscles in order for movement tooccur.

Humans, at rest, need 3.5 ml of oxygen, every minute, for each kilogram of bodyweight just to support the cellular activities in the tissues that keep us alive.

Now let's get back to our treadmill. As you increase the speed or incline(intensity), more oxygen is required to transfer the oxygen through the blood andinto the muscles. Due to increased intensity during your exercise session, moreoxygen is required to initiate the energy releasing process.

Now let's take the treadmill up to a speed and incline where you can no longercatch your breath comfortably. The intensity has increase significantly, but youhave reached an upper limit on the amount of oxygen you can take in. This isyour VO2 Max.

VO2 Max values differ from individual to individual. Factors such as age, health,activity levels, training programs, and genetics all affect VO2 Max. A sedentaryperson has a VO2 Max of around 20 ml of oxygen per kilogram of body weight perminute of exercise. A highly trained endurance athlete can have a VO2 Max of70 ml/kg/min.

Now why does Lance Armstrong win all those bike races? Yes, he has a greattraining program, a great coach, and great equipment. However, his genetics foran endurance athlete are nothing short of astounding. Do you know his VO2Max measures around 83-85 ml/kg/min, while an average person's is around 40?For Lance, his success is attributed to a combination of great training, will,desire, and unbelievable genetic makeup.

A Super Human Lance:

1. Lungs - 2 times the capacity of the average person

2. Muscle - Accumulates less lactic acid and is more efficient at

removing it.

3. Heart - Is about 1/3 larger with a resting heart rate of 32 beats per

minute, and peaks around 200 beats per minute.

4. Body Fat - 4-5 percent before the Tour starts, while an average

person has 15-20 percent.

5. Food Consumption - Needs 6500 calories per day, and upwards of

10,000 per day when biking in the mountains during his 120 mile race.

Truly amazing!

How do you improve VO2 Max? Improvement is seen by progressivelychallenging yourself aerobically with consistent workouts at 60% to 85% of yourmaximum heart rate (220-age) for an extended period of time. The mostimportant variable is to continue attempting to increase intensity levels of your workouts. Progressively overloading is the key; your body will adapt, and improveyour VO2 Max as well as burn more calories for decreased body fat.

Now you ask, how can I measure my VO2 Max?

For the most accurate measurement, you can go into a hospital, or a UniversityHuman Performance Lab and get the test. You will generally use a treadmill or astationary bike, and be given an oxygen mask to measure your oxygen exchange. You will also be connected with chest electrodes to measure your heart response.The main objective is to walk, bike, or run as the intensity is progressivelyelevated until it is not possible to go any longer. (You should be cleared ormonitored by your physician before attempting a VO2 Max test.)

The easier. but not as accurate way, is to do an estimated sub maximal aerobiccapacity test.

The following is one of the many tests that can be used.

Find a 400 meter track, bring a stopwatch, and walk/run as fast as you can go for12 minutes. Keep track of the number of meters you have gone in 12 minutes,and use the following formula.

Distance Covered in Meters - 504.9 / 44.730 = Estimated VO2 Max

Here is a rough guide:

4-5 laps covered, your VO2 Max will be around 30.
5-7 laps covered, your VO2 Max will be around 45.
7-8 laps covered (2800 meters), your VO2 Max will be around 62.
8-8.5 laps covered (3200 meters), your VO2 Max will be around 67
9 laps covered (3600 meters), your VO2 Max will be around 70.

Learn to keep a close eye on your fitness values and try to continually improvethem. Improvement will lead to great health benefits, and may result in yourgoal of decreased body fat (depending upon your nutritional habits.)

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Jim O'Connor, a celebrity Exercise Physiologist from Beverly Hills, California, is the editor of Wellness WORD Multimedia Newsletter, and the author of a popular ebook called Home Gym Shopping Secrets. Jim's Passion is educating the public with proper scientific researched health and fitness information.

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