How to calculate your VO2Max:
VO2MAX = 88.02 - .1656 x (weight in kg) – 2.76 x (time) x (gender)
To find your body weight in kilograms, divined your weight in pounds by 2.2. I am 101 lbs so my weight in kilograms is 46 kg
Time is the time in minutes that it takes you to run 1.5 miles. If my fastest time is 11 minutes 30 seconds, I would put 11.5.
For the Gender, put 1 for male and 0 for female.
VO2Max = 88.02 – (.1656 x 46) – (2.76 x 11.5 + 3.716) x 0
VO2Max = 88.02 – (7.62) – (35.46) x 0
VO2Max = 88.02 – 7.62 - 35.46
VO2Max = 44.94
According to the physical fitness specialist certification manual, a VO2Max of 44.94 is above the 90th percentile for women aged 30-39. Put your age, gender and VO2Max number in the comments and I will respond with the percentile of your VO2Max!
Most Read Posts:
My top way to stick to your training schedule - Tips for using a running log - Click Here
List of best at-work snacks for Runners - Click Here
What is the best percentage of protein, carbohydrate and fat in a long distance runners diet? Click Here
Are you training to run a half marathon? Click here to get free nutrition and training tips by email.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
How to use Heart rate monitor in your running training plan
In the Coachr.com article, ‘Heart Rate Training for Improved Running Performance,’ coach and exercise physiologist Jason Karp outlines the different types of training techniques that competitive runners use in their workouts. I have a heart rate monitor but haven’t been using it regularly to collect data on my running. After attending coach Rob Cloutier’s presentation on developing a training program at Fleet Feet Albany, I am committed to adding heart rate information to get more out of my running workouts.
Karp recommends that during the basic long distance run, which he calls the aerobic endurance run, the runner’s heart rate should be should be between 70- 75% max HR. The Sunday long run is not just ‘junk miles,’ it works to improve the runner’s muscles at a cellular level by increasing the number of mitochondria and capillaries in the legs.
I have chosen to focus on running a faster 5K race this spring and summer, so my main training run is what Karp calls the lactate threshold run. Running at 80 – 90% of my max HR will make me able to run harder for longer periods of time. An example of a lactate threshold workout would be a tempo run. I would start off easy, then build to running at 80 – 90% of my max HR for about 20 minutes, then taper off to an easier run to lower my heart rate.
Karp states that, “optimum improvements in aerobic fitness occur when running is performed at an intensity over 90% max HR … because training at this high intensity targets improvements in VO2 max.” VO2 Max intervals last from 3 – 5 minutes each and are separated by short rest periods. A VO2 Max interval for me would be a series of 800 or 1,000 meter sprints.
The other type of interval is the Anaerobic Glycolysis interval. These are short, 30 – 90 second sprints separated by longer rest periods. Since this interval is an all out sprint, heart rate wouldn’t be an accurate measure of effort. Karp states that Anaerobic Glycolysis intervals, “train the muscles' ability to tolerate and buffer muscle acidosis and train the recruitment of fast-twitch muscle fibers to enhance speed.”
For a 5K runner, Karp recommends three aerobic endurance runs, one tempo/lactate threshold run and one VO2 Max/interval run every week.
I found the article’s ‘Heart Rate Guidelines During the Training Year’ chart really useful; I printed out the article and cut out the chart to tape into my running log for future reference.
Most Read Posts:
My top way to stick to your training schedule - Tips for using a running log - Click Here
List of best at-work snacks for Runners - Click Here
What is the best percentage of protein, carbohydrate and fat in a long distance runners diet? Click Here
Are you training to run a half marathon? Click here to get free nutrition and training tips by email.
Karp recommends that during the basic long distance run, which he calls the aerobic endurance run, the runner’s heart rate should be should be between 70- 75% max HR. The Sunday long run is not just ‘junk miles,’ it works to improve the runner’s muscles at a cellular level by increasing the number of mitochondria and capillaries in the legs.
I have chosen to focus on running a faster 5K race this spring and summer, so my main training run is what Karp calls the lactate threshold run. Running at 80 – 90% of my max HR will make me able to run harder for longer periods of time. An example of a lactate threshold workout would be a tempo run. I would start off easy, then build to running at 80 – 90% of my max HR for about 20 minutes, then taper off to an easier run to lower my heart rate.
Karp states that, “optimum improvements in aerobic fitness occur when running is performed at an intensity over 90% max HR … because training at this high intensity targets improvements in VO2 max.” VO2 Max intervals last from 3 – 5 minutes each and are separated by short rest periods. A VO2 Max interval for me would be a series of 800 or 1,000 meter sprints.
The other type of interval is the Anaerobic Glycolysis interval. These are short, 30 – 90 second sprints separated by longer rest periods. Since this interval is an all out sprint, heart rate wouldn’t be an accurate measure of effort. Karp states that Anaerobic Glycolysis intervals, “train the muscles' ability to tolerate and buffer muscle acidosis and train the recruitment of fast-twitch muscle fibers to enhance speed.”
For a 5K runner, Karp recommends three aerobic endurance runs, one tempo/lactate threshold run and one VO2 Max/interval run every week.
I found the article’s ‘Heart Rate Guidelines During the Training Year’ chart really useful; I printed out the article and cut out the chart to tape into my running log for future reference.
Most Read Posts:
My top way to stick to your training schedule - Tips for using a running log - Click Here
List of best at-work snacks for Runners - Click Here
What is the best percentage of protein, carbohydrate and fat in a long distance runners diet? Click Here
Are you training to run a half marathon? Click here to get free nutrition and training tips by email.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Why the Biggest Loser Doesn’t Work - how to motivate yourself to become a runner
The concept of the Biggest Loser is simple – take morbidly obese people and offer them a monetary incentive to lose weight. These are often people that have struggled with their weight for a whole lifetime, years of guilt and new diets and ignoring the scale and losing ten pounds only to gain twenty more. Years of failure at what, at first glance, seems like the simplest of tasks – eat less and move more.
In his speech at the TED conference, career analyst Dan Pink offers some insight as to why the traditional “carrot and stick” types of motivation that employers, parents, schools and people struggling to make a change in their lives so often use to change behavior SIMPLY DO NOT WORK.
Pink states that research has proven that offering monetary incentives for simple tasks does work. If the task is straightforward and requires no creative thought, we can focus on doing it faster in order to maximize our profit. But, when the task requires creative thought, offering a traditional carrot or stick incentive most often leads to poor performance. If problem solving is required to achieve the goal, offering a carrot or threatening with a stick will shut down the ability to find new innovative solutions, literally working AGAINST the goal of improved performance.
What is the alternative? Pink offers three themes that motivate creative thinking in the new approach to increasing performance – autonomy, mastery and purpose. Autonomy, or the possibility of being able to try new solutions to the problem encourages creative problem solving. Mastery, or developing the ability to become better and better at the skill, will also motivate. Having a Purpose – seeing how the task will be of service to more than just one person, provides another potent reason to persevere and find a solution.
Why does the Biggest Loser produce so many success stories when its concept is ‘lose weight for money?’ Lifestyle change is not a simple task that can be motivated by carrots and sticks. It is at its core a task that calls for creative problem solving. Losing weight and becoming fit is not just the simple task of eating less and moving more. We are human beings, not machines, and weight loss and the process of becoming an athlete involves finding new, creative ways to deal with problems and emotions that used to be mollified with food consumption. Becoming an athlete is a process that comes with setbacks, pain, injury, disappointment and sacrifice. It is how the athlete handles these setbacks that will determine whether fitness becomes a part of their lifestyle or just one more instance of giving up when the going gets tough.
The answer is that, though the winners are lured to begin their weight loss by a monetary carrot, they find deeper and more meaningful reasons to continue their journey while at the ranch. They become empowered by autonomy, learn to enjoy their bodies and develop mastery by watching their improvements in the gym and on the scale, and find a greater purpose than just the prize money for transforming their lives.
This process often happens with beginning athletes as well. When I first started running again at 34 years old, I wanted to keep in shape, but it wasn’t until I saw myself as a ‘Runner’ that my running started to really improve. Running does not have a clear set of rules and simple solutions for typical problems. Do I skip a workout if I am tired? Do I get up before the sun rises to get in a workout when I will have an especially busy day at work? Do I stop running permanently if I am faced, once again, with months of physical therapy for a reoccurring injury? What training plan do I use? What races should I enter? What distance should I race?
My cyclist friend Mike Foley had a similar experience. Mike admits that, initially, there were some ‘carrots’ in cycling. He wanted to lose weight, rehabilitate his knee, and improve his health. He found that these ‘carrots’ did not work as motivation. He needed higher cycling purposes to drive him and made the commitment to train for and complete a century, become a USCF road racer, finish 'same time' in a criterium, ride 550 miles in a week. To do this, Mike says, he needed to develop mastery of the sport, and worked on skills like pacelining, packriding, climbing, endurance, sprinting, and proper nutrition. He has found that mastering those skills now motivates him.
After a year of running, I am the fastest I have ever been and in the best shape of my life. Mike has had a similar experience. He has achieved his initial ‘carrot’ goals, but he does not see those goals as his primary motivation for continuing to ride his bike. Mike enjoys autonomy by choosing his racing and training schedule, mastery by continuing to develop his skills, and his purpose is more than just the initial ‘carrot’ goal of losing weight.
What is your motivation for running a 15K or half marathon? What was your motivation to start running in the first place?
Most Read Posts:
My top way to stick to your training schedule - Tips for using a running log - Click Here
List of best at-work snacks for Runners - Click Here
What is the best percentage of protein, carbohydrate and fat in a long distance runners diet? Click Here
Are you training to run a half marathon? Click here to get free nutrition and training tips by email.
In his speech at the TED conference, career analyst Dan Pink offers some insight as to why the traditional “carrot and stick” types of motivation that employers, parents, schools and people struggling to make a change in their lives so often use to change behavior SIMPLY DO NOT WORK.
Pink states that research has proven that offering monetary incentives for simple tasks does work. If the task is straightforward and requires no creative thought, we can focus on doing it faster in order to maximize our profit. But, when the task requires creative thought, offering a traditional carrot or stick incentive most often leads to poor performance. If problem solving is required to achieve the goal, offering a carrot or threatening with a stick will shut down the ability to find new innovative solutions, literally working AGAINST the goal of improved performance.
What is the alternative? Pink offers three themes that motivate creative thinking in the new approach to increasing performance – autonomy, mastery and purpose. Autonomy, or the possibility of being able to try new solutions to the problem encourages creative problem solving. Mastery, or developing the ability to become better and better at the skill, will also motivate. Having a Purpose – seeing how the task will be of service to more than just one person, provides another potent reason to persevere and find a solution.
Why does the Biggest Loser produce so many success stories when its concept is ‘lose weight for money?’ Lifestyle change is not a simple task that can be motivated by carrots and sticks. It is at its core a task that calls for creative problem solving. Losing weight and becoming fit is not just the simple task of eating less and moving more. We are human beings, not machines, and weight loss and the process of becoming an athlete involves finding new, creative ways to deal with problems and emotions that used to be mollified with food consumption. Becoming an athlete is a process that comes with setbacks, pain, injury, disappointment and sacrifice. It is how the athlete handles these setbacks that will determine whether fitness becomes a part of their lifestyle or just one more instance of giving up when the going gets tough.
The answer is that, though the winners are lured to begin their weight loss by a monetary carrot, they find deeper and more meaningful reasons to continue their journey while at the ranch. They become empowered by autonomy, learn to enjoy their bodies and develop mastery by watching their improvements in the gym and on the scale, and find a greater purpose than just the prize money for transforming their lives.
This process often happens with beginning athletes as well. When I first started running again at 34 years old, I wanted to keep in shape, but it wasn’t until I saw myself as a ‘Runner’ that my running started to really improve. Running does not have a clear set of rules and simple solutions for typical problems. Do I skip a workout if I am tired? Do I get up before the sun rises to get in a workout when I will have an especially busy day at work? Do I stop running permanently if I am faced, once again, with months of physical therapy for a reoccurring injury? What training plan do I use? What races should I enter? What distance should I race?
My cyclist friend Mike Foley had a similar experience. Mike admits that, initially, there were some ‘carrots’ in cycling. He wanted to lose weight, rehabilitate his knee, and improve his health. He found that these ‘carrots’ did not work as motivation. He needed higher cycling purposes to drive him and made the commitment to train for and complete a century, become a USCF road racer, finish 'same time' in a criterium, ride 550 miles in a week. To do this, Mike says, he needed to develop mastery of the sport, and worked on skills like pacelining, packriding, climbing, endurance, sprinting, and proper nutrition. He has found that mastering those skills now motivates him.
After a year of running, I am the fastest I have ever been and in the best shape of my life. Mike has had a similar experience. He has achieved his initial ‘carrot’ goals, but he does not see those goals as his primary motivation for continuing to ride his bike. Mike enjoys autonomy by choosing his racing and training schedule, mastery by continuing to develop his skills, and his purpose is more than just the initial ‘carrot’ goal of losing weight.
What is your motivation for running a 15K or half marathon? What was your motivation to start running in the first place?
Most Read Posts:
My top way to stick to your training schedule - Tips for using a running log - Click Here
List of best at-work snacks for Runners - Click Here
What is the best percentage of protein, carbohydrate and fat in a long distance runners diet? Click Here
Are you training to run a half marathon? Click here to get free nutrition and training tips by email.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Top 15 Insights on Running - How to get started, overcome injury, and plan to win the big race
Seth Godin published a list of “rules” for making sure your project is truly “an idea worth spreading.”, My experiment for today is to see if I can apply some of his rules to share my insight with new runners on how to best integrate running into their lifestyles.
Seth Godin: Don't plan on appearing on a reality show as the best way to launch your idea.
My Version – Don’t wait to start racing until a big, high profile race. If your big idea is that you are a runner, testing your legs in a smaller race will give you experience. The big races will come later.
Seth Godin: Waiting for inspiration is another way of saying that you're stalling. You don't wait for inspiration, you command it to appear.
My Version – Waiting to start running until next January, spring, summer, fall, you lose weight, your schedule is free is another way of stalling.
Seth Godin: Don't poll your friends. It's your art, not an election.
My Version: Don’t poll your friends. It’s your life, not theirs.
Seth Godin: Never pay a non-lawyer who promises to get you a patent.
My Version: Never listen to a non-runner that promises to make you faster.
Seth Godin: Avoid powerful people. Great ideas aren't anointed, they spread through a groundswell of support.
My Version: Don’t feel constrained to follow the training plans of the top runners. Adjust your training schedule and find what works best for you.
Seth Godin: The hard part is finishing, so enjoy the starting part.
My Version: The hard part is finishing, so enjoy the starting part.
Seth Godin: Powerful organizations adore the status quo, so expect no help from them if your idea challenges the very thing they adore.
My Version: Your body adores the status quo, so expect no help from your couch potato instincts if your idea challenges the very thing it adores, which is lying on the couch and thinking of excuses not to change your lifestyle.
Seth Godin: Figure out how long your idea will take to spread, and multiply by 4.
My Version: Start with a common sense training plan, but be flexible enough to take all your rest days and realize that changing your body will not happen overnight.
Seth Godin: Be prepared for the Dip.
My Version: Be prepared to achieve your first running goal, and then plateau, get injured, get sick, or run out of inspiration. It’s how you handle adversity and whether you continue running or not that will determine whether you try running for a while or become a life long runner.
Seth Godin: Keep your overhead low and don't quit your day job until your idea can absorb your time.
My Version: Don’t feel that you have to invest in expensive running clothes and fly around America running marathons. Your biggest expense should be your running shoes.
Seth Godin: Think big. Bigger than that.
My Version: Running can be addicting. Yes, you can run a half marathon. The only thing holding you back is your mind’s determination that your body is too weak.
Seth Godin: Are you a serial idea-starting person? If so, what can you change to end that cycle? The goal is to be an idea-shipping person.
My Version: Spend some quality time brainstorming answers to the following questions: How can I get back to running after an injury, after a family crisis, after the holidays, when I am in a plateau?
Seth Godin: Pick a budget. Pick a ship date. Honor both. Don't ignore either. No slippage, no overruns.
My Version: Run the race you entered. Even if you don’t finish anywhere near your goal pace. There is no giving up in running.
Seth Godin: Be grateful. Rise up to the opportunity, and do the idea justice.
I couldn’t have said it any better myself!
Most Read Posts:
My top way to stick to your training schedule - Tips for using a running log - Click Here
List of best at-work snacks for Runners - Click Here
What is the best percentage of protein, carbohydrate and fat in a long distance runners diet? Click Here
Are you training to run a half marathon? Click here to get free nutrition and training tips by email.
Seth Godin: Don't plan on appearing on a reality show as the best way to launch your idea.
My Version – Don’t wait to start racing until a big, high profile race. If your big idea is that you are a runner, testing your legs in a smaller race will give you experience. The big races will come later.
Seth Godin: Waiting for inspiration is another way of saying that you're stalling. You don't wait for inspiration, you command it to appear.
My Version – Waiting to start running until next January, spring, summer, fall, you lose weight, your schedule is free is another way of stalling.
Seth Godin: Don't poll your friends. It's your art, not an election.
My Version: Don’t poll your friends. It’s your life, not theirs.
Seth Godin: Never pay a non-lawyer who promises to get you a patent.
My Version: Never listen to a non-runner that promises to make you faster.
Seth Godin: Avoid powerful people. Great ideas aren't anointed, they spread through a groundswell of support.
My Version: Don’t feel constrained to follow the training plans of the top runners. Adjust your training schedule and find what works best for you.
Seth Godin: The hard part is finishing, so enjoy the starting part.
My Version: The hard part is finishing, so enjoy the starting part.
Seth Godin: Powerful organizations adore the status quo, so expect no help from them if your idea challenges the very thing they adore.
My Version: Your body adores the status quo, so expect no help from your couch potato instincts if your idea challenges the very thing it adores, which is lying on the couch and thinking of excuses not to change your lifestyle.
Seth Godin: Figure out how long your idea will take to spread, and multiply by 4.
My Version: Start with a common sense training plan, but be flexible enough to take all your rest days and realize that changing your body will not happen overnight.
Seth Godin: Be prepared for the Dip.
My Version: Be prepared to achieve your first running goal, and then plateau, get injured, get sick, or run out of inspiration. It’s how you handle adversity and whether you continue running or not that will determine whether you try running for a while or become a life long runner.
Seth Godin: Keep your overhead low and don't quit your day job until your idea can absorb your time.
My Version: Don’t feel that you have to invest in expensive running clothes and fly around America running marathons. Your biggest expense should be your running shoes.
Seth Godin: Think big. Bigger than that.
My Version: Running can be addicting. Yes, you can run a half marathon. The only thing holding you back is your mind’s determination that your body is too weak.
Seth Godin: Are you a serial idea-starting person? If so, what can you change to end that cycle? The goal is to be an idea-shipping person.
My Version: Spend some quality time brainstorming answers to the following questions: How can I get back to running after an injury, after a family crisis, after the holidays, when I am in a plateau?
Seth Godin: Pick a budget. Pick a ship date. Honor both. Don't ignore either. No slippage, no overruns.
My Version: Run the race you entered. Even if you don’t finish anywhere near your goal pace. There is no giving up in running.
Seth Godin: Be grateful. Rise up to the opportunity, and do the idea justice.
I couldn’t have said it any better myself!
Most Read Posts:
My top way to stick to your training schedule - Tips for using a running log - Click Here
List of best at-work snacks for Runners - Click Here
What is the best percentage of protein, carbohydrate and fat in a long distance runners diet? Click Here
Are you training to run a half marathon? Click here to get free nutrition and training tips by email.
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