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sinrakin
RealPoor Master of Posts
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 7044
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 Posted: 07/29/03 - 09:07 Post subject: Did some sort of interesting tests yesterday
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I've been trying to improve my exercising, and I wanted to know what my true maximum heartrate was (as opposed to the 220 - your age formula that's just an estimate), so I looked around to find a place to do it. Found a pretty cool place locally that does all sorts of physiological testing (http://www.evolutionsportsscience.com/) and went there yesterday.
I did a quick body composition analysis - they use this pod that you sit in - it measures your body volume by letting in a controlled volume of air and measuring the pressure change - sort of like the water displacement method but it just takes a minute and you don't have to get wet. I came out at 18.6% body fat, which was ok all things considered. The interesting thing from that was that he told me my mental "target" weight was too low - apparently I've added enough muscle over the years that there's no reasonable way I could get to what I remember used to be my ideal weight - it's nice to have an accurate goal; as it turns out I only need to lose 10 pounds, not the 26 pounds I was imagining 
Then I did the max heart rate and VO2 max test - you run on a treadmill hooked up to an EKG and breathing through a tube that measures how much oxygen you're inhaling and exhaling and subracts to find out how the rate at which you're extracting oxygen from the air. My max heart rate as I suspected was about 16 beats per minute higher than the formula implies, which is why I never feel like I'm working hard enough when I try to use pre-programmed heart rates. It wasn't clear that I totally hit my max heart rate even - it hadn't quite plateaued, but I stopped the test because I wasn't getting enough oxygen - the light started getting dim and I started getting sort of pre-blackout symptoms so I stopped Was running at a 6' 40" pace, which isn't that fast, but a lot faster than I ever run normally so I need to work a little harder I think.
The VO2 max test was sort of mixed - I was sort of smack in middle for my age group - 55'th percentile, which is pretty crappy. He said my breathing patterns were good. The big problem seemed to be that I just wasn't breathing deeply enough - my tidal volume was only 2.4 liters when it should have been closer to 3. I think that can be improved though, now that I know I need to work on breathing deeper. My anaerobic threshold was at 85% of VO2 max and 91.2% of max heartrate which I guess is decent. I've just got the raw data, most of which I don't understand; he's working on an analysis and a report.
I'll go back in a couple of days for a more precise anaerobic threshold measurement - they do finger p****s periodically while you run at different speeds to see the precise point when lactic acid starts building up in your blood or something. When you know your threshold precisely you can work on pushing it up through interval training. Then I'll go back in 4 months and redo the tests and see if I've improved.
Not that I think anybody's that interesting in the details of my metabolism But it was sort of cool to do, and it didn't cost that much (couple of hundred). If I'd known stuff like that was available I'd have done it a long time ago. Now if my damn calves would stop cramping up every time I run I'd be all set...
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Aeain
RealPoor Sensei
Joined: 22 Oct 2002
Posts: 1973
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Posted: 07/29/03 - 09:12 Post subject:
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I have the exact same problem with my calves when i run after about a quarter of a mile they just start cramping up. Of course i jusat push through the pain and go on to finish my run but man does that shit hurt after you stop.
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sinrakin
RealPoor Master of Posts
Joined: 11 Oct 2002
Posts: 7044
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Posted: 07/29/03 - 09:32 Post subject:
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Heh at least you can keep going. The last time I was running with someone and after about 3 1/2 miles I said "damn, my calf is starting to get pretty tight - does that ever happen to you" and he goes "yeah, sometimes it gets hard as a rock, but I just take it a little slower and run through it", so I tried to - about a minute later the thing cramped up so hard I almost fell down, and then I couldn't even walk it hurt so much. Took almost a week to heal.
That was the soleus muscle though - the one you feel when you bend your knee while doing a calf stretch instead of keeping your leg straight, just above the achilles tendon. Next time it hurts, I'm stopping
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Aeain
RealPoor Sensei
Joined: 22 Oct 2002
Posts: 1973
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Posted: 07/29/03 - 09:36 Post subject:
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Of course mine could be attributed to be 210 lbs and running after a few months of hardly any cardio. Who knows though hehe.
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eqchanter
RealPoor Sensei
Joined: 04 Dec 2002
Posts: 1543
Location: tennessee
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Posted: 07/29/03 - 10:01 Post subject:
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| Aeain wrote: | | I have the exact same problem with my calves when i run after about a quarter of a mile they just start cramping up. Of course i jusat push through the pain and go on to finish my run but man does that shit hurt after you stop. |
Try a different pair or running shoes. It shouldn't matter even if you do hardly any at all. If you stretch before as long as your not doing pikes peak kind of running its probably the shoes or the way that your feet are landing. I had a similar problem but it was my knees. The shoes i had didnt have the support i needed for the amount of flexabilty i have in my ankles and feet. It was causeing shin splints to.
I went to a real shoe store ( by real i mean not footlocker, sports athority, payless etc. ) They are much more informed than the avergae idiot at the other stores who barely how to use the measureing tool. The place i went to had me try on like 8 different sets to see which one was best and i got to take them outside to run in them. They watch you and tell you what your doing right and wrong with your running stride. Great store IMO. Its called fleet feet. The shoes are more expensive there but its worth it for the service you get.
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Aeain
RealPoor Sensei
Joined: 22 Oct 2002
Posts: 1973
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Posted: 07/29/03 - 10:03 Post subject:
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Thanks for the info will try it
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