Endurance Cartel

#004 - How Important Is Your Vo2max? What Does Yours Actually Mean? With Dr Connie Sol

Is VO2 max the standard in determining an athlete's endurance and performance capacity?
 
Exercise physiologist Dr. Connie Sol joins us on today’s episode of the Endurance Cartel Podcast and offers her input on the importance of VO2 max testing in an athlete’s training and performance capacity. 
We discuss the differences between lab and field testing, how the environment and everyday events impact VO2 measurements, and the best way to establish an accurate endurance baseline for athletes. 
She also shares her observations regarding the long-term evolution of women vs. men in endurance competitions and the changes that appear in the lung function and physiology of a person affected by Covid-19.
 
 
Time stamps:
 
00:54- Today’s topic- VO2 max and the importance of this test in an athlete’s training and performance;
01:47- Introducing Dr. Connie Sol, Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Health & Wellness Consultant;
03:51- Is VO2 max an essential indicator for everyone, regardless of athletic performance?
06:37- How useful is VO2 max, and are VO2 max measurements an accurate overview of your performance?
10:29- VO2 max vs. lactate threshold levels- which one is a more precise indicator of endurance?
15:31- The way the environment affects VO2 max levels- differences between lab and field testing;
21:08- Breathing efficiency on athletes that have used different breathing enhancing protocols;
24:43- After effects of Covid-19, changes in the lung structure and decreasing lung capacity;
28:04- Can gadgets and current mass market technology offer the same accuracy in establishing an endurance baseline as a correlation between VO2 max, lactate threshold levels, heart rate monitoring, and other measurements?
29:57- Performance and endurance- men vs. women;
33:09- Cross-country skiing athletes- the best results in VO2 max measurements;
35:44- Getting in contact with Connie. 
 
 
Quotes 
 
“I don’t believe I have ever met an athlete that is happy with their VO2 max. So, it doesn’t matter what they’re going to go through; they’re always going to come off the treadmill and tell me: I can do better(...) The point is that they look at these fantastic scores and think that that’s where they should be.”
 
“I believe that the applicability of VO2 max is left to science, more than performance (…), and you will see that it changes daily. So athletes who focus on it in their training and allow it to affect their psychological training will suffer”. 
 
“Coaches underutilize portable VO2 systems because a lab is a lab, no friction, no wind, no heat (...).And so you have the athlete wear it, and yeah, he’s going to be a little bit uncomfortable, but the point is you’re going to be able to see a true performance, under pressure, outside, with friction on the track; of your athlete.”
 
“If you’re going to set a baseline VO2 max, you need to get a perception of effort, get your lactate, do it all, and then use that information for what it’s meant to be rather than focus on the max that’s so variable, that the next day is going to be different (while) your lactate threshold might not be that different because it’s more predictable on a day to day than your VO2 max.”
 
 
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Get in contact with Dr. Connie Sol:
 
Linkedin 
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Links selected from the episode:
 
VO2 max
Norm values for VO2 max
Lactic acid and lactate threshold
Brian Mackenzie-Human Performance Specialist on the Endurance Cartel Podcast;
Brian Mackenzie's social links: Website | Twitter  | Instagram 
Louis Hamilton- Formula One racing driver 
Louis Hamilton’s declaration about the lingering effects of Covid 19
Louis Hamilton’s social links: Mercedes AMG website | Twitter | Instagram | The Hamilton Commission Organization
5 K run
Triathlon
Leanda Cave- British triathlete
Leanda Cave social links: Website | Instagram | Twitter
Iron Man Competition
Bjørn Dæhlie- highest recorded VO2 max measurements
 
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Website 
Instagram
LinkedIn 
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Linktree
 
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#003 - Should Endurance Athletes Do Plyometric Training?

A lot of us endurance lovers get into a somewhat monotonous workout routine. You may be a runner, swimmer, cyclist, or triathlete who dabbles in a bit of strength training, a spin class enthusiast, someone who primarily engages in resistance training with some cardio sprinkled in, or you may be a fan of low-impact TRX training. While it’s great to have preferences and activities you enjoy, adding multiple types of exercise to your training program is essential to maximize your health benefits and develop well-rounded fitness.
Plyometric training is one of the most frequently overlooked forms of exercise. It involves jumping, bounding, and other forms of rapid force production. Often, regular joe athletes are just looking to work out enough to stay relatively fit and decide that plyometric exercises are mainly beneficial for serious power athletes, but plyometrics are helpful for nearly everyone. No matter your level of fitness or what sport of choice you focus on, plyometrics has valuable benefits. Adding just a few plyometric exercises into your training block can advance your wellness with little time. Keep an open mind, and don’t preemptively count yourself out; listen to this insightful episode with my good friend and colleague, Jordan Collins, to learn about the benefits of plyometrics and why you should also start jumping bounding and skipping your way to better fitness.

#002 - These 5 Safety Tips for Outdoor Exercising That May Save Your Life w/ Casey Parlett

Safety is one of the basic human needs, along with water, food, and shelter. Feeling unsafe makes us live in a state of fight-to-flight where the sympathetic nervous system is on overdrive. Runner's World Magazine published an article on May 9, 2021, in which 60% of women surveyed have been harassed while running.
This needs to end. Now. Everyone should have the freedom to run without fear. It's time to reclaim the run. Casey Parlett joins me today with five tips on preventing attacks and what to do if you are attacked. Roughly half of the runners undergo a series of mental calculations before lacing up. In addition to considering their distances and splits,  runners go through a complex checklist before they head out. How many minutes of daylight remain, how easy their keys are to reach in an emergency, which they should inform of their running route, if it’s safe to wear headphones and whether they’ll get to the end of their run without feeling afraid. I hope this episode helps you be better prepared before your next run. 

#001 - Breathing For Performance W/ Human Movement And Performance Specialist, Brian Mackenzie

In this episode, I have human performance specialist,  former colleague,  and good friend Brian Mackenzie. We revisit his days at Crossfit, first as CrossFit Endurance and then his books PowerSpeedEndurance, Unbreakable Runner and Unplugged. Brian and Co. then focused on shifting the paradigm in training and preparation for endurance events and then expanding the skill first message throughout the world of human performance. SHIFT works with professional athletes, Fortune 500 executives, tactical personnel, and everyday people like us became an amazing lab for understanding how stress and our relationship with it shape human behavior.SHIFT's search for the most universal performance enhancement tool available led us down the rabbit hole of breathwork and ultimately resulted in the creation of the Art of Breath seminar series. The Art of Breath was designed to break down traditional silos in breathwork practices and make this amazing tool available to anybody regardless of the entry point.  Breath control is an incredibly powerful tool for improving resilience and enhancing performance for every living human on the planet.  Our journey traveling and developing this seminar highlighted a simple fact-people, even the highest performers on Earth manage stress poorly. I hope you guys enjoy this episode!Support the show