Its part 3 of our VO2Max deep dive and if you've been following along it's time I gave you the details of what I've been doing to try to improve my VO2Max values over the past two months. I'll also sum everything up and give you the details on whether it's actually worked for me. There are a few ways techniques to help improve your VO2Max and I have been incorporating some of these methods as part of my training to hopefully be able to lift my score.
This is the low hanging fruit of improving your VO2Max values. The basic concept behind HIIT training is that if a higher demand is placed on the cardiovascular system, your body's capacity to handle these demands should also increase. There is a genetic limit our body will have, and this type of training can be achieved with any number of training sessions. It usually means getting the body at an uncomfortable pace for between 30 seconds and 2 minutes and then allowing the body to recover for a similar amount of time.
My Recommended HIIT Training Session
Friday Hill Sprints - 4km warm up followed by 50m hill sprints and then gently jogging down the hill
Lactate Training
This can be similar to a HIIT session but, for me personally, it hurts me a little bit more. HIIT training allows you to do short bursts of sprints, where Lactate Training allows you to train for a longer period of time usually between 800m and 3km repeats at a fast pace.
My Recommended Lactate Training Session
Saturday 800m repeats - 800m at 3km pace with 200m walking as recovery
Cross Training
If you're struggling with sore leg muscles from your HIIT or Lactate runs, you can cross train with a stationary bike. In 2013 a group of British and Australian researches set out to see if there were any crossover between bike training and running. They found that the group of cyclists that did longer interval sessions of between 5 and 8 minutes over a 3 week period, were able to reduce their 5km run times by over a minute. When improving VO2Max, 5km runs are the distance that will benefit the most, so any cross training that improves your 5km time will also help your VO2Max
My Recommended Cross Training Session
Tuesday Stationary Bike Training - 10 minute warm up, 6 x 5 minutes at 80% your maximum cycling heart rate, rest for 1 minute
Improve Your Respiratory Compensation Threshold
Your Respiratory Compensation Threshold(RCT) is the boundary between high intensity and severe exertion, so any improvement in your RCT values will mean you are able to push harder when you reach your VO2Max. This basically means you are faking a higher VO2Max value by being able to work harder, but will still result in improved performance, so it is worth considering. You should also be training your RCT with your HIIT session but you can also use an Altitude Training Mast. Even though there is a lot of negative press about Training Masks(https://www.trainingmask.com/), it has been proven that they do improve your RCT if used as part of your training schedule.
My Recommended RCT Training Session
Sunday Stationary Bike Training - 30 - 40 minutes riding with the Training Mask on at Zone 2 Heart Rate, then ride for a further 10 minutes without the mast.
I've mentioned this before but studies have shown spending time in a sauna after your daily exercise will promote your body to naturally produce it's own EPO. This is the same substance used by drug cheats in synthetic form to help improve their VO2Max values. The studies were able to demonstrate athletes would have this natural benefit after spending over 20 minutes in the sauna, after a hard work out.
My Recommended Sauna Training Session
Sunday Sauna Session - 20 - 25 minutes in the sauna after Sunday Long Run
My Final Test
It's been two months since my first Cooper Test and with a score of 59, I was eager to improve. The good thing is that this value closely followed the score I received when I did my VO2Max test at Auckland University. The training I have been doing was not limited to the training sessions I mentioned in this post but they do make up a bulk of my training. With that in mind I am happy to say my new VO2Max value is 60...60.92 to be exact which means I almost improved my values by one point each month.
We mentioned in Part 1 that VO2Max is not a determining factor of fitness and endurance but it does give me some peace of mind knowing that the training I am doing is improving one aspect of my performance, which in turn should translate to faster times. It will give me something to measure moving forward and I'll report back later in the year to let you know my progress.
About the Author
Hey I'm Vince, an Aussie living in New Zealand, trying my best to make the most of the time I have. I work as a Software Engineer but love to run and all aspects of it, including geeking out on the latest science to help get the most out of my body.
@runningproject please see the latest status report:
