I finally went and got my cardio test done at my gym (Lifetime Fitness). If you have a Lifetime nearby and have a bit of spare change (it's about $140 to test the first time, but cheaper after that because you already bought the equipment) I highly recommend it. You do not have to be a member, I am told.
It is a sub-max test. You put on this thing that looks like a ninja mask and they put you on a treadmill at a relatively slow speed based on what you run at normally (e.g., when I told them I train at 8:30 miles, they put me on the treadmill at a 10 minute mile pace) after a walking warmup. They also put a HR monitor on you.
The ninja mask has a large hole you breathe in and out of - it wasn't that uncomfortable at all - with tubes connected to it. These tubes run into a literal black box that is then connected to a computer.
They start increasing your slope 2% at a time and making it harder and harder to run. They keep doing this until you go anaerobic (the black box knows when and how) and then do a cooldown to measure recovery. Then the nifty software stuff spits out a report that tells you your HR zones, how many calories you burn in each zone, what percentage of that is fat vs carbs, what your VO2 max is, what your VO2 was at the anaerobic threshold, what your HR recovery rate is, what your projected max HR is, etc.
Based on that report, I was able to sit down with their metabolic specialist (I assume she has some training beyond a seminar, but I didn't actually ask; a degree in exercise science is what I would guess) and formulate a great strategy for interval training. It will kick my ass from here to China and back, but I know what I'm doing and why. And I know a LOT more about my HR and why it works where it does and what I should be looking for in terms of training.
I do wish I would have taken this back in January so I could see what strides I've made since then (I started running in March). I am going to take the test again just before the marathon to see what my training has done for me.
It is a sub-max test. You put on this thing that looks like a ninja mask and they put you on a treadmill at a relatively slow speed based on what you run at normally (e.g., when I told them I train at 8:30 miles, they put me on the treadmill at a 10 minute mile pace) after a walking warmup. They also put a HR monitor on you.
The ninja mask has a large hole you breathe in and out of - it wasn't that uncomfortable at all - with tubes connected to it. These tubes run into a literal black box that is then connected to a computer.
They start increasing your slope 2% at a time and making it harder and harder to run. They keep doing this until you go anaerobic (the black box knows when and how) and then do a cooldown to measure recovery. Then the nifty software stuff spits out a report that tells you your HR zones, how many calories you burn in each zone, what percentage of that is fat vs carbs, what your VO2 max is, what your VO2 was at the anaerobic threshold, what your HR recovery rate is, what your projected max HR is, etc.
Based on that report, I was able to sit down with their metabolic specialist (I assume she has some training beyond a seminar, but I didn't actually ask; a degree in exercise science is what I would guess) and formulate a great strategy for interval training. It will kick my ass from here to China and back, but I know what I'm doing and why. And I know a LOT more about my HR and why it works where it does and what I should be looking for in terms of training.
I do wish I would have taken this back in January so I could see what strides I've made since then (I started running in March). I am going to take the test again just before the marathon to see what my training has done for me.
Comment