Who among us hasn't marvelled at Paul Tergat's speed in the marathon or Lance Armstrong's power in the Alps? What we're really admiring - from a scientific viewpoint, anyway - is these mega-athletes' VO2 max, one of the best indicators of aerobic
, requires running 30 seconds at 100 per cent velocity VO2max followed by 30 seconds of running at 50 per cent velocity VO2max.Okay, I know, thats all Greek to you. Well, heres the translation.Meet your MaxYour VO2max is the maximum amount of oxygen your
of Medical Science for Sport and Exercise showed that speed at lactate threshold is the best physiological predictor of distance-running performance. Indeed, Frank Shorter, the 1972 Olympic marathon champion was said to have had a modestly high VO2max
cent)Equivalent gain in muscle mass (three to five per cent)Similar improvement in VO2maxAnd when it came to the most important stat of all marathon finishing time the two groups were equally similar: the men in both groups averaged 4
