I’ve asked this before but I don’t remember the specific answers, and since I’m finally gonna get a test done in the next 2 weeks I’d like to freshen up my info.
Is there a relationship between your HR at any given pace and your vo2max? When we run my friend’s HR is always lower than mine, even if his RPE is higher.
There are a couple of guys on my team who have been training for about 5 years now, and given that I don’t mind they are faster. Their HR is always lower than mine in general too. Would this mean they have a higher Vo2max, or do I just have to keep on training aerobically until my HR drops too. The only thing that cheers me up is the big improvement I’ve had in the past year, and the fact I have a good running form (very very similar to Courtney Atkinson’s ).
I am really nervous about this test. I’ve been debating doing it for a while now, but since my whole team are getting these, we can get them almost for free so why not?
The last thing that’s bothering me, is this gonna screw up my training? We’re in the middle of building the base, and I haven’t been anerobic in my runs for 4 weeks now.
"Is there a relationship between your HR at any given pace and your vo2max? When we run my friend’s HR is always lower than mine, even if his RPE is higher.
There are a couple of guys on my team who have been training for about 5 years now, and given that I don’t mind they are faster. Their HR is always lower than mine in general too. Would this mean they have a higher Vo2max, or do I just have to keep on training aerobically until my HR drops too"
Hi Freestyle,
Heart rate is very individual, so you can’t compare with anyone else on your team and shoudn’t. The test will give you your values and you will improve if you train according to what you will find.
What you are looking at in not necessarily to lower your heart rate, it’s more to go faster at the same heart rate, or go the same speed with a lower heart rate. You will have then improved.
But your friend may be at 140 and going hard while you are at 150 and cruising. Just don’t compare.
And congratulations for looking like Courtney, do you also kick ass in the surf like him???
Won’t ruin your base. Testing is common during the base period.
As far as hr’s go, I don’t think there is a correlation between VO2max and hr at a given pace, at least not in the sense you’re asking(someone might correct me here-please do if I’m wrong). You can’t really look at it in the way you seem to be doing. You definitely can’t compare your hr @ a given pace to someone else’s. You could be running with someone the same age as you, who is the same speed as you, but one of you could have a max of 205 and the other 175.
As far as what you said about your friend, obviously he has a much lower max hr than you do, which means absolutely nothing as far as fitness is concerned.
I know I had a friend who had a higher VO2 max than I did but I was much, much faster. I also dated a girl w/ a higher VO2. Again, I was faster. Do the test, but don’t stress about it.
No. Theres no direct correlation between maxHR and Vo2max-- ie, dif. HRs between individuals say nothing about those individuals’ VO2s.
My training parter and I are a good example: my maxHR is 177, hers is 203. My Vo2 is 63ml/min/kg, hers is 59ml/min/kg. We are the same weight, she may have been a couple lbs lighter when we were tested. We are exactly the same speed (within seconds). At the same pace, Ill be at 170, she’ll be a little over 190.
63ml/kg is pretty dam good. I’m hoping I’ll use atleast 4 liters, which will equal to around 62.5 at my current weight.
One other question, say I can use about 4.2 liters, which will equal to about 65 right. I’m defintely not finished growing yet, so I’ll definetly weight more and be taller in the future. Will my max consumpution be lower because I’ll be bigger, or will it increase just as my height/weight?
Well I’m not going to cheer you up and take the half opposite opinion. If you are training with guys and your heart rate is higher, you are going to hit the end before them, which can be correlated to a lower VO max. I agree you have to take in account age and other factors when just comparing hearts. Your heart rate is higher at a given pace because it is taxing you more than the other guys. The real question is if your higher heart rate is one of those factors or VO max. However, you also stated they are faster and this would also indicate they are fitter and have a higher VO max. Doesn’t mean you can’t surpass and could mean you need a little more training.
I think the test would be good so that you could verify your max and set your training thresholds around your number. One problem of knowing, if the numbers aren’t good is to use that to mentally undermine your efforts. There are other ways to close some of those gaps such a toughness and strength. You do need to determine your own heart rate numbers and how to train with those numbers, cause in the end those are the only ones that matter.
I would of assumed they are fitter because they have 4 more years of training than I do, not because they are more genetically gifted than I am.
Another thing is I have a lazy-ass friend (he’s 22) who’s vo2max is 78 ml/kg. He’s pretty fast - around 2:10 Olympic distance. I remember he got injured around a month ago and hasn’t trained since, but when he got tested last week he was around 72ml/kg. Right now I am faster than him, so I wouldn’t necessarily say a higher vo2max automatically means you’re faster.
My LT for running is at around 190, so would this affect my vo2max in anyway?
If your Lactate Threshold HR is around 190, your max HR should be at least 210 or so. This would put your LT at 90% of your max HR. That is a pretty high max HR. That probably explains the difference in running heart rates between you and your training partners. At 170 bpm I am working pretty hard and at 180 I am starting to hurt, real bad. I have never seen a HR above 192. Others I run with are cruising steady at 170 bpm. A lower or higher heart rate in comparison to someone else doesn’t mean a thing. However, if your heart rate is lower at the same running speed, you have gained some fitness.
My Max HR is around 210 or so, although the max I’ve reached in training is only around 205. This was during 1000m repeats, and in each I went above 200. I’ve never ran myself into exhaustion so I don’t know what my ‘true’ max HR is. I have run a few 3000’s or 4000’s with an average of 198-201 though.
Does this relate in any way to my vo2max, or is that a whole different thing?
I know most of you don’t really give a cr@p about vo2max because in an IM you aren’t anywhere near it, but in shorter events it’s pretty important. Any more help is greatly appreciated.
These questions can probably be most precisely answered by A. Coggan, who posts occasionally.
However, from what I understand VO2 max is basically genetic and goes up only slightly with training. Its best to think of VO2 max as potential. If you desire to set world reconds in an endurance sport you better have a high score.
HR has no correlation to VO2 max. Also an individuals max HR means nothing with regard to endurance performance. If you are running at 150 HR and a buddy is at 130, you know nothing about your relative fitness.
The most important factor, and the one that is trainable is how close to your max HR you can maintain for a period of time (say 20 minutes).
Franks Shorter was legendary for racing marathons at near his max HR.
well, when you go to get tested, they’ll let you know what your max HR is for sure. they should test you so that they’ll find your vo2max, and keep you going until you reach volitional exhaustion. both are discovered when the intensity keeps increasing, but your HR and oxygen consumption level off (meaning you’re no longer doing only aerobic work). in response to your earlier question about LT, it is most useful as a function of your vo2max (e.g. LT is at 85% of vo2max), and represents the highest intensity you can maintain. LT can change independent of vo2max though, and is varies greatly due to many factors (including sleep, caffeine, time of day, etc). it’s also been found that LT is a better predictor of endurance performance than vo2max. hopefully this is somewhat helpful,
