What the research actually says? It’s not Vo2max.

It’s fitness. It’s speed you get up to during an exhaustive test that correlates with longevity.

Vo2max is a part of but not the whole thing.

Don’t train to increase your Vo2max. Train to get fit holistically.

https://twitter.com/FitFounder/status/1781697501352902952

Also there is nothing special about the “Norwegian workout.”

You’re better off varying your interval training length, speed, and rest period.

And it’s definitely not sprinting like it says in the thread. 🤦‍♂️

Lots of talk about VO2max for longevity.

What we miss:

-It's one of the least trainable components
-Even in elites, it plateaus well before performance does
-A focus on Vo2max often pushes to short term interventions (HIIT)

Your better at focusing on performance over long haul 1st: Research typically shows, even with training, you only get a 10-20% bump

There are outliers, but it generally plateaus fairly quickly after increasing training

Performance in any event keeps improving, because other contributors are more responsive to training

We are at peak health and fitness Guru.

They are everywhere. Slinging supplements and protocols to fix every problem.

And much of it is BS...but it's easy to fall for it and hard to sort signal from noise.

Here are 7 ways to detect Guru BS: 1. Non-stop complicating.

Popular science and self-help should not sound like academic writing, because it’s not.

If they make everything sound complex to a lay audience, they are likely trying to fool you.

True experts should be able to explain things simply.

For the longevity people who are hyping Vo2max:

If you care about longevity, don't focus on raising your Vo2max.

Focus on improving your endurance performance. Choose a distance (5k,10k, half marathon, marathon). Get better at that.

That will help you more. Why?

It's likely that endurance or general aerobic abilities are what drives the connection to longevity.

Vo2max is just the easiest & most frequently measured one of those variables.

So it makes sense to use that in a broad population...

Most people miss out when they do zone 2 training.

They make a crucial mistake.

They get stuck...thinking they must stay in that zone. And if they don't, the workout is messed up.

And they miss out on getting better.

Here's why: Whenever I 1st trained with East African runners, it reminded me of high school

A distance run started very slow. We'd jog. Gradually, it got a little faster. For a while, we'd settle into a still easily manageable pace

Then over the last few miles, we'd pick it up to the end

Only 8% of people stick with their New Year's resolution.

We love setting goals. But often the wrong kind.

Our goals backfire, acting as reminders that we aren't good enough or succeeding.

10 evidence-based rules to set goals that help instead of hinder: First, let's start with where we go wrong.

There are 3 big traps with goals:
1. You become too attached to them
2. You fail to achieve them (becoming despondent)
3. You achieve them and subsequently become complacent or lost.

The health and performance space is filled with so much nonsense.

Let's cut through the BS and cover what actually works. Here are...

5 principles for living and working
6 practice for physical performance
7 practice for mental health & performance Principles:
1. Consistency over Intensity: Small steps compound for big gains. Ditch heroic efforts

2. Real Toughness over Fake Toughness:  Out with the machismo acts of strength and power; in with knowing how to make the right decision in the moment when under distress.

The Taylor Swift workout is actually really good. I did a variation of this when competing (without the singing…)

“Every day I would run on the treadmill, singing the entire set list out loud. Fast for fast songs, and a jog or a fast walk for slow songs”

Here’s why: It’s a fartlek workout, alternating hard and easy where you get to decide and adjust the effort of each as you go.

You get a hard workout but with flexibility built in.

But what I love about this is the uncertainty and variability…

This is like buzzword bingo for exercise fads…

And so I can contribute something worthwhile:
-8x 20sec ALL OUT with 10 seconds rest is the dumbest workout known to mankind.

https://twitter.com/FitFounder/status/1729523324680646690

Just for clarity:
If it truly is all out effort.

Then by #3 your legs should feel like so much lead that you can barely walk

It’s dumb as prescribed. If you attempt it, you’re practicing dying. And digging yourself a hole.

If you did the workout at say mile pace, not so bad

Does an intense halftime speech improve performance?

With basketball teams, researchers found an Inverted-U relationship with the intensity of the speech and performance.

There was a Goldilocks of just the right amount of intensity. Why?

Researchers theorized:

A moderate amount of intensity redirects attention to solving problems and giving effort.

Too much: Diverts attention away. Likely pushing us into protect, avoid, and defend mode. Decreasing effort.

Only 25% of kids regularly play out on their street.

This number used to be 80%.

Adults have ruined play.

Why? Fear & Safetyism.

When we see threats everywhere, we default to avoid and protect mode.

And it's ruining our kids mental health. Here's why: Parents want to keep their kids safe.

It’s an understandable motive. If you live in an area where crime is high, it may be worthwhile.

But in the vast majority of neighborhoods, ​much of that fear is overblown​.

Movement is medicine.

Large systematic review of over 1,000 trials and 120,000 participants finds that exercise has a significant effect on symptoms of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress.

We need to do a better job of integrating mental and physical health. Exercise is a tool
Medications are a tool
Therapy is a tool

We need more tools to help people going through mental health struggles.

For many issues, our best treatments only have a small to moderate effect on average.

Figuring out combinations and options that help is vital.

A 2:11 marathon is insane.

A few years ago it would be near impossible to wrap your head around a women running that now.

You can’t compare to past runners. The super shoe era is its own thing. We no longer have historical context on what times mean. For fun, a list of some American men that Assefa is faster then (on record eligible course):

Diego Estrada
Ben True
Chris Derrick
Matt Tegenkamp
Steve Spence
Tyler Pennel
Bernard Lagat
Bob Kempanien
Tim Nelson
Josh Cox
Mark Coogan
Terrance Mahon
Aaron Braun
Steve Plasencia

In grad school, my professor, Vernor Møller, a well known anti-doping researcher asked the class:

“Can you be the best in the world without cheating?”

He said, No. I argued, yes.

He didn't budge, gave me a B on my 10 page argument

Over a decade later, I got the real answer: At the time, I was training with two world class runners:
3:46 miler Alan Webb and 800m Olympian Moises Joseph.

I saw the work. I lived with them on training camps.

They were clean. And pretty dang close to world class.

Dr. Moller didn't buy it, plus they weren't 'the best.'

Recovery in sport is vital.

There are a hundreds of gadgets, supplements, tools designed to 'enhance' recovery.

Seldom do we realize how you recover depends on what you are recovering from.

My 4 types of fatigue & how to recover from each:
-Flatness
-Soreness
-Stress
-Lethargy 1. Flatness = You lose pop or responsiveness. Your legs feel flat.

What is it?
Flatness occurs when our muscle tension is off.

Think of a rubber band. If the rubber band is stretched and worn out, then if you pull it back, it won’t go far. It lacks tension.

Struggling with a desired action?

Use constraints.

Narrow the problem, so it's easier to perform the behavior that you want

Example: Struggling with your diet, eat the same thing for breakfast & lunch. It allows you to focus on dinner.

How to use constraints to free you up: Constraints are essentially a narrowing of the possible paths.

We use them in sports to help learn new skills.

You shrink the practice field in soccer, to 'force' players to work on quick passes & movements.

You use wickets in running to 'force' runners to put foot down.

Working out in the heat and humidity sucks.

It is much easier to go over the edge and overtrain.

Here's how to train in the heat, gain fitness, and not overtrain from someone who ran 100 mile weeks in the summer heat of Houston, TX: First, why do you need to change?

Heat/Humidity changes the demands (more blood goes to cooling, less to muscles, etc.)

And it changes the fatigue limiter: rise in core body temperature will be the fatigue limiter much more so.

Not metabolic, cardio, lactate, etc.

There are multiple forms of talent.

It's not just who is faster or better.

Here's how I like to describe the main two versions:
-High Floor athletes
-High Responders Think of it like this:

If I had two runners who were mature, but barely training (say 20 miles per week).

Athlete A runs 4:15 for the mile
Athlete B runs 4:30

You'd say Athlete A has more talent. But are you right?

How I've viewed social media over the years has changed.

We are heavily influenced by people and ideas that surround us. And that goes with our social media environment.

Have you ever wondered why so many people seem to be shouting & angry all the time online? That's tied to the environment they occupy.

Decades of research shows that when we consume lots of news coverage that is violent and fear based...we then judge our world to be more violent and fearful.

Our brain makes predictions based on the information it receives.

A few weeks ago, I posted RFK Jr. was likely on testosterone.

I got a lot of pushback.

I was right. It's not hard to know who is on the sauce.

RFK Jr. quote: "I'm on Testosterone replacement, but I don't take any anabolic steroids." (Which is a contradiction...) A few points:

You get a good idea of knowing what is/isn't possible based on age/performance if you live in the sporting world.

The same goes for elite athletes.

Most former athletes/coaches have a good idea of who is likely doped up.

The NCAA championships are over in track and field.

You or your teammates may be considering going Pro!

Exciting!

But...I've watched so many athletes mess it up, take less $, & be screwed over.

Here's the Inside Guide to Going Pro in Track: 1. Pick your agent wisely.

Let's get this out of the way:

Some are sketchy and will do sketchy things. They won't tell you about deals, will only pitch you to certain companies, and much worse.

Talk to retired athletes & coaches who have been in the game for a while.