When should we start to sharpen the point on the pyramid?

The other day I answered this question as well as I could. As I wrote the answer, I thought, how often have I answered this same question? I thought, how many others are asking the same question? 

 

Hi AL

 

This may be a dumb-arse question and please let me know if it is, but is there any way of training your body or supplements that can help to maximise your oxygen uptake into the muscles of the body?

 

Cheers S—–

Hi S—- 

 

Once a big endurance base is built specific VO2 Max training can be done. Until the endurance base is built the heights you can reach are limited. If you start to put the point on a pyramid when the base is small, you’ll reach the point at a lower height. If the base is huge the point is potentially much higher. 

The best way to increase VO2Max is to do lots of aerobic base training first. All of this has an influence on oxygen use efficiency. One side effect of endurance base training is lowering the amount of excess flesh you’re carrying around. Every kilo of weight dropped off your frame increases your VO2 Max.

 

VO2 Max (as I understand it) is the measurement of volume of oxygen absorbed each minute per kilo of body weight.

 

So if we can reduce our body weight by just one kilo, we can significantly influence that ratio. Now the best way to reduce that body weight is to train it off. To train it off, we don’t have to starve ourselves. We simply have to supply just a little less than we burn.

 

If you walk outside your door and take a cross section of society. Most are consuming more than they are burning so they get steadily fatter and steadily less oxygen efficient. 

 

So in the case of the endurance athlete, who is already using lots of calories in training. A slight reduction, as simple as drinking black coffee instead of milk based coffees, no pastries or deep fried food. And keep doing the same training will put us on the road to better use of our oxygen consumption balance.

 

After we’ve reached an ideal weight for our height. After we’ve developed a huge endurance base (at least one year of endurance work, more is better) then high intensity efforts with equal length recovery periods (95-98% of max ) will help the body to develop a higher VO2 Max.

 

Supplements are best relied on to boost recovery and to help immunity.