Fitness Tip of the Day: Friday's Facts and Findings -- VO2max and EPOC

Going along with yesterday's Metabolic Conditioning workout, I decided to talk about VO2max, EPOC and afterburn.  If you're not an athlete, or in the fitness industry, you probably have no clue as to what your VO2max is.  Yes, it's something we all possess.

VO2max is also known as maximal oxygen uptake or maximal oxygen consumption.  It refers to the maximum amount of oxygen consumed and utilized by the body during an all-out effort to exhaustion.  It is another important indicator of aerobic fitness.  The more aerobically fit an individual is the higher his/her VO2max or ability to to consume and process oxygen.  VO2max is measured in either liters of O2 consumed per minute (an absolute value), or in milliliters of O2 consumed per kilogram of body weight per minute (a relative value).

Measuring one's VO2max accurately requires an all out effort (usually on a treadmill or bike) performed under strict protocol in a performance lab.  It can be estimated in a variety of ways, but none are as accurate as this.

If you're not an athlete, knowing this exact number isn't that important.  It's knowing how to train to increase this number that's important.

To read more about VO2max, I found on article on About.com:  What is VO2 Max?

EPOC, or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, refers to the additional oxygen consumed immediately after an exercise bout when the body is no longer exercising.  For instance, imagine standing still after an all out run--you are breathing heavily for a few minutes.  The extra oxygen consumed is now termed EPOC, and was formerly known as oxygen debt.  This is also referred to as afterburn, because if your body is consuming more oxygen, it is burning more calories.

More on EPOC from About.com:  What is EPOC?

So how do you increase your VO2max and your EPOC?  Metabolic or interval training.  The short bursts of high intensity exercises will help increase both of these.

Should you only do this type of training?  No.  Your fitness regime needs to be balanced.  These are intense workouts that should only be done a couple of times a week.  You can do interval training for time constraints, but at a lesser intensity.

For example, on Monday I'd suggest doing a cardio/strength interval workout of some sort--the cardio segments could be on a treadmill, bike or even on the floor jogging in place, but these segments are not done at all out effort to exhaustion--maybe 80-85%.  The strength segments could be upper body, lower body or total body or could be front of the body and back of the body.

On Tuesday, you could focus on your core (doing one of my Tuesday posts).

On Wednesday, you could do your high intensity workout (doing one of my wild workout posts).

On Thursday, your workout could be similar to Monday's.

On Friday, you could rest or do a flexibility workout (like those I've been posting on Saturday).

On Saturday, this could be your rest or flexibility day, or you could do another high intensity workout.

On Sunday, you could do another core workout, do your flexibility or another high intensity workout or make this a rest day.

Bottom line, you do NOT want to do high intensity workouts 2 days in a row.  Your body needs time to recover.  It's during the recovery stage that your body gets stronger.  And, don't forget to do a sufficient warm up and cool down/stretch after each workout.