Get Moving for Life

As the snow melts away and the green mountainside reveals itself, many are eagerly anticipating hiking the North Shore mountains, including the Grouse Grind. Trail running is also a popular sport these days with races like the Knee Knacker, Seek the Peak, Grouse Grind Mountain Run and the Iron Lung. You don't have to be an elite athlete to start to train so that you can enjoy these outdoor activities in the summer and early fall.

Your VO2 max level and your speed at VO2 max are strongly related to your ability to climb those hills for hours at a time without fatiguing. Your VO2 max is a measure of the maximum amount of oxygen you can use in millimeters per minute per kilogram of body weight.

Willmore and Costhill (2005, Physiology of Sport and Exercise: 3rd Edition) define VO2 max as, "The highest rate of oxygen consumption attainable during maximal or exhaustive exercise."

For the average non-athlete between 30 to 79 years old, VO2 max is 28 to 48 ml/min/kg for men and 20 to 38 ml/min/kg for women. (Click the link to see a more detailed table that includes athletes).

What makes hiking more challenging is that without an oxygen pack, you need approximately 21 ml/min/kg of oxygen to sustain the activity. For an unfit 70 year-old male with a VO2 max of 28, this is 75% of his maximum capacity. No wonder walking cross country is tiring when you are unfit.

Changes in altitude makes hiking even more challenging since there is an 8 to 11% decrease in VO2 max per 1000m in elevation change above 1600m. For our 70 year-old male, this means he will now be working at 80% of his VO2 max (Click here to read more about acclimatization). Add a 10-pound pack and the oxygen demand jumps to 28 ml/min/kg; this man reaches his maximum capacity before he even starts.

This certainly explains why he is out of breath and stopping every five minutes! However, the good news is that the cardio-respiratory system is very responsive and adaptive to appropriate training stimuli. Depending on your training, age and current fitness levels, studies have shown that six weeks to six months of training could increase your VO2 max by 15 to 20%; other studies have shown increases up to 93%. Since VO2 max is relative to body weight, reducing body fat also increases VO2 max.

Start by doing some type of cardiovascular activity at 65 to 85% of your approximate maximum heart rate (220 minus your age) for 20 to 30 minutes, three times per week. The fitter you are, the closer to the upper limit you will need to be to have an affect on VO2 max; if you are new to fitness, start at 60 to 65% of your maximum heart rate.

If you find walking on the flats easy, find some hills. Remember, you don't need to run. To increase your oxygen demand and heart rate indoors, use the incline on the treadmill and/or start carrying a 5-pound pack. Gradually add 2.5 lbs every two to four weeks to a maximum of 25% of your body weight, or the weight you would be carrying for an overnight trip. For one of our clients, that is 30 lbs. Either fill your backpack or, for the more serious, invest in a more comfortable adjustable weight vest.

Using a heart monitor and testing your VO2 max will make your training more accurate and effective. There are many ways to test your VO2 max without a lab (scroll down to evaluations), just make sure that you choose the appropriate test for your fitness level. It takes multiple tests to develop reliability and validity. Pay attention to the difference between multiple tests (every 6-8 weeks) to monitor your training success.

We strongly recommend using a Polar heart rate monitor to gauge your training and heart rate response to different terrains and intensities.

If you're in the Metro Vancouver area and you want to have your VO2 max tested or develop a more comprehensive and individualized hiking training plan that includes strength and flexibility training, contact Alfred Ball.

Resources:

Brian Mac

Sport Fitness Advisor

Labels: altitude, heart rate training, hiking, maxV02, outdoor sports