How fit am I? Sub-max and max testing!

What is Vo2 max testing and sub-max testing? Watch this video and follow along as I get tested to find out! As a pro-runner, it is great to do testing a few times a year to see what areas you need to work on in order to get more out of yourself, and where your strengths lie! Testing gives you all the data you need to help structure training.
Lets find out how fit I really am, 4 weeks back doing workouts post-injury
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[@FrankLy-oy2bi]

it's quite impressive what a cheer squad in the room does to get the highest values out! also interesting to see (by inference) which model the lab used on the submax data to fit LT1/2....

[@hannahirwin_]

It definitely helped having them there! 🥳🙌🏼💪🏼

[@Tomridesandruns]

Great videos thanks for doing these! I'm 53 and my heart rate can hit 195 which kind of scares me at my age so oou've reminded me the value of these tests, I'm going to get one booked up again as I start my next marathon block. I'd love a low heart rate like yours!

[@hannahirwin_]

Thank you for watching!! Definitely get testing booked! I always worried that I was maybe not able to work hard enough because my heart rate just wouldn’t go up very high, until after testing I realised it just won’t go high! 😂

[@markbateman9222]

Some runners do have a very low maximum heart rate. Bob Schul (Olympic 5000 champion 1964 had amax of around 150). The lactate testing is to find the pace at which lactic accumulates in the body - ie the body cannot clear the lactic produced. We generate lactic all the time - but in very small amounts until we begin to execise quite intensely. Your introduction mentioned the importance of carbs and you spolke as if some runners think carbs are bad; does anyone really think this? Loved the video (and the others in the series). Brought back memories of a very painful test decades ago. My test was similar but shorter and more intense; about 14 minutes of running at increasing speed and incline with no breaks to take the blood, you had to do this while running!

[@hannahirwin_]

Absolutely 😍🙌🏼 I realise now I didn’t explain it very well 😂🤦🏼‍♀️ I definitely think there are still a lot of misconceptions about what athletes can/can’t eat, and I know many people who don’t think athletes should eat as many carbs as they do, so I just want to show people that they’re our friend so we need lots of them 😍🥳 but I hope most people don’t have that opinion for sure! Thank you for watching! ☺️Ouch, that sounds brutal!! Getting blood taken whilst running max effort, that’s tough work 👏🏼💪🏼

[@davidleonard37]

I've done a few V02 max tests (not lactate) and I find them uncomfortable but you get great info from them. Like you I did a heart stress test recently and they tried to get my heart rate to 150. Must be some kind of marker but we couldn't get there 😂 had to stop the test it as the incline got uncomfortable. Then they had to do an extra test because my heart rate was so low and my resting is in the 30's.

[@hannahirwin_]

The info you get is super helpful but they aren’t easy that’s for sure 😂 ahaha I think everyone’s heart rate is just so individual! That is impressively low though 💪🏼 I used to think I obviously wasn’t working hard enough even though I couldn’t go harder, but turns out it’s just how my natural heart rate is 😂🤷‍♀️

[@toniteleco]

Hi, Hanna. Do you "taper" or try to be more rested to take the test? Or you just take it without changing your plan much?

[@hannahirwin_]

For testing we just carried on as normal! 🙌🏼I did it instead of a session so treated it like a normal hard training day :)

[@mikestevenson1334]

Wow, that was an incredible results :O nearly 70 VO2MAX! Do you find your lower max heart rate has any negative effect on zones when training or max performance when racing?

[@hannahirwin_]

Not as far as I’m aware! Just means I have a lower heart rate for each zone :) so I can still reach the zones, just my heart rate doesn’t get too high in them :)

[@paxundpeace9970]

Lactate turning point is not when your body starts to produce lactate. It is the point the where the body is unable to buffer or clear the lactate getting produced. That's the how i learned it.

[@hannahirwin_]

That’s right! I always get it confused! It’s the point where you produce more than you can clear 🙌🏼💪🏼

[@cybermanne]

I find it funy that even your camera operator (who I would think should be clued in to how HR max works) was amazed that you had such a low HR while doing pretty strenous running. It's almost like it's impossible to get people to stop comparing these numbers with other people, even though the numbers really can't be compared with anyone else. That 220 - age formula is such a joke. It only works reasonably well if averaged out over thousands of people. lol

[@hannahirwin_]

100000%! This test definitely showed that massively to me! That everyone’s heart rate and their zones are SOOO different! Like you can’t compare at all! Someone’s easy pace might be 130bpm, but someone else may be 150+! We’re all unique 😂🙌🏼💪🏼

[@cybermanne]

I would be interested in seeing how you test economy for different paces and also what type of results you get from certain type of training. I think economy is the most "mumbo jumbo" aspect in running training right now. Probably because it's the aspect that's most difficult to easily see if it's improving or not.

[@hannahirwin_]

Yes definitely very hard to tell without doing thorough testing! I didn’t really know if mine had improved or not until they told me it had! 😂