Friday, March 14, 2008

Am I in shape or really really out of shape?

So I went to this "body age assessment" that my gym had and here's what I found out:

Body fat % (skin fold test) 17% Optimal (way up over last time I checked)

VO2: 44.4 ml/kg min, Below Average (what the crap? I'm supposed to be a runner!?)

Bicep Strength: Great 103lbs (one pound from being in the highest "excellent" category)

Flexibility: Average

Body age: 19 (I guess thats good?)


So anyhow I was asking my trainer about the VO2 and how I could run better than most people I know with such a sucky VO2 level. He was wondering that too (he had asked before hand what my workout schedule looked like) and told me about AT (aerobic threshold) this is where your body stops using fat for energy and starts using glucose and carbs. You get more energy for longer when you stay below your AT. This is usually a number; your beats per minute when you cross that threshold. Someone in shape will have an AT of anywhere between 160 and 175 is what he said, and told me that his AT is at 178BPM.

I was curious and asked how to get my AT. He said that we could strap a heart monitor on me and hit the treadmill. At first he just kept me at a brisk walking pace and raised the incline every few minutes, he said that was enough to get most people's AT. After about 15 minutes of walking straight up and carrying on a conversation about being a personal trainer with the guy he gave up and started running me. My heart was beating pretty quickly when I was finally at a perceived point of aerobic threshold: 198BPM.

He went on to explain as he shut the treadmill down that I was one of the highest AT's he's ever seen or tested on a person. "one of the most aerobically in shape people I've met, have fun with that" He called as I was heading for the weights.

So.... uh.... I guess I'm in OK shape overall, the really high stats balance the really not so good stats.