Lance Armstrong - One of the Fittest Persons on the Planet

Lance Armstrong is perhaps one of the fittest persons on the planet. Based on his above average VO2 max, authorities on running expected him to do extremely well. Instead he did not finish the New York City Marathon within the time expected. It goes to prove the extremely adaptive nature of the body and why it makes a lot of sense to vary your workouts often to get the most out of your exercise sessions.

Lance Armstrong – One of The Fitness Elites

VO2 Max is a measure of how fit an athlete is. It expresses the volume of oxygen the body consumes in a given minute. Lance Armstrong has recorded a VO2 Max of 84.The average male would have a VO2 Max of between 35 and 45 .

His resting heart rate was recorded at 32-34 beats per minute (bpm). His maximum heart rate was 201 bpm as quoted in his book entitled “The Lance Armstrong Performance Program”. In terms of fitness, he is right up there amongst the fitness elites. His VO2 max values show that he has a “formula one” engine powering him.

How Fast Would Lance Armstrong Run a Marathon

Lance Armstrong at the New York City Marathon

Would a world-class cyclist also be a world-class runner? After all, the action of running is almost similar to the action of cycling.

Based on his amazing fitness levels, experts expected him to stroll to the finish line. Runner’s World Magazine did an interesting comparison to assess how fast Lance Armstrong could finish the race. They compared his fitness numbers to that of Paul Tergat, who was the World Record Holder and New York Marathon defending champion at that time.

The magazine quoted famed running coach Jack Daniels who seemed to be an authority on running, fitness and VO2 max. Daniels who has always been accurate with his correlations, predicted that Lance Armstrong’s VO2 max of 83 was equivalent to a marathon time of 2.06.

Runners Magazine on the other hand, estimated that Lance Armstrong should be able to complete the marathon in 2:01:11, based on his physical qualities. The world record held by Paul Tergat at the time was 2:04: 55.

Lance Armstrong ran the New York City Marathon in 2006 and completed the race in 2: 59: 36. He finished 856th. Lance Armstrong said the marathon was extremely difficult compared to the Tour de France. “For the level of condition that I have now, that was without a doubt the hardest physical thing I have ever done. I never felt a point where I hit the wall. It was really a gradual progression of fatigue and soreness”.

In fact what actually motivated Lance to finish the race may have been a camera dedicated to him throughout the race. He said that this camera had pushed him to continue through points in which he would have normally “stopped and stretched”. One should also not forget that he had stress fractures at the shin during the race and that he completed the race is a salutation to his mental strength.

Lance Armstrong’s time of 2:59:36 is extremely respectable but did not match what running authorities would have expected of him due to his high level of fitness. I wonder how Paul Tergat will do in the Tour de France. That answer may be obvious now.

Every Exercise is Unique But The Body Eventually Adapts

Most people pick an exercise and stick to it. Any exercise is better than no exercise. The only challenge is that when somebody does the same exercise day in and day out, there is probably diminishing returns on the effort put in. This is under the assumption that the exercise is being carried out at the same intensity. Except for the well-informed fitness enthusiast, this is usually the case with most people.

Someone who jogs will probably run the same distance day in and day out. The body would have been well adapted to the stress of running within a couple of weeks. In order to continuously improve fitness or get weight loss, the intensity of exercise must be continuously increased and the style of exercise varied.

Benefits of Varying Exercises

Varying exercises puts different types of stresses on the body. It activates different major and minor muscles. Lance Armstrong’s body was extremely well adapted to cycling. When that same extremely fit body was made to run a marathon, the results were not as expected. A lot of other runners who had considerably lower VO2 max values, were able to beat Lance Armstrong. With training, Lance Armstrong was able to complete the Boston Marathon in 2:46:43 in 2008. This was a tremendous improvement. It goes to show how each exercise or sport highly utilizes one set of muscles. Starting a new exercise or competing in a new sport requires re-training of a whole new set of muscles.

Progressive overload and variation of exercise regimes is essential. Most people who do weight training already know this secret. Unfortunately, very few people use this same principle for their cardiovascular workouts. People should vary their cardio exercises. One should do all the different varieties of cardio exercises available to him or her.

Small Variations Have an Impact

Sometimes small variations have a huge impact. Someone who has only been running on the treadmill will be surprised to find muscle aches when running at the same pace outside. The same is also true for an experienced runner, running on the treadmill for the first time. Someone who is used to free-style swimming will find the breast stroke extremely challenging. Someone who uses the stationary bike will find cycling in the open extremely challenging.

While varying exercises, people should remember to keep track of their progress for each exercise. The next time one does the same exercise, the previous achievement should at least be met or bettered.