What is the best way to improve vo2 max?

because they can't

And in addition they say that the Tabata method, 20seconds sprint 10 seconds rest repeat x8 can improve aerobic capacity by 14%. Should distance runners try this method?

Short term yes, but all these studies are not long enough to prove that this is the method. Many years of experience (these are the real experiments!) shows that high volume combined with a lot of running at threshold is the way to go.

Run 100 miles a wk

Just take the damn thyroid meds already.

V02 max student wrote:

sources on the web say that sprinting intervals can boost vo2 max faster than

running at Vvo2 max. Is this true? if it then why dont distance runners sprint to improve their aerobic capacity.

It is true. Sprinting lots of hard intervals is the quickest way to boost your VO2 max, aside from amputating your arm or something (it's L*min/kg remember).

Why don't distance runners do it? Because distance running is not a "highest VO2 max" contest. It's a competition for who can complete X distance the fastest. Therefore, you should focus on workouts that specifically train you to run at that pace for that distance. That's not too complicated, is it?

Those workouts are also the same workouts that target V02 max.

FUTW wrote:

V02 max student wrote:

sources on the web say that sprinting intervals can boost vo2 max faster than

running at Vvo2 max. Is this true? if it then why dont distance runners sprint to improve their aerobic capacity.

It is true. Sprinting lots of hard intervals is the quickest way to boost your VO2 max, aside from amputating your arm or something (it's L*min/kg remember).

Why don't distance runners do it? Because distance running is not a "highest VO2 max" contest. It's a competition for who can complete X distance the fastest. Therefore, you should focus on workouts that specifically train you to run at that pace for that distance. That's not too complicated, is it?

You should review your assumptions.

Most distance runners train to race faster. It's not a VO2max contest.

Most "balanced" training schedules include interval training -- distance runners ARE already sprinting as part of their training.

I know its not a vo2 max contest but why cant they use it , its like as shortcut to boost their performance?

VO2 max student wrote:

I know its not a vo2 max contest but why cant they use it , its like as shortcut to boost their performance?

Because boosting VO2 max in itself does not boost performance... 5K training just so happens to boost VO2 max but again that just happens to be a result of training, it is not the goal of training.

Notice how XC skiing athletes have the highest VO2 max of any other sport, but I haven't seen any coaches recommend XC skiing to help running performance and you don't see skiers running world-class 5Ks.

As others have pointed out there is a gap in the VO2 max logic (not just you but many people make these mistakes)

1. Distance training tends to improve VO2 max

2. Distance training improves distance performance

However, from this it does NOT follow that if X improves VO2 max, then X will improve distance performance

If you cut off your arms/cauterize stumps and shave your whole body right after, but make sure to reintroduce as much of the blood from your arms back into your body. Fastest way fsho

Because it is not a shortcut to boost their performance. Most distance runners already do interval training to build both aerobic and anaerobic capacity. They are already "using it".You ask wrong questions based on wrong assumptions.

VO2 max student wrote:

I know its not a vo2 max contest but why cant they use it , its like as shortcut to boost their performance?

VO2max is, as the "3000 pace" thing implies, the maximum O2 use you can sustain. That doesn't mean you can't use more oxygen than that for shorter periods of time. I think terms like "oxygen debt" lead people to think that if they exceed VO2max they will fall into a hole or something. It's not possible to use oxygen that isn't there.

It is possible to tie up by exceeding "lactate" threshold, which is a lower sustainability benchmark. vVO2 is faster than a threshold run.

Try a long series of on/off sprint intervals at around 800 pace, using the off intervals to recover to right around LT level. It is possible to go well beyond the breath rate and oxygen use that you reach during a 3000m race. Because the on segments are not sustained, you can go faster, using more oxygen-burning muscle, which uses more oxygen.

Think of an athlete like a petroleum-using country, and oxygen-using muscle like cars. How much petroleum can Norway use, compared to the United States? Not much, despite being a petroleum exporter, meaning they can efficiently support their own needs for probably several centuries. They have plenty of petroleum but not that many cars. They are like marathon runners - big hearts, lots of blood, little muscles. The US is like a middle distance or long sprinter - big hearts, lots of blood, big muscles. Uses lots of petroleum, and fast.

Building your type 1 muscle will increase your absolute maximum O2 consumption, as long as your CV system can deliver the extra O2. To a point, it will also increase your sustained maximum. Improving limiting factors like LT should do the same, though I think that's really essentially aerobic work too. Also running economy at vVO2 matters.

Training around target race pace should get the best results, no matter how they happen. Adaptation is specific.

All these meatheads use the word "sprint" when they really just mean "run hard". Just about any track work a distance runner does is done at this non-runner definition of "sprint".What kind of pace can anybody run for 20s fast 10s rest anyway? Probably no more than mile pace after the second one, if you're really running them as fast as possible.

V02 max student wrote:

And in addition they say that the Tabata method, 20seconds sprint 10 seconds rest repeat x8 can improve aerobic capacity by 14%. Should distance runners try this method?

You keep using that word wrote:

All these meatheads use the word "sprint" when they really just mean "run hard". Just about any track work a distance runner does is done at this non-runner definition of "sprint".

What kind of pace can anybody run for 20s fast 10s rest anyway? Probably no more than mile pace after the second one, if you're really running them as fast as possible.

Apparently you haven't heard of the almighty Tabata workout, popular among Xfit types. You SPRINT 20 seconds, then 10 seconds rest, then SPRINT it again. This of course means the final (usually 6th) interval is horrifically slow. It's not a good way to train, because you aren't teaching yourself to relax at race pace but rather the opposite, you're teaching yourself to always be out of control. But by the Xfitters don't train to perform, they are masochists who like to maximize the amount of PAIN they can endure.

Lewandowski wrote:

You SPRINT 20 seconds, then 10 seconds rest, then SPRINT it again. This of course means the final (usually 6th) interval is horrifically slow.

No doubt due to out-of-control acidosis. The point of aerobic sprint intervals is to isolate type 1 by limiting the anaerobic contribution. But not to the point where you can't sprint.

Recover just enough to hit the target pace. This usually means variable recovery instead of a set period.

VO2max in trained athletes doesn't change much at all. The biggest problem with the Daniels approach is too much emphasis on 3k-5k paced running for runners specializing in other distances.

Losing weight is the best approach.

If you're talking workouts, you want to stimulate the fastest possible acceleration in heart rate. This is done by running uphill, as the longer contractions force the heart to work harder pumping blood through contracted muscles. You simply cannot stimulate the same kind of HRdelta running on the flats. 45-60 seconds hard uphill, with subsequent repetitions beginning once the heart rate gets down to 70% works well.

Nothing wrong with this approach. You can see the work of Veronique Billat and her 30 on/3 off intervals. As you progress, each 30 sec effort actually becomes more and more aerobic as PC system cannot get fully restored and glycolytic system is impaired.

Remember the alternating 200s that Oregon would run?