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VO2 or CGM? Interesting Stuff....

Friday, 24 March 2017 23:10

By Chris Foster (triathlete.com)

A controversial researcher says the key to speed and delayed fatigue lies in your brain, not in your lungs.

Tim Noakes is a South African scientist and medical doctor who likes to ruffle a lot of feathers. His controversial theories are famous for challenging conventional wisdom on topics ranging from sports medicine to biomechanics to nutrition, like promoting a high-fat, low-carb diet for the general population. But perhaps his most game-changing idea is one that rethinks why athletes slow down....

“The Central Governor Model merely says that the brain regulates exercise performance to ensure that you do not die during exercise,” Noakes says. It seems simple, but the idea rejects a popular view that performance is limited by our ability to use oxygen during intense exercise, a measure known as VO2 max.

In the past, VO2 max testing has been considered a predictor for athletic performance—the higher the VO2 max, measured as milliliters of oxygen processed per minute per kilogram of bodyweight, the faster the athlete. It’s generally thought that at peak VO2 max, athletes begin to slow down because their muscles go anaerobic due to lack of oxygen.  READ MORE