I dislike being anaerobic – i.e., being out of breath. I have said on many occasions I would rather run 50 miles than do a 5k. And, for the most part that is true.
However, I begrudingly acknowledge that a little bit of anaerobic action is actually quite a good thing. In fact, I rather enjoy it.
Case in point: tabata intervals.
On Thursday, I was scheduled to do a tabata intervals style workout for the bike. All told, the interval portion of the workout was a mere 4 minutes.
How bad could it be for just 4 minutes?
I believe the picture of my face gives you the answer to that question.
Permit me to be a bit more specific.
I pumped out the highest watts ever. By a lot.
I saw the highest heart rate I’ve ever seen while cycling. And, without even looking at my watch, I knew my heart was working. It was up in my ears somewhere.
My chest hurt for about 30 minutes after the workout was over. I believe I found Jimmy Hoffa. He has apparently been in my chest, and has been dislodged after all the heavy panting. At least, one of the loogies that I ejected could have been Jimmy Hoffa.
I was sweating in volumes that one might achieve after 4 hours of cycling, rather than 4 minutes. Seriously. My clothes were dripping.
For 10 full minutes following the intervals, I was drooling like a dog. I could NOT get the saliva to stop pouring out of my mouth. There is a river of spit underneath my trainer.
Yet, despite all of the pain, I really loved this workout. I felt so powerful, and I could tell I was pushing my body in a way that it had never been pushed before. That is pretty exciting and empowering.
I also really hated this workout. Yeah, it’s that good.
Why Tabata Intervals?
The research suggests that all of this pain is worth it, especially for athletes over the age of 35. Declines in speed, strength and power begin around age 35, due to a loss of muscle mass (sarcopenia), decreased VO2 max, and a loss of muscle power.
Point of fact: starting around the age of 30, we can expect to lose about 10% of VO2max per decade, and after the age of 60 or so, this accelerates much faster. Yikes!
The bad news: we can’t reverse this process. It may start sooner or later for some of us. But, it’s going to start.
But, there’s good news! The research suggests that we can slow this process down, almost to the point of making it imperceptible until our 50s or 60s when the declines become steeper. So, if we train with the aging body in mind, we can continue to go for fast finishes.
What does all of this have to do with tabatas and drooling all over my bike? I’m getting there.
While not 100% conclusive, the decline in VO2max seems to be the number one predictor of age-related declines in speed, followed by a decrease in lactate threshold. Incorporating training sessions at these intensities can help to slow the decline into the old home abyss.
Why? Again, the science isn’t 100% conclusive, but there are several compelling theories. First, intense exercise sessions promote effective oxygen delivery to our muscles, and it seems that the delivery of oxygen–not the extraction of oxygen–is the issue for the aging body.
Second, high intensity exercise encourages the production of human growth hormone–just 10 minutes of exercise above lactate threshold will release this precious resource, which becomes ever scarcer as we age.
Third, vigorous exercise helps to maintain the integrity of fast twitch muscle fibers, which is nice if we want to go fast.
Studies of both active and inactive older adults support these theories. If we want to maintain performance, we need to go hard sometimes. Athletes who maintain some high intensity sessions in their training programs experience a slower rate of decline in speed, strength and power than those who do not include some intensity.
This doesn’t mean we need to incorporate high intensity intervals, such as tabatas, into our training program every day. If we did, we’d find ourselves injured very quickly. Every 5-10 days, we can incorporate a high intensity workout for each discipline (stagger them format effect). These workouts should be followed by adequate recovery. In addition to these intensity sessions, strength training (weight/resistance-based) and mobility and range-of-motion training (think yoga) can help slow down the loss of lean muscle mass.
So, I’m happy to get a little breathless. Bring on the panting, sweaty sessions, filled with drool and vomit, and we’ll keep showing those young whipper snappers how it’s done. 😉
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Just in case you are thinking I’m making this stuff up, here are some of the sources that support these ideas:
Bieuzen, F., Hausswirth, C., Louis, J., and Brisswalter, J. 2010. Age-related changes in neuromuscular function and performance following a high-intensity intermittent task in endurance-trained men. Gerontology, 56(1): 66-72.
Chakravarty, E.F., Hubert, H.B., Lingala, V.B., and Fries, J.F. 2008. Reduced disability and mortality among aging runners: A 21 year longitudinal study. Archives of Internal Medicine, 168(15): 1638-1646.
Pimentel, A.E., Gentile, C.L., Tanaka, H., Seals, D.R., and Gates, P.E. 2003. Greater rate of decline in maximal aerobic capacity with age in endurance-trained than in sedentary men. Journal of Applied Physiology, 94(6): 2406-2413.
Radak, Z., Chung, H.Y., Koltai, E., Taylor, A.W., and Goto, S. 2008. Exercise, oxidative stress and hormesis. Aging Research Reviews, 7(1): 34-42.
Tanaka, H., and Seals, D.R. 2008. Endurance exercise performance in Masters athletes: age-associated changes and underlying physiological mechanisms. The Journal of physiology, 586(1): 55-63.
Trappe, S., Costill, D.L., Vukovich, M.D., Jones, J., and Melham, T. 1996. Aging among elite distance runners: A 22 year longitudinal study. Journal of Applied Physiology 80(1): 285-290.
