Pods: Oskar Svendsen, Zone 2, and the 1% Rule.
Lots to cover in this one so we’ll just bounce from pod to pod. We hit running, the VO2max GOD, Whoop, habits, productivity and MORE ZONE 2.
That’s quite a diverse group of topics so here’s a quick breakdown to see what might quench your knowledge thirst for the week!
The Drive #151: Alex Hutchinson, PhD, Translating the Science of Endurance and Extreme Human Performance (2hr 15min). Alex is the author of Endure and a well known journalist in the space of science and endurance athletes, as well as a respectable runner himself.
If you like smart people talking about smart things in the world of running and endurance this is a must listen. They spend a lot of time discussing VO2max, ‘the size of your engine’, and its relevance to the sport.
Does it matter?! (Of course…but how much?)
They discuss the case of Oskar Svendsen, a Norwegian cyclist who fell out of bed with an untrained V02max of 74.6 ml/kg/min. GODLY.
For reference, the juiced up cheating machine that is Lance Armstrong topped the scales at 84.0 ml/kg/min. (Give him back those yellows!)
With some training Oskar broke the record by posting a reading of 96.7 ml/kg/min, an absolute value of 7.397 L/min. Those numbers are jaw dropping, this guys a beast. But if you’re wondering why you’ve never heard of him it’s because his career was over shortly after he started. It turns out that building the biggest engine possible doesn’t necessarily translate to elite performance in the racing world. He was undoubtably very inefficient.
You can read Alex’s piece on Oskar here
The two bounce around discussing some hypotheses for why someone with such genetic potential couldn’t put it all together by posing the question: “If you build a bigger engine (VO2max), do you get a less efficient engine (economy)?”
Is there an inverse relationship between the two?
The answer is seemingly inconclusive but from a genetics stand point it seems unlikely to hit the mark on both engine size and engine efficiency. If you’re elite, you have one or the other, but there must be a sweet spot to up-train your weakness to.
There doesn’t seem to be a clear report on what Oskar’s training was, but it certainly included VO2max efforts. Perhaps if he had spent less time increasing his genetic gift and more time working on his economy he could have put it all together?
Nonetheless, having the highest VO2max is pretty cool.
They spend some time discussing the 2hr marathon, running as it pertains to general health, and HIIT.
Peterattiamd IGTV: Zone 2 (55min)
If you’re wondering about all the referencing to zone 2 that I’ve been doing, this is a great listen. Peter unpacks a number of topics around the subject.
Zone 2 is the highest level of energy (output) you can produce keeping lactate <2mmol. This is completely separate from the 7 FTP zones in cycling which are heart rate based and is different again from max aerobic function, however there are similarities.
This should be a pace/intensity that you can keep up all day and hold a convo at.
By using lactate as a measure you can dial in the specificity even further but that requires a meter or access to a lab.
Whoop Podcast: Will Ahmed discusses entrepreneurship, building WHOOP, and the future of technology (1hr)
Will discusses his path from building a start up at Harvard to a billion dollar product in the wearable health tech space. He discusses the product and how he built a team to grow it by hiring people with two distinct qualities "intensity and humility”. The drive or desire to be the best at what they do but the understanding that there are other people in the room with good ideas too.
Overall, a solid low key listen. A good introduction to the product if you’ve never heard of it or don’t know much about it.
Whoop Podcast: Study w/ US Army Looks at Alaska Soldiers HRV and Resilience (1hr). I listened to this one as I was curious what the study design was actually looking at. Sure enough they didn’t release too many details other than there will be 2 or 3 intervention groups alongside a control group, with all groups monitoring recovery and strain through the Whoop strap. Lack of sleep and recovery is a common theme in the military (so they say) and this is only compounded in Alaska with the remote, dark, and cold location. Lack of sunlight and vit D are huge concerns, as well as mental health.
The goal of this study is to see if they can create a more resilient and effective soldier by basing training decisions on the Whoop score. (Let’s go U.S.A.)
Not much else to say about this one, curious to see what the interventions are as our winters in Edmonton are much the same.
My good buddy recommended 2 pods in genres I don’t typically listen to. The Finding Mastery Pod w/ James Clear (1hr 10min) and The Daily Stoic w/ Cal Newport: The Art of Time Blocking (1hr 5min). Both James and Cal are successful authors with loads to talk about in the habit and productivity space.
I personally haven’t read their work but am familiar w/ James’ book “Atomic Habits”. (Which I have now acquired and begun to read.) I’m sure many of the topics discussed by James are in the book and this would likely be a good intro to if the book would be right for you.
The concept of getting 1% better everyday seems to be a driving force to James’ ideas and he outlines the concept with a case study of the British Cycling Team in the early 2000s.
Cal speaks more to his ideas on increasing productivity in a day, specifically days when you don’t have much in the schedule but a laundry list of things to get done. He advocates for time blocking in these scenarios as a way to stay focused and committed to the task at hand. This creates a sense of achievement as you accomplish task after task rather than trying to multi-task a number of things at once and never really completing any of them.
He has produced a daily planner that allows you to build and adapt your day in real time to more effectively accomplish what needs to get done. By operating in this way it also gives you a real sense of how long things take to be accomplished and where you might be burning through time in your day.
Both are good listens and offer some insights into different aspects of personal and professional life.
As always, if you’ve made it to here, thanks for reading and I hope you find value in some of these pods!
