Good vs. Great: Ranking VO2 Max, Threshold, & Economy with Brady Holmer

Brady Holmer has a Master's degree in Human Performance, writes the incredibly popular Physiologically Speaking newsletter, and has recently run a 2:24 marathon.

He also trains unconventionally: gone are the 100-mile weeks and in place of them are moderate mileage weeks (60-80) with 10+ hours of cycling. 

In this episode, we rank the core 3 performance metrics of VO2 Max, Lactate Threshold, and Running Economy and discuss how they interact with physiological resiliency, how they can be improved, and which one is the most important. 

Extra Resources:

• Zone 2 Myths, Heart Rate vs. Effort, Heat Training, and Zone 3 (one of our most popular episodes with Brady!)
• How to Improve the 3 Threshold (LT1, LT2, and VO2 Max)
• Jason's VO2 Max test (video)
• How to start strength training

Thank you Previnex!

Get yourself 15% off your first purchase with code jason15 here. Previnex is a unique supplement company - one that I trust because they do things differently when they don’t have to. Their products use clinically proven ingredients, are tested before and after formulation, and they donate vitamins to needy kids.

Maybe more importantly, their products do what they say they’re going to do. Listen to this feedback about Joint Health Plus!

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Joint Health Plus is so powerful because the main active ingredient is clinically proven to reduce joint pain, reduce joint stiffness, and improve joint flexibility in just 7-10 days. It’s also clinically proven, not just tested, but actually proven in double-blinded, placebo- controlled studies to protect joint cartilage from breaking down during exercise.

You can get 15% off your first Previnex purchase by using code jason15 at checkout. Visit previnex.com. Previnex offers a 30-day money back guarantee where if you don't feel benefits on their product you get your money back no questions asked. And keep sending in those testimonials. They fire me up!

Thank you Lever!

Lever is back as a sponsor and I couldn't be more excited. They make a treadmill attachment that reduces your body weight, letting you run more mileage than you typically could with less injury risk.  

They’re also trusted by physical therapists, where they’re commonly used during injury recovery so you can keep running with less load and impact. They're a "secret weapon" during rehab of many pro runners.

Lever attaches to any treadmill and you hook into it like a harness. It effectively makes you lighter, allowing you to do more running with less risk. So maybe you want to build more mileage, or run hard workouts but you’re hesitant because of injury concerns. The pro’s have been using Lever for years, letting them get the advantage of more training with fewer injuries.

I had the chance to go for a run using Lever and it was deceptively easy to set up and use. All of a sudden, I was running 7min mile pace with the heart rate of 8:30 pace. You can see it in action on our YouTube channel.

Go to levermovement.com and use code Strength20 (with a capital S) for 20% off any system!