Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan
I have read his book which is good. See link below:
https://www.amazon.com/Outlive-Scien...ede125eba48e19
Book is worth reading. Of course I liked it as being a 5000 mi per year rider I am doing well vs the rest of his followers. I also watch his youtube videos as well as Dr Rhonda Patrick who Peter has had on some of his videos.
In a recent video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpCkJs6DKCw he reinforced that VO2max is extremely important. Now that a lot of people are on computerized trainers most know their FTP and there are conversions from FTP to VO2 max. I did mine and I am in the close to 40 range for VO2 max which per Peter's chart is good for 60+ so no worries there. I do really question VO2 max as the best way to measure fitness. I have friends who have much higher FTPs than me but not sure they are really in better shape as their potential is higher.
I am not a PHD scientist but it seems to me that we should be comparing ourselves to our potential not others. I never was the greatest cyclist and never really raced as not fast enough but my endurance was always great. HRV may be a better way to measure fitness achievement vs potential but I haven't looked at mine though it is not hard to calc if you have the right device.
The other thing that Peter and Rhonda do is take the fun out of being in good shape. They focus rightfully on people who train just a few hours a week and that they need HIIT workouts.
I think I do better with 7-10 hours of riding with hills and intervals mixed into the workout. I ride because it is fun and I like riding w friends and being in good shape. Am sure that we are the exception as we have the time and motivation vs 99% of the rest of people who don't care.
Curious to hear others opinions on this and if you have a better way to measure fitness than FTP or VO2 max etc.
Alan
Link to Dr Rhonda Patrick's video is below. I liker hers as well
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxYdkMmtjBs |
I agree with much of your assessment. As a personal trainer, too much fitness advice is oriented toward the outliers. For example (I guess I’m quibbling with your opinion here) people who are deconditioned are NOT going to do well with a HIIT program because it’s just too arduous and they won’t stick with it.
I’ve highlighted some snippets from a recent NYT interview I read with Attia. The financial and time resources (and the two are inevitably intertwined) make his suggestions unattainable.
OTH, I agree with his assessment of functional strength training and think many more cyclists need to do it.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...interview.html
When I read your book, I was thinking, this guy is advising me to pursue a fair bit of medical testing, which I doubt my insurance covers. There’s equipment he thinks I should probably buy. He’s suggesting psychotherapy. This stuff all costs money. So to put it crassly, is your method just for the rich?
The biggest asset class a person needs is not financial; it’s time. It would be delusional of me to say that a single working mom with five kids in the inner city has the same amount of time that the wealthy mom in Beverly Hills has. Of course not. Unfortunately, the truth of it is that health is not fully democratized. There’s a certain income level and disposable time requirement that’s probably necessary. You don’t have to be wealthy, but you have to be above a certain threshold in terms of disposable time and income to spend on good food, gym memberships or exercise equipment at home and those things. I don’t know that dollar amount. I don’t think it’s that high. But it’s certainly higher than where many people are, unfortunately.
All right, we can leave it at that. If you were to say to someone, “If you don’t do anything else to increase your health span,8 at least start doing X,” what would X be?
For most people, the answer is exercise more. Then within that, you can get into the weeds. Many people, I think, are underemphasizing strength training. There’s the sense that, Yep, I’m out there, I’m hiking, I’m walking. Those things are great, but the sine qua non of aging is the shrinkage or atrophy of Type 2 muscle fiber.9 That’s the thing we probably have to guard most against, and you can’t do that without resistance training. Count the number of times in human history when someone in the last decade of their lives said: “I wish I had less muscle mass. I wish I was less strong.” The answer is zero.