VO2 Max -- also known as maximal oxygen consumption, maximal oxygen uptake or aerobic capacity -- is a measure of the maximum oxygen capacity , or how much air an athlete can use. The name is a combination of volume (V) and oxygen (O2). VO2 Max is considered to be the most accurate indication of an individual's aerobic endurance and cardiovascular fitness.

Calculating VO2 Max is done in a controlled environment such as a sports performance laboratory. The athlete is required to perform an exercise at maximum effort, such as running on a treadmill, while their oxygen uptake is recorded. The point at which oxygen consumption levels out is known as the VO2 Max. Their values vary depending on gender and age -- values can typically range from 17.0 (very poor performance) to 60.0 (very superior performance.)

Your VO2 Max is largely determined by your genetics, but research indicates that you can increase it through training. The most effective method for increasing VO2 Max is by engaging in continuous exercise that raises the heart rate to at least 70 percent of your maximum rate for 20 to 60 minutes three times a week.

Once you know your VO2 Max, be sure to check out other highly recommended online calculators.

sxc.hu

Next time you're sweating it out at the gym, pump up the volume on your iPod. Recent studies showed that women who listened to their workout tunes a bit louder than usual not only increased the intensity of the workout but were in a better mood too. During the study, women who listened to loud music did 36 reps of the leg press, compared to 29 reps for women who listened to low or medium-volume music and 26 reps for those who listened to no music at all.

While the findings were true for both cardio and strength training exercises, the difference was most noticeable in participants who were pumping iron. Could it be that listening to music takes your mind off the fact that good grief, this hurts like heck? Yep, study author Janet McMordie tells MSNBC: "Psychologically, music gets you pumped up and it also distracts you from what you're doing," she says. Additionally, listening to music helps bust boredom in even the most routine workout.

A word of caution, though -- don't crank your tunes too much. Prolonged exposure to levels of 85 decibels or higher can permanently damage your hearing.

Ready to fire up your fitness? Check out our That's Fit playlist, sure to inspire you through the toughest of sets.

What are your favorite workout tunes?

I've long ago gotten over the bar scene. But there was a time when my weekends (read Thursday, sometimes Wednesday) through Sunday) were spent in a bar every night. How I ever survived my college years, I'll never know. Back in the day, the louder the music the better. Sometimes the music was so loud you could barely think, much less talk to your friends. According to French researchers, when the music is too loud to even think... you just may be partaking in a little more drink.

This small-scale study worked with local pubs and studied the customers' reactions when the music was at different levels. The louder the music, the more people drank. The average amount rose to 3.4 drinks per patron with loud music, compared to 2.6 drinks when the volume is turned down. In addition, the length of time to consume a drink dropped more than 3 minutes when the music was loud.

So if you're heading out to the bar soon, be sure to pace yourself. It's great to have rhythm on the dance floor -- but there's no need to stick to the beat when it comes to your drinks!

Source

With the exception of the more hardcore weightlifting magazines, very seldom do you come across articles on strength. Finding an article on how to drop ten pounds or how to shape and tone muscles is quite common. But, finding a piece on how to increase your bench press? You may have to look elsewhere.

This is likely because most people reading health and wellness publications are more concerned with total body fitness than hoisting up as much weight as possible. Still, not everyones fitness goals are the same, and there exists a fair amount of people who are interested in knowing how to become stronger.

For those people, and for those who may just be curious, it appears as though the greatest strength gains are to be had when three-minute rest periods are taken between sets. According to the Journal of Strength Conditioning Research, a study determined that of one-minute, two-minute, and three-minute rest periods, allowing your body to recover for the more ample amount of time will enable you to lift more during your next set. And, over time, this higher volume training will result in stronger lifts.

Source

A lot of us use earbuds or headphones pretty regularly, whether it's while working out or during a long subway commute or whatever, and most of us barely give our health and our hearing a second thought while choosing a playlist and adjusting the volume. But research shows we should be giving it some thought, as causing permanent hearing damage is easier than you might think. Experts have suggested some listening guidelines based on how loud you like to crank your tunes (these are for earbuds):

• At 80% of the maximum volume you shouldn't listen for longer than 1.2 - 1.5 hours at a time
• At 70% of the max volume you can listen for quite a bit longer: 4.6 - 6.0 hours
• And if you can keep it to 50% of the max or lower you can listen as long as you want

I have no idea what percentage I usually have my iPod set on, but I'm gonna figure it out!

Source

Whenever I eat an egg or two at breakfast, I always know it'll be a healthy eating day. I'd eat eggs every morning, except I get tired of same 'ole, same 'ole.

In a recent study, researchers at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center examined the weight loss merits of eating two eggs at breakfast versus a bagel. Both foods are equal in calories and volume (that surprised me), but eggs have more protein. The egg-eaters lost 65 percent more weight, significantly slimmed their waists and enjoyed higher energy levels.

Keep in mind, participants were on a low-fat/reduced calorie diet, eating eggs five mornings a week for eight weeks. This certainly makes the case for cracking a couple eggs instead of slicing a bagel, but how many people would actually eat eggs five mornings a week? Check out this WebMD article to find other foods to ease your hunger.

Source

If someone asked you to list the health dangers of loud music you'd probably come up with things like hearing and ear damage, and maybe safety related to being distracted. But lung collapse? Wouldn't have crossed my mind, not until I read this article anyway, which reports on cases where loud music caused a pneumothorax (lung collapse) in several young men. A few of the cited cases happened at concerts, and 1 was of a guy in his car listening to his 1,000 watt bass system. Experts are guessing it's the vibration of the bass in the loud music that can cause the problem -- essentially the lungs start to vibrate along with the beat and end up rupturing.

Something to think about the next time you head to a concert -- don't stand too close to the loudspeakers!

Source

While many generations before us have struggled with famine, one of the biggest problems that plagues our generation is over-indulgence. We're a culture that can get too much of a good thing -- we overeat on a regular basis. Blogsoop has uncovered the top reasons why we overeat:

• We let visual cues tell us how much to eat
  
• Proximity and visibility of food doesn't help either; it's always there, tempting us.
• We're affected by the volume of food -- if our food had more air in it, it might make a big difference in how much we actually eat
• We accept that the serving size that something comes in is the optimal amount
• We ignore the influence that outside influences have on how much we eat

For more helpful information, including studies to back up these claims, check out the full article.

Source