Chris

[Alan Couzens @Alan_Couzens]

"But all my races are very close to VO2max, relying almost exclusively on Carbohydrate. Why should I care about 'fat burning'?"

A very common misunderstanding is the thought that VO2max is the top of the intensity pyramid.

Your VO2max - your maximal Oxygen Uptake is the sum of the entire intensity pyramid.

When you reach VO2max intensities, all of the muscle fibers below VO2max are working to contribute to the effort - your Slow Twitch fibers, your intermediate Fast Oxidative fibers and a portion of your "Big Daddy" Fast Glycolytic fibers.

Because of this, the number that you see at the end of a VO2max test is the *sum of* the ability of all of these fiber types to take up and utilize O2 to produce energy.

More plainly, if you want a high VO2max, you want ALL of these fibers to be very well conditioned to extract and utilize O2.

The Slow Twitch fibers are particularly important because they have the ability to achieve very high levels of mitochondrial proliferation (represented by the red circles in the chart). More mitochondria = more O2 uptake &, when it comes to mitochondria, well trained ST fibers have it in abundance!

For a well trained athlete, the greatest contribution to VO2max will come from the Slow Twitch fibers!

The downside of this fatigue resistance of your ST fibers is that it takes a lot of contractions to train them. Years of high frequency contractions to fully train them. This is where fat comes in.

While ST fibers can use both carbohydrate and fat as a substrate, when the metabolic (nutritional) & hormonal environment is right, they love to use fat to power the contractions. The advantage of this is that, even the leanest athlete has a LOT more fat than carbohydrate energy stores, so providing they have the ability to utilize it, they can power A LOT of contractions and maximally train these fibers.

When they lack the ability to utilize fat as a substrate, they will always be limited by their carbohydrate stores and will run out of energy before fully training these fibers. Because of that, they will miss out on a huge potential contributor to their overall VO2max!

This is why developing fat burning is important for ALL endurance athletes, even short distance specialists...

In order to rack up the number of contractions to fully train the VO2 of your slow twitch fibers, over-reliance on Carbs is going to be a massive limiter.

[Chris @CFlynn_1x]

Pelicans fishing on this unusually calm late fall afternoon.

[Alex Gregory @AlexGregoryGB]

Resistance on the rowing machine…
Harder does not mean better…

#rowingmachine #concept2 #rower

[BIAC @BIACRWC]

@CFlynn_1x You are the one who trained us to love small boats

[Chris @CFlynn_1x]

Oh wait, I did that one.

[Chris @CFlynn_1x]

More like pick a boat of BIAC athletes with multiple accepted #HOCR 1x entries…

[BIAC @BIACRWC]

@CFlynn_1x It might hallucinate that @MollyRexRows still rows for BIAC

https://t.co/yK6dP8DHso

[Chris @CFlynn_1x]

So I shouldn’t use AI to determine my seat race switches.

[BIAC @BIACRWC]

Generative AI not #Winning

https://t.co/WAXjZXfJLA

[Chris @CFlynn_1x]

Mother Nature wrecking havoc on my seat racing plans.

[Smithsonian Magazine @SmithsonianMag]

For the first time in two years, skywatchers will have the chance to witness a second full moon in a month—and this one will be extra spectacular. https://t.co/qsEJE60t0a

[BIAC @BIACRWC]

.@karakohler_usa will be racing at @WorldRowing Championships in a boat named "Bair Island"

GO, KARA! GO, USA!

https://t.co/nXX20Vynyh

[Chris @CFlynn_1x]

@BIACRWC In under 10 seconds. That’s a true sprint, but even looks to be pacing until he surges right at the end.

[Chris @CFlynn_1x]

From hence forth a cluster of Black Holes will be known as a Boathouse.

[Chris @CFlynn_1x]

@BIACRWC Mick Jagger would clean up at Masters Nats.

[Chris @CFlynn_1x]

To hell with the silver medal… here, now in this moment, with these strokes…

[BIAC @BIACRWC]

Having just re-read the last chapters of "Assault on Lake Casitas", I gotta say it is the best rower's view of training and competition, beautifully written

https://t.co/myEBbF6z71

[BIAC @BIACRWC]

The final count: 144 #NLTR #LearnToRow

Awesome #Volunteers

[Chris @CFlynn_1x]

All the way to the dock. @BIACRWC

[USRowing @usrowing]

⭐ New blog post ⭐

US Para National Team athlete Andrew Mangan on balancing life, rowing and academics: https://t.co/GXkT7Q71hI

[Chris @CFlynn_1x]

@boston_sculler @BIACRWC 👍

[Chris @CFlynn_1x]

So surprised to find a little snake in the boatyard today. This is a first. Apparently some old C2 oar boxes rotting away were an enticing home. @BIACRWC members get 10 seconds off the next 2k if they can identify.

[Chris @CFlynn_1x]

@DAStedman @BIACRWC We have a winner!

[Chris @CFlynn_1x]

@BIACRWC Probably to busy hiding from the skunks.