Strongman is definitely not just about strength because you're hitting your anaerobic, your
aerobic system, and you're really working on endurance, fast explosive.
It's really a mix of everything.
The connection between fitness and mental health and how you can actually train your
brain to grow bigger in positive ways through exercise.
So I didn't realise when your heart rate is at 80 to 90% or above you are actually growing
part of the brain which is amazing.
I know I feel the benefits when I exercise, I feel happier, I can think clear, I feel
more organized, I feel less stressed.
The VO2 Max test is quite a high intensity test.
So any high intensity produces a lot of lactate.
And lactate has been associated with brain change, especially in the hippocampus.
Feels ok?
It's not wobbling around?
Now.
Nope, feels ok.
The carbon dioxide levels that we read here are associated with the amount of blood lactate
that's circulating through your body.
Every three minutes, the speed will increase two kilometers per hour.
And ideally, you want to go for as long as you can tolerate the test for.
So currently, your heart rate is at 140 beats once you go past your lactate threshold, you'll
feel more accelerated fatigue.
Then we’ll go up to 10 kilometers per hour.
Lactate can cross the blood brain barrier.
And it starts to stimulate a whole host of processes involved in growing brain cells.
Helping brain cells talk to each other and changing the biochemistry in the brain.
We believe that exercise can improve the mental wellness in our population, brain health and
our population and has quite significant anti aging effects on the brain.
In your strongman events, those high heart rates that you experience, it's likely that
they are doing a lot of good things to your brain.
Okay, up to 12 kilometers per hour now.
Amazing.
You're almost at a lactate threshold.
14 kilometers per hour.
We don't have too many participants that get to this stage.
Great.
Press the stop button there for me.
Amazing.
Very, very good.
Oh my god.
I feel so alive.
I feel really good.
I feel like I've just had like two coffees or big coffee shots, I feel wired.
Your VO2 max achieved on the treadmill.
So the most amount of oxygen your body can utilise to exercise is approximately 47 that
puts you in the top 1% of the population, for your age and gender.
Very good.
That's really very good.
Wow.
I wouldn't call myself a runner, but it shows me that my strongman training has actually
continued to benefit my cardiovascular fitness.
I didn't realise how much it did because I really thought I was gonna cark it a lot earlier.