Correlation of Sub-maximal effort to conditioning

[atabi]

I'm sure you've all seen/heard Rip describe how increased strength, by making each repetition of an activity such as biking more sub-maximal, can result in improvements in aerobic/conditioning performance.

I have two personal pieces of supporting evidence.

Tennis: I rallied continuously for about 45 minutes with a coach a month ago, the first time I'd done so in several years (I play casually maybe once a year). Three notable outcomes. First, I didn't get winded during the session, nor did I feel spent or sore afterward. This surprised me and others. Second, the first point was true even though I was delivering a higher level of exertion than I could pre-SS, since a key differentiator in tennis is to hit low balls from a lunge/squat position rather than by bending down from the waist. I was startled by the difference. Third, and I've observed this in other activities, I tend to start breathing heavily very soon after starting an activity, but I don't get exhausted as quickly.

Skiing: I just spent a week on my family's annual trip. While there were some differences in ski boots this year, this event repeats itself very consistently: same mountain, generally the same runs, same daily routine, consistent weather, sleep patterns, etc. If anything, exertion was a bit higher this year as the kids are older and more capable. Skiing is mainly a 1/4 to 1/2 squat motion. Two observations: First, I was less fatigued than usual, much less sore at the end of some runs than usual, and not sore at all at the end of the week which is unusual. Second, my performance was a better but not as noticeable an improvement as the tennis experience.

Background: 46 YO, 205 lbs, SS for several months on a very slow but steady progression ("functional intermediate"). I stopped all conditioning activity several months ago to focus on strength, but I'm not sedentary, probably averaging 2-3 miles a day of walking for work commute and errands.

[Tzal]

I did 50 push ups in a row today without having performed a push up in several months. I used some bench press cues, lats activated, shoulder blades tucked, elbows not too wide. I wasn't winded afterwards. Maintaining a good plank position was easy. I know 50 in a row is not a world beating performance, but I couldn't do that after a few weeks of getting coached by Tony Horton and Shaun T specifically on the push up.

So consider this Exhibit C.