I spent two and a half hours at
UVA's Exercise Physiology Lab and to be honest I have a lot of information to digest. First and foremost is the fact that after discussions of my results and the technology I was easily convinced that it would be best to wait for 6 months before returning for a second run of tests. I guess that means this is turning into more of a St. Patty's Challenge and honestly that goes a bit better with a name like Brady Nutrition and my known vices :-)
If you are familiar with the UVA medical center you know it pays to know where to park and were to not even try, especially at lunch time. I remembered this after a few laps through some clogged full parking lots, just head straight to the parking garage!
I was greeted by Shannon Slovensky, an Exercise Physiology Researcher, and we headed back to the lab. First stop was the
Bodpod and a little paperwork. Before I go any further, I have to add that Shannon was the first person that contacted me from the lab. She was extremely responsive and helpful. Shannon walked me through all the tests the lab conducts and helped me understand how each would meet my goals. Shannon discussed some basics with me concerning the bodpod and handed me the first pair of bikini underwear I had or would ever experience. I had three runs in the pod, each lasting less than a minute, and the last run involved me following some specific breathing instructions into a tube located in the pod. The bodpod uses air displacement technology to develop the measurements and you can tell by pressure you can feel inside the tube, a bit like the first couple minutes being in a pressurized plane.
So now it was off to the larger lab area where the treadmill was located. I had read all kinds of material on how blood might be collected and the nerves I had been carrying around all day were now at full peak. See the truth is, I cannot handle needles at all. Shannon informed me that the nurse would be up in a few minutes to put in a line, a line I thought sounded more invasive and needly than the finger pricks I read about online. I think I was starting to turn flush and the nurse hadn't even arrived. I ate up two Lara Bars and chugged some Brady Nutrition Endurance Drink to fuel up for the run. The nurse arrived a few minutes later and got to work. This is where Shannon really shined by encouraging me to go on about paleo and my training techniques. This totally kept my mind off the line being placed in my hand.
After about 5 minutes of watching my color completely return, Shannon got me up on the treadmill and attached a bunch of electrodes to my body. Judy Weltman, the Excercise Phisyology Core Laboratory Manager, helped suit me up in what looked like a sweet mesh tanktop I wore back in 1985. This mesh was to keep all the wires from flailing around while I was running. Next it was time to strap on the Darth Vader mask. Let me tell you this thing really limited my visibility which makes staying in a general area on the treadmill a little challenging.
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Judy let me know how the test would be run and how and when she would pull each blood draw. The test started at a 12 minute pace and increased by 1/2 mph every three minutes. At each three minute mark Judy drew blood from my line to test my lactate levels and Shannon asked me how I felt on the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale. The run went great and I felt very good for most of it. I lasted over 25 minutes and when I pulled the plug I was definitely spent.
I cooled down a bit and then spent about 30 minutes discussing my results with Dr. Weltman. He asked what my goals were, explained all the results, and gave me some solid recommendations based on my goals and results. I also asked Dr. Weltman a number of questions concerning training and nutrition and he gave me very detailed and informative feedback. It was a very valuable discussion for me and the development of my training and nutritional philosophies.
I am going to post the details of my results and baseline measurements in my next blog entry after I have had some time to digest them and rethink my Christmas Challenge into a St. Patty's Challenge. I would like to thank Shannon, Judy, and Dr. Weltman for the awesome experience. I only wish I had gone months ago to have a baseline prior to my major lifestyle changes. I highly recommend their services especially if you are just beginning a serious lifestyle change or want to take your training to the next level. I look forward to my next visit, minus the needles. Go check them out on their facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/uvaexlab or shoot them an email at
exlab@virginia.edu and let them know Chuck Brady sent you.
As promised, here are my baseline statistics. I highlighted some key measures I will be most interested in when I get tested again in about 6 months. I was pretty surprised by the 12.9% body fat and setting a goal of 10-12% body fat by Christmas or St Patty's is hardly a significant challenge. This also highlights the incredible inaccuracy of my home scale in measuring body fat. My pace at lactate threshold was also a little surprising. While I didn't really have any true expectations, after the fact, I would expect or hope to be in the middle 9s but was my threshold pace was a little under 11 minutes. I will dedicate a few upcoming posts to fully explaining these stats and how I am using them to tailor my training plan. 