Test and improve your heart rate recovery.

Sprinting, plyometric movements, HIIT classes, and other forms of anaerobic exercise can be uncomfortable but come with big rewards. They require you to exert a lot of energy in a short amount of time, causing a temporary shortage of oxygen delivered to your muscles. This forces your body to break down glucose to fuel your efforts. 

You may be gassed after your first session, but over time, your body adapts. Your recovery times improve, as will your body’s ability to tolerate and eliminate lactate, the substance your body produces when you use carbs for energy. People who are above-average in cardiovascular endurance do a great job of recycling lactate out of the blood, explains Michael Crandall, CSCS, a Tier X Coach at E by Equinox - Hudson Yards. This correlates to longevity because when people are efficient at recycling lactate, they have healthy metabolisms that combat chronic metabolic diseases, he says. 

Incorporating anaerobic training into your workout plan for longevity can also strengthen your heart and, over time, increase stroke volume (the amount of blood pumped per heartbeat) and lower resting heart rate, both of which are linked with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. 

Your resting heart rate provides a snapshot of how your heart muscle is working and can tell you a lot about your current and future health. A study published in the journal Heart tracked the cardiovascular health of about 3,000 men for 16 years and found a resting heart rate between 81 and 90 beats per minute doubled the chance of all-cause mortality, while a resting heart rate higher than 90 beats per minute tripled it.

Health experts also use heart rate recovery after exercise as a predictor of mortality, as it can reveal a lot about your future risk for heart disease. Heart rate recovery is the difference between your max heart rate during exercise and your heart rate when you stop exercising. As your body adapts to the hard efforts of anaerobic training, your heart rate recovery will begin to improve. You’ll appreciate the gains the next time you run up a flight of stairs or have to sprint to your gate to catch a flight.

Take the anaerobic fitness tests below, then look at the norms charts developed by Crandall with help from existing research. See how you stack up against other people of your sex and age and use your score as a benchmark for improvement throughout the years. If you have a hard time performing these efforts at age 40, imagine the strain you’ll feel at 60 unless you start training now. 

Disclaimer: Make sure you have a proper warm-up before starting the test. If at any point you feel dizzy or nauseous, stop. These could also be signs that you need to work on your anaerobic fitness.

Test 1. 500m Rower

Row 500m as fast as you can to ensure an accurate reading.

Tip: Perform this test on the Club’s Concept 2 RowErg with the damper set between four and eight. 

• Men

- <1:30s = excellent

- 1:30 to 2:00 = good

- 2:00 = needs work 

• Women

- <2:00 = excellent

- 2:00 to 2:30 = good

- > 2:30 = needs work 

Test 2. Fan Bike Heart Rate Recovery

This test requires a heart rate tracking device. You can borrow a heart rate monitor from your Club or you can use a fitness tracking device, like the Oura Ring.

Tip: Go all out on the fan bike for 20 to 40 seconds. When you achieve your maximum heart rate, stop and time your heart rate recovery for two minutes. Record your heart rate after the first minute and then again at the second minute. 

Your heart rate should recover at half of a beat per second. If it does not, your anaerobic fitness needs work. 

Action Plan

Crandall recommends the following workouts to improve your anaerobic fitness. Perform them using a modality you feel most comfortable with, such as running, biking, sled pushing, or cycling on the fan bike. 

• Perform five sets of 20 seconds at max effort, with 60 seconds of rest between each set.

• Perform four sets of two minutes of cardio at 85 percent to 90 percent effort, with three minutes of rest in between each set.

• Perform three sets of four minutes of cardio at 80 percent to 85 percent effort, with five minutes of rest between each set.