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Firstly can I say thank you for having me along at the last barefoot running workshop a couple of weeks ago. To say that I am finding your shop/company one of the best in London is an understatement. The talks are an amazing way of getting similar minded people together. it is really positive and enthusiastic. Thank you.
Adam (via email)

Free Fitness Assessment Test

Is your training paying off? Get your personal FITNESS ASSESSMENT TEST  at RUN and BECOME Here’s your chance to get a FREE 15 minute  personal one-to-one service from  experienced physiologist Dr Anne Delaxtrat

Dr Anne Delaxtrat and the London Met team can help you:
Analyse your own training routine, offering advice on improving your energy levels and fitness. How many times you run a week? What distances, what speeds? Are you following a training plan, and if so which one? Do you train with a heart rate monitor? Are you a member of a running club? Do you have a running coach? Do you do hill work and interval sessions as well as steady runs? What events are you running over the next months?

The Aerobic Fitness Assessment Test
A six minute “maximum heart rate” run to work out your VO2 MAX

Make a difference to your running experience this summer!

FREE OF CHARGE
Venue: Run and Become, 42 Palmer Street, London SW1H 0PH

Dates: Thursdays 24th & 31st May, 21st & 28th June
The Fitness Tests run every 20 minutes between 5-8pm.
To register, please email us here.

Please state clearly what time is best for you and we will do our best to find the nearest available slot. The slots are every 20 minutes – on the hour, twenty past, and twenty to the hour.

Dr Anne Delextrat

BSc (Hons) MSc PhD

I have been a Senior Lecturer in Sports Science at London Metropolitan University since 2004. I studied in three different French universities - BSc in Poitiers, MSc in Paris V and PhD in Toulon. My PhD dissertation investigated the effects of subsequent bouts of exercise involving different muscle groups on the energy cost of locomotion of triathletes. I did a post-doctoral research project at Greenwich University focusing on the biomechanical and kinematic analysis of the shooting action in netball. I am experienced in physiological testing of athletes, in particular runners, cyclists and tri-athletes. For three years, I worked with and tested elite athletes from many sports (triathletes, gymnasts, swimmers and judokas) at the French National Institute of Sports in Paris . My current research is focusing on physiological testing of team sport players and for five years I have been carrying out aerobic and anaerobic tests to measure the performance of male and female basketball players in the British Basketball League. I am an active member of the European Physical Conditioning Association (EPCA). I have a National basketball coaching qualification and used to work as a basketball coach for many years.

The London Met can also offer you a comprehensive and complete Fitness MOT

(At their University, price £99)

Yes you’re training... but are you training smart? Train Smart with London Met!

Whatever type of athlete you are - runner, cyclist, swimmer, rower – are you sure your efforts will result in the maximum body condition you can achieve? You really need to determine precisely if your training hours are paying off. Research with elite sportsmen has shown that metabolic testing of fitness has enabled them to train efficiently and raise their performance. In short, they train smart. Metabolic testing will tell you if the hours you spend training are paying off. It pinpoints how intensely you should be training to make the most progress. It eliminates the guesswork from programme design.

What's the Key to your performance?

Your performance is predominantly related to your body’s ability to use oxygen. You need a high maximal oxygen uptake – we call it VO2 max But you also need to be able to sustain a high percentage of your VO2max without accumulating a high amount of lactate in the blood – your lactate threshold. Then you need to convert this aerobic capacity into speed with little wasted energy.

How can we help you at London Met?

We can measure your VO2max. VO2max is the maximum amount of oxygen in millilitres you can use in one minute per kilogram of body weight. This information can help you determine the intensity of training you need. Athletes who are fit have higher VO2max values and can exercise more intensely than those who are not as well conditioned. Numerous studies show that you can increase your VO2max by working out an intensity that raises your heart rate between 65% and 85% of its maximum for at least twenty minutes three to five times a week. Crucially, once a plateau in VO2max has been reached, further improvements in performance are still seen with training. This is because you are able to perform at a higher percentage of your VO2max for prolonged periods by increasing your body’s ability to tolerate the accumulation of lactic acid in the muscles.

And there's more we can do...

We can help specify how fast and how hard you should train to improve your endurance fitness as quickly as possible. We do this by finding your Lactate Threshold (Tlac). This is the point at which the lactate in the blood that you produce as you exercise begins to accumulate. Training just above or just below your Lactate Threshold is the best way to improve your endurance. By knowing the heart rate at which your blood’s Lactate Threshold occurs you can plan the intensity of your workout with precise training speeds and target times. It’s a test that removes all the guesswork from training. It enables you to train smart by avoiding both over and under training.

But why London Met?

We've been researching this area for some considerable time, and we have practical experience and the equipment to make a positive difference to your athletic career. You’ll receive a one to one service from university physiologists who are at the cutting edge of research and teaching. You’ll be provided with accurate written reports and results you can trust. And you’ll get personalised feedback on what the test results mean together with implications for your training programmes from experienced university personnel. What’s more we’ll prepare you for the tests to ensure that the results, achieved on correctly calibrated equipment, are accurate and consistent.

In short, London Met can help you train smart and monitor your progress.