Physiology Friday: How to Build a Killer Cardiovascular System w/ Dr. Mike T. Nelson, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis Mash
Barbell Shrugged
Doug Larson
4.7 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 15 August 2025
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In today's episode of Barbell Shrugged, Anders Varner, Doug Larson, and Travis sit down with Anders coach, Dr. Mike T. Nelson.
For those that have followed the show, you know Anders has been in pursuit of running a sub-6 minute mile at the age of 40. Dr. Nelson is the coach Anders hired to help with that goal.
In this episode the crew walks through program design, initial intake, and execution of how to build cardiovascular fitness.
You will learn performance tests used to design Anders training program, how priorities are scheduled into a busy life, understanding higher intensity efforts mixed with Vo2Max training, Zone 2 efforts, and how to maintain strength throughout the process.
We hope you enjoy.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Shark family this week on Barbell Sharks Physiology Friday is back and today we're talking |
| 0:04.3 | about energy systems specifically if you've ever had the goal of running a sub six minute mile |
| 0:09.9 | like I did this is how Dr. Nelson helped me do it. I actually didn't actually get there. |
| 0:15.4 | That was a bit of a lie, a bit of an exaggeration. 617 was my best before I realized, man, I need a new goal. I trained for a whole year. Mike Nelson was my coach. He's a savage. Hired the best in the game to help me do it. I got really, really fast and learned a ton about how to train for like real V-O-2 max. That was actually one of the coolest parts that I got my |
| 0:37.8 | V02 max up to like 53 I think was what it was when I tested it. So very cool on the energy system |
| 0:44.4 | side and training side today. And I think running a 617 mile, but the goal of a sub-6, |
| 0:50.7 | but a 617 mile at 41 years old, I feel pretty good about myself. I think we accomplished |
| 0:55.8 | a lot. As always, friends, make sure you get over to rapid health report.com. That's where Dan Garner, |
| 1:00.9 | Dr. Andy Galpin, are doing a free lab, lifestyle, and performance analysis, and you can access that |
| 1:04.9 | at rapid health report.com. Friends, let's get into the show. |
| 1:10.8 | Welcome to Marvin Oshug. I'm Anders Warner. Welcome to Barbell Shrug. |
| 1:12.1 | I'm Anders Warner. |
| 1:12.9 | Doug Larson, coach Travis Smash, Dr. Michael T. Nelson. |
| 1:16.7 | My coach on the show today. |
| 1:18.7 | Today on Barbell Shrug, we're talking about the most important person in the world. |
| 1:22.6 | Me and my most important thing, my training. |
| 1:25.9 | Why I hired Dr. Michael T. Nelson to get me to run a |
| 1:29.9 | sub six minute mile at the age of 40 years old, which we still have that goal. We still are going to |
| 1:35.2 | do that before April 26th of 2025. Is that new ground for you, by the way? Have you done sub six |
| 1:41.6 | in the past? I've never, I've run in my own training. Oh, |
| 1:45.9 | this is actually, we did a, we did a full show on this, uh, in the first quarter of COVID. |
| 1:53.4 | Uh, I remember. The only place that you could go to socially distance and still do fitness was the |
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