Posts Tagged ‘Triathlon’

Challenge ETU partnership marks shift in triathlon

2012_roth_etu_challenge_long_distance_triathlon_european_championships


The European Triathlon Union have announced a 2012 partnership with the Challenge corporation(official release).

This will be the first time (I believe) since Fredericia in 2001 that an “iron” distance race has also been a a championship race under an International Triathlon Union affiliated body.

You have to ask if the global reach of the Challenge corporation opens the door for further iron distance championship and possibly world championship races under an ITU banner?

For many this would be a welcome move, as a championship endorsed by a credible governing body would establish iron distance racing as a truly elite sport. The Ironman world championships of course governed by a for profit corporation leave a lot to be desired in terms of regulation and athlete care.

We would therefor hope this move brings improvements in areas such as drug testing, prize money and athlete care that WTC and Ironman has been unable to adequately provide. Doubtlessly it will also attract more athletes of a higher caliber and ensure continued progression of performances at the top end of the sport.

Could this be the move to break the WTCs strangle hold on the long distance triathlon trophy cabinate?

Increase your VO2max today

Graeme Stewart Triathlon


A bold claim you might say more likely to appear in an advert for a dodgy fitness supplement than a serious training blog but a recent observation noted in work from the group of Tim Noakes (http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/46/1/23.abstract) suggests that you may be able trick your brain in to releasing the brakes on your VO2max.

The group set out to test the theory that the bodys maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 Max), a key determinant of athletic ability, is limited by the cardiovascular system. Noakes however has long believed that it is the brain not the cardiovascular system that limits VO2 consumption during exercise, a theory know as the central governor theory.

By cleverly redesigning the traditional incremental VO2max test, where maximum O2 consumption is reached by gradually raising the intensity in set stages, they hoped they could trick the brain in to permiting higher than normal O2 consumption. They created a decremental test where exercise begins at a very high intensity and is reduced consecutively at defined points.

“We reasoned that if subjects knew beforehand that the test would become progressively easier the longer it continued, the possibility was that any biological controls directing the termination of exercise might be relaxed, thus allowing the achievement of a VO2max higher than that achieved with conventional [incremental test]“
VO2 max tests

Indeed when they subjected runners to a series of VO2 max tests including initial incremental then either incremental or decremental tests they found the decremental test gave significantly higher scores. This result supports the theory that it is not the cardiovascular system but possibly the brain that limits VO2max.

A report published at the same time using a closed loop test with self selected pacing confirms that traditional tests do not elicit true Vo2max(http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/46/1/59.abstract).

The remarkable thing with first study however was when they retested the subjects at the end with a final traditional incremental test they still maintained a higher VO2 max following a decremental test.
VO2 data
There was no increased performance associated with the increased VO2max presumably because it was elicited by biological trickery rather than hard training but that does not mean to say that having “unlocked” this extra VO2max it would not facilitate training to a higher level.

Should we all go a perform a decremental VO2max test now to unlock our unused aerobic potential? It is imposible to say but it would be interesting to follow these athletes to see if they can turn this increased VO2max in to increased performance.

Certainly the use of decremental high intensity intervals in training can be very effective but perhaps we just did not realise that there was a component of “brain training” involved. If you want to try this sort of training yourself a good place to start is with 4x3min where the first minute is extremely hard close to max, the second minute in at VO2 max and the 3rd minute is at threshold. These hard intervals require large amount of recovery ~4-5minutes but I promise threshold has never felt so easy.

If you want to try the decremental they used in the study I recommend you find a good sports scientist to supervise you as it is a highly demanding and complicated protocol that shouldn’t be attempted without support. It is also likely the stress of operating a treadmill yourself would negate the effect.

Alternative FTP prediction

aleksandar-sorensen-ironman


I must admit I have struggled with meaningful prediction of functional threshold power (FTP) for some time. Typically lactate testing shows poor reproducibility and taking 4mmol-1 as a threshold number vastly over estimates 40k TT ability in most athletes. Functional methods to predict FTP such as taking 95% of a 20min maximal test power (CP20) also tend to over predict FTP in trained athletes but are often poorly executed being excessively stressful to athletes.

While I still use the CP20 method, I have recently settled on two different and complementary methods for FTP prediction I believe are more accurate in terms of predicting 1 hour performance, less variable and less stressful for the athlete allowing far more frequent testing. The first is a functional test and the second D-max lactate bassed method which I will deal with in a separate post.

If you have difficulty executing a good CP20 test or you find it predicts excessively high numbers it may be worth trying this as an alternative.

FTP prediction based on peak power output (PPO)

This method is a functional method using a peak power test. You may wonder how is peak power relevant to 1 hour performance but there is a well establish correlation and Lamberts et al (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21821613) have recently found a very close correlation between 40k TT performance and PPO corrected for body weight. You can download the test protocol and FTP calculator here:
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FTP calculator
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The test requires a controlled 1min ramp test starting at 2.5W/kg and increasing by 20W every minute until failure, here’s how it might look.
Example-PPO-test

It does not need to be precise but the build must be steady to ensure your number in the end stage is aerobic power. This athlete clearly let the power go slack at the end of each minute which is not ideal for best results. It is also very simple to program your power trainer to create such a ramp of resistance for you. Your 1min best power at the end is your peak power output and this can be converted to 40k TT power a good estimate of FTP and predicted time using the equations in the spreadsheet.

Easy means easy

Recover

Recently I have been having a lot of discussions on the topic of training intensity. In particular the tendency for athletes on lower volume training programs (whether through choice or necessity) to push too hard on lower intensity aerobic or recovery workouts. This can be bad because of diminished non specific training effects and also excessive fatigue carried through to high intensity sessions.

It reminded me of this old post which I have dug up to try and persuade you to hold back on those recovery sessions even when you feel great because fatigue can be waiting round the corner. Easy means easy no matter how good you feel!

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An alternative elite cycling model

Elite cycle training in the snow


You may want to train like a pro cyclist but in reality it is often not possible. Elite cyclist tend to train as much as 3-8 hours per day (100-240km) and use stage races to peak for big event like olympics (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12048333). That sort of volume is simply not compatible with work or family life for most people and if you live in a cold climate it is also dangerous and unpleasant.

That’s why I was so interested to read a case report of a Norwegian elite cyclist using a low volume approach with specific training modifications to be more compatible with their cold climate (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22124353).

They report over the course of one year “VO2max improved by 10.5 %, from 66.6 to 73.6 ml·kg-1·min-1 and the ergometer TT performance improved by 14.9%” while on a program consisting of just under an average of 5 hours cycling per week. His weight and body fat percent were unaltered during the time. That sounds far more realistic to me than any elite cycling program I have seen in the past and coincidentally is very similar to my own weekly average cycling.

Now don’t get too excited it is not quite that easy. While this represented a reduction in total volume from their traditional cycling program, they still maintained a total average of 11 hours per week by the inclusion of running (and we assume functional and strength work) in their program.

This is desirable because it is more compatible with a cold climate but is only effective assuming the gains in VO2 max are transferable between sports, which certainly seems to be the case in this instance.

Støren et al 2012 table 1
Støren et. al. 2012

This low cycling volume approach used high aerobic intensity training (HAIT) consisting of sessions between 90-95% heart rate max. Two intensive blocks of 14 and 15 sessions in 9 and 10 days respectively were separated by more moderate training with just 3 HAIT sessions per week.

Interestingly while the HAIT sessions in the intervening periods were cycling sessions, the HAIT session durring the intensive blocks were all running sessions consisting of 4x4min treadmill sessions.

This report represents the closest model I have seen to something that could be applied to the age group triathlete. With the low volume of cycling and inclusion of running it describes a method to improve performance across disciplins (his running VO2 max also increased substantially)!

Low volume with high intensity sessions across multiple disciplins can be very effective and it seems cycling large volumes at low intensity during the winter is not the only route to cycling success.

Ensuring effective tempo training

Power distribution for different rides


Tempo training can be extremely effective when used well and can allow you to achieve similar results on far far less training time. By tempo training I mean training between aerobic threshold (AeT) the part of training when you just start working and anaerobic threshold (AnT) where you can race for 30-60min at most.

Sometimes I get irked when I hear tempo training getting criticised for being ineffective or even detrimental. The truth, I believe, like all sorts of training is that it is done badly, here is why I think that is.

Not enough discipline When athletes train at a low volume the averages creep up, the intensity of recovery rides, aerobic base rides warm ups cool downs and intervals breaks all creep up. It is important to keep clear distinctions between your intensities and not end up with all your riding quite hard but not hard enough to get the effect you want or easy enough to allow recovery. When you look at a power file you should be clearly see when you were riding tempo and when not, if you can’t your probably going to hard the rest of the time.

Not enough variation of intensity Training a range of intensities will allow you to develop in a balanced way and give a number of different stimuli. There is no ‘magic’ intensity do not over emphasise 70%, 80%, 90% 100% of threshold or you will stagnate and not improve.

Not enough recovery If you are using a lower volume tempo training approach you need more recovery. More days off and more longer breaks to allow complete recovery. Too often I see athletes struggling because they have free time and throw in extra training because they feel good. Just like an interval session you need to see clear differences between your rest periods in terms of days and occasionally weeks.

The hardest thing for an athlete to do is not train. You can’t sit still. You feel like you should be out there working
Graeme Obree