PLAN TO SUCCEED

PLAN TO SUCCEED: An Evaluation of your Season Plan

They say that we Plan to Fail when we Fail to Plan. This is never more true than when we look at training for an event or competition. "Training," by its very definition, separates itself from "Exercise" because it is not a random assortment of activity, but rather a growing, evolving, dependant PLANNED series of exercise sessions geared towards a goal. While for many of us, our Yearly Training Plan (YTP) is in its peaking cycles in the Spring and Summer Race Seasons, however it is never too late, and very much encouraged, to be looking through your plan constantly and making adjustments as you go through it. Evaluating where you are relative to where you were and where you are going allows you to see with both Specific-Focus and Big-Picture-Perspective in order to get the most out of your training. It's easy to forget the plan and seize the sunshine-y afternoons and end up overtraining for your race. Without being a slave to your plan, it is important to have the discipline and perspective to keep yourself growing in the right directions.

And here are a few other things for you to consider:

As Stephen Covey Always Said: Begin with the End in Mind

• Establish LIFE GOALS before you even get to the training side of things. Life trumps training. Always. This is a luxury to race and train to a schedule. Being active SHOULD be a high priority, but training to a race may have to wait until life allows for that schedule. Big moves, special occasions, stressful weeks, travel, family holidays, etc should be first decided upon to make sure you let first things be first (another Stephen Covey idiom).
• Where are you headed? What are your Race and Fitness goals. Plan A races First (the most important ones), then B races (the important but not essential ones), C races (more with a goal of gaining experience, training, fun). Keep the priorities in that order, don't let a B or C race derail your training for your A race(s). Be careful about over-racing, each race will overextend you and may leave you out of any other quality training for days or weeks afterwards, but at the same time, if you find those events fun, then do what you love.
• Begin by planning out the end of your season. Start with your Peak A-Races and count backwards. How long(ish) should your taper be going into that race? 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 week? This depends on the length of the race, your personal fitness and recovery abilities, your health and the type of races you are doing. Repeat the same for your B-races (though the taper may not be as long depending on your goals)

Plan Big Weeks and Little Weeks

• Training Camps should be placed in, when appropriate, to offer large training stimuli without leaving you empty for too long afterwards. They offer a big boost in fitness and experience (see our TCR blog http://tcrsportlab.com/content.php?LoadPage=Articles#Breakthrough%20To%20The%20Best! about breakthrough workouts and camps) and are often fun escapes that offer some similar benefits to rest (the removal of non-training stresses of work, life demands, etc leads to better recovery)
• Plan Recovery weeks that coincide with other responsibilities in life. While a hard work week can sometimes be mitigated through training to sweep out the cobwebs, keeping yourself pragmatic about what can and will happen. Don't make unrealistic goals during known busy times.

Build Yourself up for Strength

• You need to increase your fitness gradually, and some more gradually than others depending on you being prone to injuries or experience in sport. Weeks should build up upon each other, months upon each other further, but only if you allow for your body to strengthen. STRESS-RECOVER-ADAPT.

Exercise Physiology boils down completely to that simple triduum of growth. You need a progressive overload of either volume or intensity, then time to recover from it in order to allow your body to adapt to that new capacity.

The Greek TETRA system has been around for millenia and worked in 4-week blocks: build volume or intensity over 3 weeks and then take a week to rest. This is still the most popular format for training plans, though depending on the type of stress, a 2:1 build, or even 1:1 may lead to better recovery. When in doubt: recover.

Test yourself regularly

• Every few cycles, it is a good idea to give yourself some kind of test. That may be an Event, a Lab Test, Field Test or workout that will help to demonstrate where you are at, how you've been recovering and where your fitness has come at that point.
• Test after a few days of rest, or it will give a false sense to fatigue.
• Don't test too often- it won't show benefits and will lead you to the same fate as over-racing.

Create FOCUS Blocks and Goals for Weeks

• In the same way that your weeks should have goals, various sets of weeks should too. For instance, the first 4-6 weeks of our Tx3 Triathlon team's training back in October was what we called "Transition Phase." Then we moved to "Preparation/Base Phase" for almost 4 months. You can name them what you wish, but some examples might be: Base Phase, Build Phase I, Build Phase II, Build Phase III, Intensity Phase, Race I, Race II, Taper. They can be anywhere from 1 week to 18 weeks in duration.
• Figure out the best times to work on Volume, on Intensity and Recovery
• Volume First, then Intensity, but training may not be a Triangle, it may involve some Ebb and Flow with a Hourglass shape (Volume early, some intensity and then back to some big volume - more for longer distances, experienced athletes and longer race seasons)
• Don't be afraid to have multiple "Peaks" in the season, not just a staircase approach to volume and intensity.

Set yourself up for success.

• Start simple. Think about a given week and how many hours you actually have to train, to work, to sleep, to do those other things important in life (I know, is there anything in life outside of training? See for yourself!).
• Recover. It's where 2 of the 3 in the 'stress-recover-adapt' mantra find their strength. You need this in order to move forward, within the year, within the month, within the week, within the day, within the workout. The body needs to recover in order to acheive Quality training.
• Be Realistic. While athletes certainly are SuperPeople, if you give yourself 10 workouts per week knowing you'll only be doing 6 of them, you are undermining your own goal-setting. Be as realistic as you can from here, the higher the buy-in and realistic nature of your plan, the better adherence you will have.
• Quality beats Quantity any day. A season based on 12 hours / week of good training will almost always lead to better gains than one on 23 hours/week of 'junk mileage' and 'going through the motions.'
• Be Dynamic. Don't get overly rigid. If your training plan doesn't change often, then you are likely not really paying attention to your body's adaptation. That being said, you also shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater with a few poor workouts. Keep to your principles and general Focus Goals, while adapting to the bumpy road to getting to that destination.
• Recover. Recover. Recover. Your body gets stronger outside of the workouts and in sleep. So integrate these pieces into your training. A lot.

You know where you are going (goal races, events and health & fitness) and need to be realistic and honest about where you are (your current fitness and available time). Your Plan is the map to take you from HERE to THERE.

Remember that training for a goal is meant to be fun. It provides an "END" for which you use training as your means. It's the motivation. But at it's fundamental element, an active lifestyle need not have the stress of a 'training plan' and the moment that the Plan owns You, rather than the other way around is the moment to get a new Plan, or reprioritize the pieces. Life comes first. If you can make training a part of your life, all the better.

Happy Training,

Coach John

Breakthrough To The Best!

Breakthrough

to the Best of Your Stability

By John Sasso, Exercise Physiologist and Head Coach for TCR Sport Lab

As any coach or physiologist will tell you, human adaptations happen slowly. Fad diets and 8-minute-ab workouts often fail when facing the most essential of our biological characteristics: homeostasis. This simple, yet vital, tendency towards physiological stability helps to keep us warm in -40 degrees, cool in the scorching desert and healthy, despite our holiday food-fest. While it is this stability that keeps us going, it proves equally frustrating when we are faced against that pesky scale. For athletes, it means that improvements in strength and endurance happen over longer time periods; we walk before we run, we swim zipper-drills for months and increase mileage incrementally per week.

Nevertheless, a phenomenon, or rather a TREND in training adaptations occurs when a hard training block (often seen by a 'Training Camp' or 'Focus Week'), performed appropriately, adds a bit of a 'bump' to your training. Researchers in Lillehammer, Norway (who published an article in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports) have begun to identify this trend; what we sometime call Launchpad or Breakthrough workouts. If you've ever had it happen, you know what I'm talking about. There was "that one workout," which at first glance, seemed daunting and a big step beyond what you feel you could have accomplished.

But you did it anyway and somehow you finished it. Suddenly, the sets seemed to feel a little easier, or the next workout was not nearly as hard as the previous ones had been. You've gained some 'supernatural' strength and been launched into this new level of fitness, it seems. It's a heck of a feeling!

Most recently for me, was a few years ago in the pool, doing the ol' 5 x (5x100) at 3-5s faster than my 1500m time trial pace. I remember barely touching the wall before I had to head back off again barely able to hit the subsequent pace time. I could barely keep up with the others in my lane, but then around the 18th 100, I was starting to hang with them. This workout had me struggling and I was doing a bit of gut-checking every couple of laps. But sure enough, the workouts that followed brought about a new level of speed, where even my Easy pace was faster than my previous Tempo times.

No one really knows why this happens. An abrupt Supercompensation of the heart and skeletal muscles is unlikely; the body needs recovery, nutrients and appropriate fuel for that and it doesn't happen immediately. Improved neuromuscular recruitment may offer some solutions but scientists cannot seem to replicate this affect. Maybe a Central-overdrive and escalation of your "governor" could lead to peripheral adaptations from there. Nonetheless, we are getting close to finding answers and this article opens the door to why TRAINING CAMPS and Strong Training Blocks can facilitate this 'launchpad' in performance. The key is not to go searching for these, but to optimize the times within your season where these opportunities are built in. Finding the right timing and stresses is something very individualized and only you (and your genius-for-a-coach) can plan to optimize these workouts.

A focused training camp is a lot like an exercise vacation on steroids. The 'recovery' of being free and clear of the world and its stresses and your focus on performance and health often allows the body to do what it needs to in order to build upon your tendency towards stability. Focused heavy volume/load often provides the stimulus for these breakthrough's.

Don't worry if you haven't found that Breakthrough workout yet. Some people don't find it through their careers and some people just haven't YET. But as we begin to uncover the 'WHEN' and the "HOW", we will slowly discover the "WHY," which leads to repeatability.

It starts with setting yourself up for success. Recovering enough to allow yourself QUALITY workouts and not a QUANTITY of junk miles. It is further brought on by INDIVIDUALIZED training and not STANDARDIZED, cookie-cutter workouts. Too often we lose ourselves in the process, in the excitement, in the motions and you miss the raison d'etre. Allow yourself freedom from the momentum in order to make your move ON PURPOSE and WITH PURPOSE. That's one small step for practice, one giant leap for performance.

Burning Fat

Burning Fat Scientific principles of promoting loss and maximizing your workouts By Cory Fagan So you have decided to tackle another Gran Fondo next year. However, this year you want to improve your time and be lean and mean! You have bought the bike and have probably upgraded a few parts to make it as light as possible. However, deep down you know that saving 200g is not really going to help you get up those big hills. Let's be honest here. You know, the next step in reducing the suffering is losing weight. To begin, there are two key methods to losing weight and fat. 1) Reduce the amount of food you eat and 2) exercise regularly. Pretty simple, but even this does not work for a lot of people. If you are one of those people that are diet conscious and exercises regularly, but have become frustrated with a plateau in weight loss, you are not alone. What's the problem? Part of the answer lies within our genetics and how we time the food we eat in relation to exercise. Genetics, well that's a tough one to change. Most of us do not have the metabolism of professional cyclists like Axel Merckx. This means that we have to pay more attention to how much and when we eat compared to the professionals. This leaves the topic of the timing of food intake in relation to your exercise. This is a common question for many individuals who are trying to lose a few extra pounds. The underlying physiology principle is how to minimize the influx of insulin and carbohydrate usage when the goal is to oxidize (burn) your body fat. Time Machine. Let's go back to the early 1900's and you live in France. It's 6:00 am, you get up, get on your bike and ride to the local bakery to pick up a fresh baguette. It's now 6:45 am, you are back home and start to eat breakfast. Time shift again back to 2012, it's 6:00 am, you get up, get dressed, head downstairs and starting eating breakfast. At 6:45 am you are driving downtown and start typing on your computer. Do you see the problem? It's the professional's secret! We need to move prior to eating if you truly want to stay lean or lose those last 5 lbs of fat. Where's the evidence? The fantastic part of being in today's high tech world is that we have equipment and years of research that can explain the above professional secret. We use metabolic diagnostic machines to determine the effects on food on fat and carbohydrate burning. Our bodies are highly sensitive to the chemical composition in all types of food. If you eat a high glycemic based food prior to exercise, your body will burn sugar. If you eat an ultra low glycemic food or no food prior to exercise, your body will more burn fat. Simple. A Metabolic VO2 Test Below is a sample case study of an active female; 43 years who did a metabolic VO2 test in the morning using two different fuel sources over two days A) Oatmeal and B) Water. The test consisted of walking at 3.0 mph and progressing up a 7.0 mph run. Note the change in fat burning between the oatmeal and water.     If you have less than 60 minutes to work out and you want to lose fat effectively, you need to minimize or eliminate the amount of moderate to high glycemic index foods prior to exercise. Why? The human body is lazy. It likes the fast fuels like cereals, fruit and breads prior to exercise. These foods make us feel energized and ready to go. However, this also becomes addictive and before you know it you will always need to have the "sugar push" prior to the morning run or workout. The question comes down to "do you want to burn fat" or do you want to be pumped up for that short morning workout? Here is a table for high and low sugar foods:   As much as the body loves the fast fuels, it is also highly adaptive meaning that the body will burn fat if we give it a chance. Much can be learned about the human body by disrupting our routines of eating or training and then watching the body readjust to a new state or equilibrium (Kabisch, 1992). Those of you are who have been used to "pre-loading" prior to your workouts will see the most benefit. The key is to let your body fuel itself. There are a few ways to do this depending on your commitment and desire to burn fat. Just like the French cyclist, move first and then have your breakfast after Eat prior to your workout, but the food must consist of low glycemic index. Restrict your consumption of carbohydrates prior to aerobic exercise What's the end result? By not pre-loading sugar based foods prior to working out, you allow yourself to burn fat and potentially lose some weight. You do not necessarily have to add more hours of training or workout harder to get your desired result. Simply put, keep the workouts that you are doing and think about what you are eating. Remember the motto "Move the Eat." Cory Fagan BPE, MSc Cory is an exercise physiologist and coach for TCR Sport Lab in Calgary. For further correspondence you can contact him at cory@tcrsportlab.com References: Kabisch, D. Medical management of elite athletes. In J. Karvonen & P.W.R. Lemon (Eds), Medicine in Sports Training and Coaching. Basel: Karger, 1992, pp. 1-21. Yeo, W.K., A.L. Carey, L. Burke, L.L. Spriet, and J.A. Hawley. Fat Adaptation in well trained athletes: effects on cell metabolism. Applied Physiology Nutrition Metabolism. 36: 12-22, 2011. The Glycemic Index. www.glycemicindex.com. Human Nutrition Unit, School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, University of Sydney.

Bike Fit for Mountain Bikers

by Cory Fagan, MSc

Cycling is one of the most repetitive activities humans engage in; on a 2-hour bike ride, for example, a person might perform 10,000 pedal strokes! More important than the highest-end carbon-fiber and ultra-light performance parts, a properly fitted bike can mean the difference between agonizing pain and the pure joy of experiencing the outdoors from the saddle!

Road cyclists and triathletes are the first to get bike fitted since they typically have longer contact periods with their bike compared to mountain bikers. It is not uncommon for a road cyclist to hold the same position for more than 60 minutes if they are comfortable. Mountain bikers sometimes delay the bike fit because they are constantly moving around due to the varied terrain. As a result, it is less common for mountain bikers to immediately experience saddle soreness, knee pain, neck or foot numbness compared to road riding. However, what about those long single-track climbs where you can be like a road cyclist and just pound the pedals? This is where the bike fit comes into play.

A properly fitted rider will generate more power, distribute workloads more evenly amongst the quadriceps, hip flexors and help minimize lactate accumulation. In addition, saddle soreness, hand numbness and knee pain can be addressed prior to avoiding inflammation in these areas which will keep you off the bike.

The other issue to address is safety. Do you feel unstable or frequently get ejected off the front end of the bike? A proper bike fit will address the proper seat height, bar width and saddle to bar drop which all affect handling. Just because your new bike is full suspension does not mean you are full proof and can tackle the steepest terrain.

The most scientific method of determining proper frame size and body position is using an independent biking fitting machine. Guru Bicycles has developed a Dynamic Fitting Unit (DFU) which is a real-time computerized Robotic Bike Fit System which allows the bike fitter to try numerous frame geometries while pedaling. The DFU also allows riders to experiment with different set-ups to see how it affects power production and a person’s left and right spin balance. This high tech machine is available at TCR Sport Lab in Calgary for all types of cyclists. So prior to launching those spring base miles, think about getting your road and mountain bike fitted to match your body.

The 'Hows' of Goal Setting

Mike Patton MKin

CSEP Certified Exercise Physiologist

You've seen plenty of 'Goal Setting' articles before, I'm sure. Everyone is quick to use the SMART acronym (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Framed) when describing how to do it properly, but very few people write about HOW to measure goals or what measurement tools are available. The first and most important tool is a training log. The second is a powermeter. I'll explain why.

A training log in its simplest form is a record of each individual training session. Much more sophisticated training logs exist, and can do wonderful things in terms of showing you patterns that develop in your training. They can quickly answer questions like "why did I perform the way I did in my last race?" and "what did I do last year that worked, and what didn't?" One tool we use at TCR Sport Lab is called TrainingPeaks. It is a web-based training log system that we use to deliver training programs to our athletes, but our athletes really benefit because they can see how they are progressing on a day-to-day and year-to-year basis. TrainingPeaks is also extremely powerful because it can integrate and compile enormous amounts of data from the variety of gadgets that people now use for training. Then, it can distill that data down to key variables that help athletes and coaches alike understand the training the athletes are doing. All this makes setting measurable goals that much easier, because you can look at your training log and SEE where you're at, every day.

I also mentioned that a powermeter is an important tool for setting measurable goals. Powermeters can exist in a variety of forms, but the key is that progress is immediately obvious when using one. Some people are lucky enough to afford a powermeter that they can install on their bicycle (e.g. Quarq or SRM), but most people can benefit from a powermeter by going to a physiology lab such as ours for periodic testing. Our lab has a Velotron cycling ergometer, which is essentially a very accurate powermeter. We use this powermeter most often with our Metabolic Cart for VO2max testing, which provides information about your VO2max (the gold-standard measure of fitness) as well as your individual training zones. This testing is important because it not only helps you see if your training has actually improved your fitness, but it can help refine your training so that you can be more time-effective in achieving your goals.

Hopefully now that you are aware of some tools you can use to help measure progress and success, you can be one step closer to effective goal setting. Good luck!

Your next big goal can be a great experience....if you are ready. For more information on training, testing and coaching, please visit: www.tcrsportlab.com

The Math of Weight Loss

The Math of Weight loss and your Metabolism

By Cory Fagan, MSc

December is the month that many of us struggle to keep exercise consistent and the weight off. Christmas parties, the holidays and cold weather do not add up in our favor to battle the bulge! I do not expect people to start a marathon program or new workout in December, but what about January? How do you keep motivated in the New Year with your “new routine.” Do you workout like and crazy and see what happens? Many of us try this approach and then quit in frustration ending up back in the fridge! In my opinion, you need to see results in fitness and in the waistline soon. Results will come when exercise and nutrition are treated as equally important. People count their calories burned, track their heart rate and record their hours of training. However, what about food intake? This needs a closer look if you are truly interested in change. Below are some facts and tips that will keep you motivated and on track in the New Year.

What you need:

Resting Metabolic Rate. Get tested, you need this number.

This is the minimum amount of calories you need in a day to go to work, sit on the coach and just exist. Eating this much food keeps your body happy and prevents against the “protection of fat” or “fat storing” mode. You can try on-line calculation formulas or you can get accurate information by performed a fasting metabolic rate test at TCR.

Two Day Food log. How many calories do you eat?

I do not believe in tracking calories everyday as it can be time consuming and some people can get obsessed which drives up your cortisol levels preventing weight loss. However, you need to know how much you eat. It’s amazing how many people really do not know their caloric intake in a typical day, yet they want to lose a few pounds. Try the free website: www.fitday.com to track your calories. It has a simply drag and drop menu and thousands of food choices.

Exercise. Move your body regularly.

If your dog was over-weight, what would you do? Exercise the furry friend and control his food intake. Pretty simple, but humans make it complicated with excuses and too much access to food. Besides burning calories, one of the “cellular” changes that happen with movement is that our fat cells will release fat when we move consistently. No movement equals fat cells that get efficient at storing fat and we do not want this! At our TCR lab, we have seen hundreds of metabolic cases that show improvements in fat utilization by people who exercise regularly. As for the type of exercise, my first recommendation is just getting moving with consistency. You do not need to sign up for Ironman in order to lose weight!

The Math

Case Study One

80 kg male

Resting Metabolic Rate: 1750 kcals / day

Food Log Typical Day: 2500 kcals

Exercise: 250 kcals / workout

2500 kcals – RMR (1750) – Exercise (250)= 500 kcal surplus. There is about 500 kcals too much and hence no weight loss stimulus.

Case Study Two

80 kg male

Resting Metabolic Rate: 1750 kcals / day

Food Log Typical Day: 2000 kcals

Exercise: 250 kcals / workout

2000 kcals – RMR (1750 kcals ) – Exercise (250 kcals) = 0 or Break Even. This is what you want; a plan under control, realistic exercise and net score close to zero.

If you happen to exercise more, fantastic! You will have a deficit and really kick start weight loss. However, I have also seen this happen too much and become counter-productive. People will go out and exercise like crazy resulting in a deficit of 500-1500 calories at the end of the day. Guess what happens? We go out and reward ourselves with more food that night or the next day because we had a big workout. The person ends up with a surplus and maybe even weight gain. So keep it realistic and simple when you start out in the New Year.

Changes in Power for "Normal Folk"

Hello to all the cyclists and triathletes out there!

Spring is finally here, for those that live in Calgary! This blog is going to discuss power improvements and training.

At TCR Sport Lab, we are constantly testing and training people with power. As you know, power is the new kid on the block with measurement devices becoming more affordable and popular. We have been tracking several athletes as case studies over the winter. All of the athletes want to improve with hopes of riding faster this race season.

Below is a case study of a mountain bike athlete who is training for his 7th TransRockies stage race this August. The athlete considers himself an "average age grouper" and recently had a new baby. His goals are to have his best TR ever and improve on his climbing ability.

We started his training program in January with some Critical Power (CP) testing. 4 short tests done over 2 days: 10km TT, 4km TT, 2km TT and 1 km on a stationary bicycle ergometer. Critical power is a term that refers to cyclists anaerobic cycling ability and lactate tolerance. Many people are familiar with Anaerobic or Lactate Threshold as training marker which is best tested in a lab with a lactate monitor or metabolic cart (VO2). Critical power is essentially a workload just above a person's lactate threshold and can be done without a lab. We chose this test because the athlete lived in Vancouver and did not have access to a lab for testing.

From January to May, the cyclist had a 5 Watt increase in his critical power from 279 watts to 284 watts. See the graph. As you can see, a cyclist with 279 watts of power is pretty good to start, but he was still able to top off his "cranking power" for those short hills.

Any type of improvement is always good. A couple of points that are interesting:

Most of the cyclist's improvements came on the short distances as this was our goal.

• 3 watts on 10km
• 12 watts on 4km
• 12 watts on 2km
• 10 watts on 1 km

To be honest, this is pretty good for a guy that has done TR for 6 years! It is not like we are working with a guy who was new to cycling.

What does this mean? Adding 5-10 watts of power to short hills would allow you to keep your heart rate about 5-10 beats lower and enable you stay out of the granny gear more often on those crazy TR climbs.

Professional riders would kill to add 10 watts to their performance on short TTs!

When you start working with power, 5-10 watts changes over 4 months is a pretty good improvement with experienced athletes. In addition, if you are a person with a new baby who has had some crazy episodes of the flu and sleep deprivation, 5 watts on your CP is great!

The next step in this cyclists training program is to develop the his ability to ride those long TR days by increasing his volume. He is on his way to a great TransRockies #7.