Training With Science

This is a follow-up of Mike’s previous report on his lactate testing experience:

In my last entry on the Triathlon Lab Blog, I shared my experience with Blood Lactate/VO2 Max Lab testing.  This time I’m going to talk a little bit about what it’s like to put those numbers into good use.  I completed separate bike & run tests with Coach Gareth Thomas @ Trio Performance Lab in order to establish proper training zones for my build up to Ironman CA 70.3 Oceanside on March 31, 2012.  I am sort of treating myself as a sports-science experiment over the next few months.  I am now following a very specific training program written for me by Coach Gareth that is specifically based on my lab testing results.  I will follow the plan and then get re-tested periodically to see how my body is adapting to the training.  I have dabbled in some periodization for training programs in the past but never had the scientific understanding or coaching power behind it to really get the most out of it. The variety in workout duration, focus and intensity throughout each week is keeping the training interesting. As someone with a history of injuries I also have regular visits to the gym built in for core-strength and regular yoga.  In addition to training changes, my diet is also changing as I try to alter my body to primarily burn fat at aerobic intensity.  This very scientific approach to training is very different from the more subjective and less scientific approaches which some people favor.    

I recently read an article by a well-known and extremely successful professional triathlete in which he argued that triathletes should put away the heart rate monitors and power meters to train more by feel and “perceived exertion”.  The problem with this very subjective approach is that many people without loads of experience in endurance sports, like me, don’t really know what those middle intensity zones feel like.  I grew up playing team sports like football and baseball.  Everything was all out, on the field, in the weight room and on the running track.  There were rarely easy days, no tempo days, and certainly nothing as complex sounding as a lactate threshold effort.   As a result, I know what it feels like to go all-out but everything besides that is open for interpretation.  Improvement in endurance sports requires training at a variety of specific intensities, a very different approach than the sports that most of us grew up playing.  Having those training zones established, quantified, and accessible via a heart rate monitor or power meter, allows for the body to safely adapt at an optimal level.   This helps those of us with less than Armstrong-Wellington-like-genetics improve towards our potential without wasting any training time.  The professional athlete that recommended abstaining from heart rate monitors and power meters, is a full-time athlete with over 20 years of professional racing experience.  I’m sure he knows exactly what his lactate threshold feels like but for the rest of us, we might want to consider a device to aid in the quest for training time efficiency.  It’s not that training based on feel and “perceived effort” is wrong, it’s just an unscientific approach to training. 

I should probably note that I’m a totally unscientific guy in every other aspect of my life.  For example, I love cooking but I don’t bake anything–too many formulas involved.  As an 8^th Grade History teacher, my students sometimes ask for help on their Math or Science homework during lunchtime. I have no clue about algebra or ionic bonds.  I think this is why I’m so intrigued by the ideas behind sports science.  It’s all so foreign, but I’ll try anything for 16 weeks.  I’ll update the blog periodically with some of my favorite Coach Gareth workouts and progress reports.

Swim Workout

In case you are bored with some of your swim workouts, here is one from TriLAB Christine’s library…

Warm-up: 200 m swim
2 x 100 kick, no kick board–back, R side, L side, back
4 x 100 drill/swim–50 drill of your choice, 50 swim

Main set:  5 x 200 N/S each 50 (Negative split each 50. Each 50 should be about 1 second faster than the last), 20 second rest
45 sec rest
5 x 100 N/S each 25, 10 sec rest
45 sec rest
5 x 50 build-up, 10 sec rest
30 sec rest
5 x 25 fast, 5 sec rest
125 kick on your back, no kickboard

Cool-down: 200 swim EZ, your choice

Total distance = 3000 meters

Enjoy!!!

Gain Measurable Results by Getting Measures

TriLAB super guy and Culver City teacher, Mike Levy, just got his lactate testing and shares his thoughts on “getting tested”–not drug tested a la USADA, but lactate tested to see how (in)efficient his body is at burning fuel for the endurance sport we TRI. Read on for his thoughts:

How do we accurately assess our current fitness and prepare our next cycle of training?  Most of us think that we know what it feels like to be “in-shape” or “out of shape”, but the reality is that our fitness if very much a scientific construct.  There are a number of options for how to plan training.  Some people throw together a bunch of workouts and call it a training plan while others follow a pre-written plan from a magazine or a website.  Many people have a plan written for you from scratch by a great triathlon coach.  However, if all of these options are based on the idea that we are all starting from the same fitness point, then they are all truly ‘trial & error’ approaches to training.  To truly get the maximum benefit from training, the plan needs to be constructed based on your exact fitness on the day you start training.  Those of us with long days at work and family commitments needs to get the most out of every training session if we want to see improvements on race day.  How we feel day to day is largely subjective, but the quality and condition of our engine can be evaluated most objectively by blood lactate and VO2 max testing.  The only way to truly figure out what is going on inside our fitness engine is through controlled lab testing.

The picture here is during my recent Blood Lactate/VO2 max testing on the bike at the Trio Performance Lab with Coach Gareth Thomas.  This was my first experience with any type of lab fitness testing and it proved to be a great learning experience.  Coach Gareth and his team strap on a mask and heart rate monitor for the VO2 test and take blood samples every 3 minutes for the blood lactate test.  For a better picture, think back to 1985.  Remember the scene in American Flyers where the guy is breaking the test record in the sports lab?  If you haven’t seen American Flyers, then stop reading this blog to go watch Kevin Costner sporting a porn-stache and people cycling fast on bikes with downtube shifters.

According to the test results, I need to better train my body to burn fat during prolonged training & racing.  My body really likes to burn carbs which isn’t very efficient for a long 70.3 race.  It was also cool to do my VO2 max test which confirmed my hypothesis that I do not have the superior genetics of a Lance Armstrong but I do have enough genetic athleticism to improve quite a bit from where I am today.  My focus in training for the next 6 weeks will be to alter my body’s fuel source during longer workouts.  This means keeping my heart rate and power in the prescribed zones, even if it hurts my ego to go a little slower.  I still get to hit some steady tempo efforts but the focus is on burning fat, not carbs.  According to my test results, I also need to eat more protein and fat before long workouts.  The testing tells a lot about performance, training and nutrition.  My run test is in a couple of days, I’m looking forward to it…

Base-Training into Threshold Training Workout

No lying down allowed during the off-season! Photo courtesy of Shiggy Ichinomiya. www.goshiggygo.com

‘Tis the season for base training!

For a lot of triathletes, that means long and boring workouts in “heart rate prison”.  For others, that may mean absolutely nothing!

The following workout can be adapted for both types of triathletes:

Warm-up ~ 7-10 minutes easy dynamic swim, bike, or jog warm-up

Pre-set ~ Swim – 4 x 75 swim, kick, drill (your choice of drill)*

Bike – 5 x (20 sec. right leg only, 20 sec. left leg only, 20 sec. both leg spin)

Run – 4 x strides, 20 seconds (your goal is to have your right foot strike the ground at least 30 times); skip to return to starting position

Main set* ~ Swim- 200m sets: 25 m hard exertion, 175 m easy-medium; Rest 1 min.

Bike – 15 seconds hard exertion (about 8.5 on a scale 0f 1-10 rate of perceived exertion (RPE)), back off pace and continue bike interval for 3.5 minutes. Recovery 2 min. spin.

Run – 15 seconds run uphill (approx 2-3% grade), jog on a flat for 3.5 minutes.  Recovery – 1-2 min walk.

In threshold training, the 3.5 minutes should feel like an exertion of 7-8, despite being at a slower pace.

In base training phase, the initial “hard” interval should feel like an RPE around 6-7, the interval following should feel like fairly comfortable around 4-5. The goal is that interval is to watch your heart rate, use breath control to prevent your heart rate from going above your zone 3.

Repeat 3-5 times, time permitting.

* The adaptations for swim, bike and run are listed.

Enjoy!!! Please feel free to comment below with your favorite workout!

Triathlon Success From a Pro

Since we sponsor professional and elite-level triathletes, we have the benefit of being able to share with you secrets behind their training and racing success. Jim Lubinski, who is a certified personal trainer, in addition to being a professional triathlete is all too generous with sharing his wisdom with our Triathlon Lab audience. The following blog is a contribution from “Lube” himself.

“Swim, Bike, Run! Swim, Bike, Run! We, as triathletes, seem to overlook aspects of training other than swimming, biking, and running. One of the most important elements of training that we overlook is strength and flexibility. If you look at any other sport, part of the training regimen is “hitting the gym.”  Why should our training be any different?  Sure, we will not be putting up the weight that a football player would be lifting or doing the same dynamic movements as a golfer. However, triathletes have areas of strength and flexibility that they can emphasize, in order to get the most out of their training and racing.

Many triathletes say, “I don’t have time to strength train.” What that triathlete has to realize is that strength training is as vital to their performance as any swimming, biking, and running would be. I look at it like this: if you were an architect and wanted to build the tallest skyscraper in the world, you would need the sturdiest foundation possible. Your body is your foundation. If you want to acquire the highest level of performance, a strong foundation must be built first.

Not only does strength and flexibility allow you to achieve a higher level of performance it also helps prevent injury. The more solid your foundation, the less likely it will break down when put under stress. There are plenty of triathlon specific workouts you can do to improve your foundation and get strength in the correct places.”

For more info, or for time efficient strength training for the triathlete, contact me at jim@jimlubinski.com. And, if you are local to the Los Angeles area, you will be able to participate in a typical Jim Lubinski, triathlon-specific, time efficient, strength training workout. This will take place in-store on Wednesday, November 16, 2011, at 7:00 pm. RSVP here: http://trijim.eventbrite.com.

Water, water everywhere…how to drink a drop?

Afraid to reach for your water bottle, while biking?

Or, maybe you can’t afford to come out of your perfect aerodynamic position?

We have a new option in hydration systems for you.

The Speedfil A2 Hydration System

Inviscid Design has just come out with their A2 system. This system, as pictured above, turns your standard threaded water bottle into an aero, easy-to-sip, component when coupled with X-Lab’s torpedo mount or Profile Design’s HC Mount. It has various rings that makes the top and straw compatible with any of your favorite 21-24 ounce water bottles. Having been wind-tunnel tested, the A2 won’t compromise speed for hydration or vice versa. You can even take advantage of a deal we have online, packaging the torpedo mount, cage, and A2 system.

For other ideas in the world of bike hydration, check out our Hydration and Food Storage page.

The Tri Season Ain’t Over Yet…

That’s right. The LA Triathlon may have just finished up yesterday, but we still have quite a few local races that beg for your participation.

In fact, we’re sponsoring a few:

10/9:  Hermosa Beach, Day at the Beach Triathlon – .25 mi swim; 10 mi bike; 3 mi run
Packet pick-up will be at TriLAB Redondo Beach on Saturday, 10/8.

10/16:  Playa del Rey Triathlon – 600 m swim; 20 km bike; 5 km run
Join us at the Santa Monica store, on Saturday, 10/15, for packet pick-up where Quintana Roo will be here to demo their goods.

10/23:  Newport Beach Triathlon – .5 mi swim; 15 mi bike; 3 mi run
We’ll be at the expo on Saturday, 10/22.

A few other races you might be interested in:

10/9:  Go long! M3 Long Course & Olympic Distance at Castaic Lake.
They also have 5K & 10K run courses on Saturday, 10/8.

10/23:  Go backwards! 1st annual Pali 5k run/walk, kids fun run, and reverse triathlon. A Halloween Fair follows the race festivities.

11/5-6:  Take a trip north! Marin County Triathlon Sprint, Olympic, and Kids races throughout the weekend.

11/27:  Family fun! San Dimas Turkey Tri & Pumpkin Pie Duathlon for grown-ups & kids.

12/3-4:  A tri for everyone! HITS Triathlon Series, in Palm Springs, has 5 distances-open (super sprint-100 m swim, 3 mi bike, 1 mi run), sprint, Olympic, half, and full.

12/11:  Costumed fun! Tinselman reverse triathlon is a popular race for those wanting to don their favorite holiday costumes.

Have fun!

 

Michellie Jones’ Racing and Training Lessons

Tonight, we are honored to have Michellie Jones in our store to share her experience as the winningest athlete in the sport of triathlon. She is telling her captured audience, “your nutrition can make or break your race…mind is willing, but it won’t stop your body from breaking down.” The latter she shares after showing the famous collapse then crawl-to-the-finish between Wendy Ingraham and Paula Newby-Fraser, just feet from the chute.

She advises all athletes to use electrolytes, both to prevent cramping and ensure fluid absorption. Also, it is important to consume various forms of carbohydrate, depending on the duration of your event. Gatorade, her preferred training and racing fuel has various forms of sugar that are on “time-release”–the varying sugars become effective at different times after consuming it.

Ms. Michellie Jones knows her stuff. Easily, we call her the winningest triathlete in the sport: Ironman World Champion, Olympic Silver Medalist, 2x ITU World Champion, 2x ITU World Cup Champion, Xterra World Champion, 3x Ironman Champion, 12 ITU World cup Victories, 8 ITU World Championship Medals, 8x Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon Champion, 7x Chicago Triathlon Champion, 7x St Anthony’s Triathlon Champion, and 10x San Diego International Triathlon.

She can’t stress enough that it doesn’t matter how hard your train, if you don’t fuel appropriately, you’ll run out of gas.

(By the way, she tells us it’s better to win the silver medal because it’s solid silver…gold medalists get gold-plated medals…)

 

What’s New With Chris Foster?

You can find Chris Foster training all around southern California.

You can find out for yourself. Triathlon LAB-Santa Monica is hosting Chris Foster, the super speedy short courser, on Wednesday, August 24, at 7:00 pm.

He’s a local favorite triathlete, and we have featured him in a few of our features. In fact, you can search our archives for some of his favorite workouts.Why wouldn’t you want to train like Chris? He PRd a mile time of 4:01, an official 10k after bike 30:09 (that’s sub 5-minute miles), official 40k bike time in triathlon at 56:42, and did a 40k TT in 54:37 .

If you want to hear more about his training, his accidents, his journey having gone pro, his adventures with mad travel, or how he races at his peak weekend after weekend, you can in just two short weeks. For those people who attended our event with Siri Lindley a few weeks ago, you can hear for yourself, how it’s like to be one of the few men to be coached by Siri.

For more details and to RSVP click on this link to the Eventbrite page.

 

Bike Intervals from Robert Keating

Triathlon LAB guru Robert Keating is a powerhouse on the bike. He gains his strength from workouts like the one described below:

Find a safe stretch of road that is almost flat for at least one mile. “Your interval efforts may become extreme, and it is best to stay clear of other cyclists, lest you run them down, ” says Robert.

Warm-up – Begin cycling at a comfortable effort of 40% of your maximum exertion, approximately 10 minutes.

Workout set – Shift to your highest gear on a flat road (or if on an incline, a gear that requires more effort on your legs than your body weight to push the pedals down), stand up and pedal at an effort of 75 to 85 %, getting the greatest range of motion (using heel drop and raise), while using hands, arms, lower back, and gluteals to transfer maximal effort. Maintain this effort for approximately one-half mile.

Recover one-half mile. Shift to a gear that allows you 55% exertion at a fast cadence (above 90 RPM).

Repeat 5-8 times, time allowing.

Incorporate this bike workout into your training regimen, and watch the time tick off your splits!