Instagram Post 4/14/22
Many coaches (myself included) utilize intervals with “hard starts”, meaning a short higher-powered start before settling into a more steady-state power target. Why? This paper describes how starting hard on VO2 Max intervals can improve the total time near peak oxygen consumption, which is an important factor for improving VO2 Max. No… we aren’t just being sadistic. 😉
Muscle fiber type likely plays a role in how well you are able to cope with high training loads. This study concludes, “These findings suggest that runners with an estimated higher proportion of type I fibers are able to better cope with increases in training volume and achieve superior performance adaptations.” Does this mean that it depends on your parents (e.g. genetics) as to how well you absorb loads? No… muscle fibers are adaptable as well, and we can see this demonstrated in this paper, discussing fiber distribution differences between identical twins, due to endurance training. While historic studies showed transitions from IIx (fast-twitch glycolytic) to IIa (fast-twitch aerobic), more recent studies like this show transition (and hybrid fibers) between fast-twitch IIa and slow-twitch I as well. While genetics certainly provides the basis of fiber distribution, the training you do will change the expression of your genes (epigenetics), and your distribution at a given point in time. The key point here is that by doing more focused work on developing slow-twitch fibers, you are likely improving your capacity to handle high loads as well.
Not all VO2 Max workouts are the same. This is why I like to use two different approaches, to target two different systems. As simplistically as possible, VO2 Max is the maximum amount of oxygen you can use for a given sport. VO2 Max is a factor in your overall cycling power or pace for running, and is a trainable metric. It is also a balance point… your cardiovascular system (lungs and heart) supply O2 to the muscles, where the muscle fibers utilize that O2 to do aerobic work. Often, one of these systems is stronger than the other, with the weaker being the limiter to your VO2 Max growth. For example, I’ll often see people from running backgrounds have very strong cardiovascular systems. They may be able to produce a lot of O2 to the muscle… but if their quads lack the capacity to utilize all that oxygen (in cycling specifically), then their legs become a limiter to their performance. By understanding an athlete’s needs, you can tailor workouts to help address their limitations. This article summarizes how longer interval VO2 Max sets tend to target the cardiovascular system more, whereas shorter (micro intervals) tend to improve utilization.
Is your workout feeling harder today than it should? Maybe you are dehydrated (hypohydration). This study looked at hypohydration in females and found that being dehydrated decreased pain tolerance (more sensitive to pain). They did not find any link between the menstrual cycle and pain tolerance. Previous studies have shown similar decreased pain tolerance for males, with hypohydration.
Instagram Post 1/17/21
I recently created a blog post on season planning for multi-day races. These are tips and strategies that I’ve learned over the past several years, as I’ve coached athletes for both unsupported and supported events… Trans Am Bike Race, Bike Nonstop US, Race Across America, Race Across the West, Tour Divide, BC Epic 1000, Big Sky Spectaculaire, Trans MN Sota and others. If you are creating your own training schedule, it’s a good place to start to ensure you are covering the fundamentals. The link is here.
I’ve had a lot of athletes who have recently been diagnosed with COVID, and was infected myself. Here are some of the return to play guidelines that may be useful to you (or your friends/family), if you are looking to get back to training post-COVID:
Graduated return to play guidelines from the British Journal of Sports Medicine, located here.
Although rare, there are some risks of inflammatory heart disease post-COVID, as discussed in this study in by the Journal of the American Medical Association, located here. If you have any concerns, it’s worth meeting with your doctor before resuming training.
Instagram Post 12/12/21
Recent Topics of Interest:
The connection between overtraining and under-fueling. A great article discussing how many of the symptoms and results are the same… and the potential that under-fueling may be a key contributor to over-training in some situations. Are you as an athlete are sabotaging your training (and potentially risking over-training), by under-fueling? Definitely worth the read…
Along the lines of the first article, Stacy Simm’s wrote an article on the importance of post-exercise recovery fueling for females, and how not eating post-workout may result similarly to not eating enough.
There have been past studies that have found a correlation between endurance sports and higher levels of pain tolerance, relative to untrained groups. A recent study compared untrained people, strength-trained athletes and endurance-trained athletes. The authors conclusions were, “Although athletes in general seem less responsive to noxious stimuli than non-athletes, the type of sport differentially affects pain perception; whereas endurance-based sport is associated with improved pain inhibition, strength-based sport is associated with reduced pain sensitivity.”
A recent meta-analysis was done, looking at 43 studies on concurrent endurance and strength work, to determine if the aerobic work compromises muscle hypertrophy and maximum strength development. The conclusion was, “Concurrent aerobic and strength training does not compromise muscle hypertrophy and maximal strength development. However, explosive strength gains may be attenuated, especially when aerobic and strength training are performed in the same session. These results appeared to be independent of the type of aerobic training, frequency of concurrent training, training status, and age.” Some of the explosive strength attenuations may be mitigated by separating the sessions by at least 3 hours.
Instagram Post 11/10/21
Recent Topics of Interest:
Junk miles. I think too many cyclists focus on miles (maybe for Strava recognition, etc.), and not enough about the overall purpose of the workout. Your body doesn’t adapt based on miles… it adapts to the stress/strain induced, which is a function of the relative intensity and duration. Plodding along to meet at mileage goal with low relative intensity provides little benefit from an adaptation standpoint. What is too low? A study on skiers who exercised around 5.5 hours per day over 50 days (with 7 rest days interspersed) at 45% of VO2 max showed no significant improvement in VO2 Max, capillary density or mean muscle fiber area (in the Vastus Lateralis). The key point here is relative intensity is important, and if you are doing long rides and your intensity drops too low… you may not be driving fitness adaptations… you may just be making yourself tired. This isn’t to say that there is zero value, as you may want to test gear, your saddle/bibs, your resolve or simply improve confidence… but don’t assume miles translate directly into adaptations.
Looking for a relatively simple way to estimate what is too low for beneficial training? We can look at a modified version of heart rate reserve (HRR) to come up with a general value to get you in the ballpark:
Min HR Effective Estimate = 0.5 x (HR Max - Resting HR) + Resting HR.
Let’s look at an example. Let’s assume my maximal cycling HR is around 182. This is an observed value, on a maximal effort, from historical data. We just want to avoid using numbers that are from unusual situations such as being dehydrated on a hot race day, or errors in HR data from static electricity from your jersey… but maybe a number we’ve seen in a couple of races or maximal efforts. Often we see these values when doing short time trials or short cycling maximal assessments, as we get to the end and use up whatever power we have left. Next, we need a resting HR value. While we could use the traditional method for this (lying down), I feel it is more relevant to use a sitting position. Essentially this corresponds to you sitting on the bike, not pedaling or making any power. If my resting (sitting in this case, relaxed and not stressed) HR is 60, then my minimal effective HR would be: 0.5 x (182-60) + 60 = 121 bpm. Of course this is an estimate only, but at least it can help you with a baseline value to help ensure your ride remains in a productive intensity zone.Not being a weight-bearing activity, cycling can negatively impact bone density. This article does a great job of discussing the potential causes, consequences and potential solutions. Besides a healthy diet (in particular, getting adequate calories as well as vitamin D and calcium), the article suggests impact training may be one of the best ways to help alleviate the problem, with a relatively time-efficient protocol of doing 10-20 jumps, three times a day, three times a week.
Psychological stress impairs recovery. This study highlights how higher perceived stress negatively impacted recovery following strenuous exercise, over a 96-hour period. The important point here is that psychological stress is an important consideration in terms of when and how often you should consider high-intensity work. If you feel stressed, easier work… that you can fully recover from, may provide better benefits and lower risk of over-training symptoms.
Instagram Post 10/8/21
Recent topics of interest:
Iron. Two articles… “Are my iron levels impacting performance?” and “Preventing / treating iron deficiency”. Although it can impact anyone, it can be more of a challenge for females and those who follow plant-based diet, due to absorption rates.
Ice baths… the pro’s and con’s of using cold therapy after exercise. The short answer is it can help reduce temporary inflammation/pain, but may blunt long-term exercise response.
A lengthy and comprehensive article from Nutrient Journal, “Achieving an Optimal Fat Loss Phase in Resistance-Trained Athletes: A Narrative Review”. It discusses energy balance, macronutrient recommendations, timing, frequency, micronutrients, and supplements.
News: Continental launches a new Grand Prix 5000s TR Tubless tires, that is supposed to weigh 50b less, have better sidewall protection and decrease rolling resistance by 20%. It will be interesting to see how this performs in independent testing… this could be a significant improvement in triathlon or road-based ultra-cycling.
Instagram post 9/20/21
Recent topics of interest:
I’m a fan of using HRV (Heart Rate Variability) and RHR (Resting Heart Rate) to help identify overall stress and readiness to train (I covered this in the 7/18 post below). Marco Altini has a great blog here that discusses what impacts HRV and RHR, how fitness, age, and sex impact readings. In his follow-up article here, Marco discusses interpreting acute changes in HRV and RHR values, and why tracking both can be beneficial.
This article discusses sex differences as a result of exercise-induced dehydration. The findings suggest that the consequences of exercise-induced dehydration may occur at lower levels of dehydration for females than males.
Abstaining from caffeine use prior to racing may be beneficial for those who are habitual caffeine users. This study suggests that body temperatures increased more for those who use caffeine regularly, likely due to changes in blood flow to the skin.
Ever wonder why some people think about exercise and lose weight, and others put in a lot of hours and still need to watch intake? This paper discusses the impact of energy compensation and adiposity in humans and may fill in part of the puzzle. The key point is that as people increased activity, basal metabolic rates decreased (compensating), and there was a significant compensation variance between individuals. Interestingly, in this paper, there wasn’t any significant difference in compensation between men and women, and it wasn’t impacted by age.
Instagram post 8/26/21
Recent topics of interest:
The mental side of racing and training… and your capacity to endure discomfort, suffering and pain is part of being an athlete. Some have the mistaken view that it gets “easier” as you become more well-trained. Greg Lemond said, “It never gets any easier, you just go faster”. If it is becoming easier, you may not be pushing your training or racing as hard as you could. TrainingPeaks has a nice article on why getting faster hurts, located here. Along those lines, dealing with discomfort (or suffering) is a skill that can be improved. Outside has an article on coping strategies located here.
Protein. Yes, I’ve touched on this topic before… but it’s an area that can be limiting for athletes if they are not getting enough protein to adequately build or rebuild muscles. Why put in the work, if you don’t give your body adequate tools to build adaptations? This study discusses that 30g of protein provides an effective dose for young men, while this article (and the underlying study) notes that 40g may be required for older adults. Another consideration is that the net amount of protein needed may be a factor of the amount of amino acids within the source, as well as the digestibility of the protein itself. This article does a great job of listing different sources and the essential amino acids content.
Iron. One other important consideration for athletes is getting adequate iron. A recent article I came across indicated that iron deficiency anemia is on the rise in America, primarily due to dietary changes. As an athlete, what you choose to eat (or exclude) can have a significant impact on performance… choose wisely.
Instagram post 7/18/21
A mix of topics of interest:
HRV. I really like using HRV as a recovery barometer. It’s just one metric, but it tends to capture overall stress. Used in conjunction with common-sense subjective data (your fatigue feeling, soreness, etc.), it can be an effective tool in doing smart adjustments to training. I’ve personally tried 5 different HRV apps over the years, and currently use the combination of the Oura Ring and HRV4Training to review my own recovery and integration into TrainingPeaks / WKO5 for analysis. I have no ties to HRV4Training. The author is a researcher and publishes papers/articles regularly, it is easy to use, it’s inexpensive (one-time $10 cost) and it integrates well into TrainingPeaks. I started using the Oura ring last fall, and it integrates into HRV4Training (and then TP). The incremental advantage is that it also tracks sleep, tracks HRV/RHR over the entire nighttime (providing better sampling), and shows changes in temperature and respiration rate. Here are recent articles I’ve come across on HRV:
HRV and mental stress. This article is part of a series, and it is worth looking at the other articles as well. The key point here is that mental stress impacts the body in some ways very similar to hard workouts. Collectively, the hard workouts and mental stress can negatively impact recovery… and may end up blunting adaptive responses. If you combine too much training load and too much mental stress… you can risk moving into an overtraining situation.
HRV and menstrual cycle. This was the first article I’ve come across discussing research on HRV and the potential impact of the menstrual cycle. As highlighted in the study on my 4/3 post (cardiovascular response changes in response to menstrual cycles), we see HR rises during the later phases, which generally results in a lower HRV as well.
Women are better fat burners than men. Another good summary by Asker Jeukendrup. Basically, women tend to oxidize fat (use as a fuel source) at a higher rate and broader range than men. This has implications for ultra-type events, in that women are then more likely to maintain glycogen stores better (less likely to bonk).
What it takes to run a mountain ultra-running race. Although targeted at ultra-runners, a lot of the concepts are also applicable to ultra-cycling. One of the key things discussed in this article that many athletes don’t understand is that central fatigue becomes a key factor in many ultra-length events. Basically (and over-simplistically), the brain’s (or spinal cord’s) ability to generate high-powered signals is reduced with fatigue, and although the muscles are capable of more capacity… the brain becomes a limiter. This article also touches on the hypothesis that women’s muscles fatigue more slowly than men’s, due to fiber type differences. A lot of interesting takeaways from this summary.
Aging and VO2max. It’s an unfortunate aspect of aging… VO2max potential decreases with time. Joe Friel provides a good overview as well as some comparative references. Also in the article is a link on aging and intervals… a way to help decrease the decline. That said, it’s important to understand that much of these conversations revolve around potential peak VO2max, and the vast majority of the people are nowhere near their maximum VO2max capacity. Effectively, that means that with good training, you may (and probably) will be able to increase your VO2max.
Is high-intensity training bad for you? Several weeks ago one of my athletes sent me an article based on this study (there were several at the time), as frustratingly the media seems to love to bash exercise. As I read the study, it was easy to potential flaws in drawing general conclusions and extending it to everyone out there exercising (the extreme nature of the protocol being glaringly obvious). The linked article above does a nice job of articulating some shortcomings in an analytical manner. This isn’t to say that you can’t overdo high-intensity work or long-duration work… you certainly can… but if you are methodical/progressive with your training, use good feedback to guide recovery (HRV and subjective scores), the risk is relatively low. In general, I don’t believe that the worldwide health issues are from doing “too much” high-intensity work or too much volume… but too little for most people.
Instagram post 4/3/21 - A mix of topics: Heat Adaptation, Female Specific Articles & Changes in Power with Fatigue
For the Midwest, it seems like we are moving from winter temps to summer temps in a hurry. These quick changes can impair racing performance, if your body is not acclimatized / adapted to the heat. Although you can often adapt to the heat by simply exercising in the heat, at times it can be beneficial to accelerate this process (e.g. if you need to race in warmer location, but it’s still cool where you are training). Sauna protocols have been around for some time, but in the past few years there has been more focus on using hot baths, as more people can implement this at home. Here are some of my favorite articles on this topic:
This is great summary of the studies on the topic, as to the benefits of using hot baths for heat adaptation.
This article / interview does a nice job of providing practical guidelines… essentially how to utilize hot baths to drive heat adaptations.
The reference study link.
Female-specific articles. Unfortunately, there have been a lot fewer studies on females relative to males in the endurance world. Sometimes there are quantifiable differences (e.g. fat oxidation rates, etc.), but there is also conjecture at times that is promoted as a fact, that may or may not be correct. Here are a couple of interesting pieces:
Study: Menstrual Cycle Phases Influence on Cardiorespiratory Response to Exercise in Endurance-Trained Females. They conclusion states, “The status of the current research suggests that sex hormone fluctuations throughout the menstrual cycle appear not to be high enough to disrupt physiological adjustments caused by high intensity interval exercise. However, Ve and HR seem to be the most altered variables across the menstrual cycle and, therefore, HR based training programs should consider menstrual cycle phase. Nonetheless, due to high variability in sex hormones concentrations between subjects and from day to day within subjects during any particular phase, individual considerations should be taken into account when training females.”
Opinion: Should female athletes hydrate differently than their male counterparts? Key argument, ”In young and healthy women, estrogen and progesterone do not induce excess fluid retention or loss; neither do they induce excess sodium retention or loss. Instead, they appear to alter the homeostatic set point (i.e., the range of values that help maintain balance) around these systems. Ultimately, the overall effect of the menstrual cycle on sodium and fluid balance appears minimal. Therefore, separate hydration for men and women isn’t warranted, which is what the American College of Sports Medicine also concluded: “sex differences in renal water and electrolyte retention are subtle and probably not of consequence.”
As we’d expect, 2 hours of high-intensity riding has a negative impact on threshold power (listed as CP) and anaerobic capacity (listed as W’), as detailed in the following study. The conclusion was, “In conclusion, the parameters of the power-duration relationship were appreciably reduced when estimated following 2 h of heavy-intensity exercise compared with the rested state. The reductions in CP (~10%) and W′ (~20%) were similar when estimated with the conventional protocol and the 3MT, indicating that the 3MT may be used to conveniently estimate the CP and W′ under these conditions. The changes in EP and WEP following 2 h of heavy-intensity exercise were not significantly correlated with the reduction in muscle [glycogen]. Also of interest, the researchers used a 3-minute maximal effort test (referred to as 3MT) and found results similar to conventional methodologies. For those unfamiliar, the basic premise is starting at a sprint and doing maximal power for 3 minutes, with the end power being around your threshold and the area above this being W’ (or anaerobic capacity). The key point for most athletes is understanding that it is normal for fatigue to impact power in longer duration events (with everyone having power decay/fatigue curve based on event duration), and not to have the unrealistic expectation that your last hour power or sprint will be close to what you can do in the first hour.
Instagram post 3/3/21 - Race Day Fueling Tips
For this post I’ll highlight some resources that may be helpful in developing your own race day fueling strategy.
I have two links from MySportScience discussing what often causes GI distress, and some things you can do to improve your “gut training” (systematically altering fueling strategy in training to improve carbohydrate and liquids, with less GI distress).
There’s also a link to a good podcast from TrainingPeaks on gut training and an in depth paper on glycogen metabolism.
Train Smarter!
Instagram post 1/24/21 - Understanding Heart Rate and how it can make you faster
Heart rate data is a great bang for the buck. For a relatively inexpensive device, you can watch how your body is responding to your current situation… including your training intensity, body temperature, hydration level and can provide feedback on fitness level as well.
In the following video, Dr. Stephen Seiler discusses load, stress and strain, and how you can interpret the changes in HR / Power to identify fitness / training needs:
Dr. Seiler discusses cardiac drift as the indicator of fitness, and if you are a TrainingPeaks user, you can see use this metric yourself (see this article: https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/how-to-use-aerobic-decoupling/ ). Although Dr. Seiler’s video is based on cycling, the concept is similar for running, based on pace or power.
If you follow Dr. Seiler or his research, you’ll know he is a big proponent of a polarized training model, which advocates that the bulk of the training is done below lactate threshold 1 (LT1), with the balance at or above lactate threshold 2 (LT2). While there are a lot of methods of estimating MLSS by doing field FTP tests, a recent study has suggested a strategy for using heartrate variability to identify LT1 (technically it’s looking for VT1… ventilatory threshold 1, which is often reasonably close to LT1):
In a nutshell, this methodology is looking at the variance in heart rate variability (HRV) as the load changes, to identify when ventilation rate changes. The main metric of the analysis is using a metric called DFA alpha1, to analyze the changes in variation over time, while performing a ramp test. There is a free software version of the software package called Kubios, which can be used to upload a workout file (in .fit format), and you can highlight areas of the ramp test to calculate DFA a1, and then plot it out to find the corresponding HR, pace or power when the metric is around 0.75. Note that you need to be able to record HRV in real time, which is an option you can enable in many Garmin devices (but I don’t believe this is an option in Wahoo devices). An in depth discussion of this method is shown here: http://www.muscleoxygentraining.com/2019/06/dfa-alpha1-hrv-complexity-and-polarized.html
Alternatively, the easier solution is to use an app called Heart Rate Variability Logger, created by Marco Altini, the creator of HRV4Training app ($9.99 one time cost). Using this app will record your HR data, HRV data, and will give you real time feedback on DFA a1 and can export your data via a CSV file that can be analyzed with Excel. The important point is to align the recording start with your 2 or 4 minute ramp intervals. Discussion of this app in real time use is shown here: http://www.muscleoxygentraining.com/2020/12/real-time-aerobic-thresholds-and.html
Although a new concept, I’ve used these or other methods (WKO) to help identify this threshold for some of my athletes, and it’s an effective tool for modifying workouts on the fly. We can create HR high limits to ensure the workout strain remains in an acceptable level, in the context of the entire weekly loading.
On my IG post, I mentioned a fat bike racing video highlighting T2M athlete Jon Lester… he’s shown around 6:50 into the following video. https://youtu.be/VVnsQATV-R8
Train Smarter!
Instagram post 1/5/21 - Consistency, volume and intensity:
“People overrate intensity and underrate consistency”. - Brad Stulberg
Maybe the best tweet I’ve read in the past couple of weeks. I generally find that the athletes I coach who are the most consistent get the best results. It’s not a matter of hammering one or two workouts and getting fit. Rather, it’s consistently executing workouts, that are structured over time in a progressive manner, that leads to fitness adaptations. And of course, consistency also applies to recovery, sleep and nutrition… the key tools your body needs to turn your work into fitness adaptions. Miss the last part and your hard work will likely make you tired, but not necessarily more fit.
I’m just posting one article this week, “Ultimate limiter – cardiac output, can we approach the pros?” It’s technical but does a nice job of referencing / interpreting studies on the topic. The primary conclusions of this author:
Depending on the level of athletic fitness, there is a range of cardiac muscle and cardiac chamber structural enhancement. This leads to higher stroke volume which is the main determinant of VO2 max. The elite group possess the extreme limits of cardiac size, mass and function.
Although partially seen after even short-term training of easy to moderate intensity, the impressive levels seen in the elite group probably take years of constant high-volume training to develop...
It appears that very large amounts of time at low intensity both promote cardiac changes and enable the athlete to optimally benefit from future high intensity sessions.
Whether this is due to various combinations of cardiac remodeling, capillary density and other metabolic alteration is not critically important - the fact is, to perform at a high level most athletes need to put the time and distance into training.
Additional Comments:
Here’s the link for the article above.
Again, you can’t just do a couple “magic” or “ultimate” workouts as week and expect results… it’s a matter of building training load over time. This author is suggesting a polarized strategy for optimizing VO2 max, where the bulk of time is spent in zone 1, some high intensity work in zone 3, and little time in zone 2. Note that polarized typically implies only 3 zones… not a 7 zone system like Coggan’s… with zone 1 being below lactate threshold 1, zone 3 above lactate threshold 2 (which would be around FTP) and zone 2 in between (zone 2 in polarized is like high tempo and sweet spot under Coggan’s zones).
A couple of additional observations I’ve had over the years in coaching ultra-cycling. Most athletes understand that you need a lot of volume. Historically people used volume (as discussed above) as a reflection of training load. If you train the same way (similar intensity), same bike, same course, then it could be a better indicator of training load. But if you ride some of your rides on the road, some on gravel, some on a fat bike, some on a trainer, and maybe a TT bike… then miles don’t truly equate to each other. Is 30 miles of a fat bike through fresh snow the same as riding 30 miles of flat smooth rail trail on a TT bike? In my experience, it’s better to look at total weekly duration, within established intensity zones (whether you use the polarized or Coggan’s approach).
An important nuance of this for ultra-cycling (and gravel), it’s important to consider how much time is productive as well… seat time is not inherently productive from an aerobic fitness standpoint. Spending hours with power at under 30-40% of FTP isn’t likely providing a lot of fitness adaptations but may impair your ability to recover. It’s important to be mindful of the “bang for your buck” you are getting with training. Here is a link from Coggan discussing relative value of adaptations in each training zone… likely not a lot of benefit at super low intensities. This is why it’s important to consider both duration and intensity, and not just miles, when considering your own training strategy.
Stay consistent and Train Smart!
Instagram post 12/13/20 - Strength Podcasts - Potential adaption signaling interference with strength and endurance work…
As mentioned in a previous post, strength training can be an important part of athlete development and injury prevention. For those that like to listen to podcasts, I have a couple of great podcasts for you to listen to on upcoming rides, related to strength and endurance training:
This first podcast is from a researcher known for his expertise in tendon health, Keith Baar. Although part of the podcasts discusses training tendons (which is very important for injury prevention), there’s also an important section on interference potential between endurance training and strength training (meaning how endurance may blunt adaptation signaling from lifting or vice versa). This is important to understand to help maximize the benefits from both endurance and strength work. Keith also talks about strategies to help build or repair tendons as well. The podcast link is here.
The second podcast is from a coach who looks at Keith Baar’s past research on strength / endurance interference in more detail, and discusses practical implications, as well as getting into some of the more current research discussing transition / hybridization of muscle fiber types. The key point of is that fiber type can and will change with training, and it’s important that your training is consistent with your goals (e.g. if you are focusing on endurance, you can potentially perform training that reduces fat oxidation rates and may complicate fueling for long events). The podcast link is here.
Instagram Post 11/30/20 - Strength training articles for endurance athletes
I highly recommend endurance athletes do strength training as part of their normal routines, and I schedule strength workouts for all of my athletes. Some research shows potential gains in running speed or cycling power (1), other shows improvement in stamina (holding intensity higher for longer) (2), but maybe most importantly… strength training may help prevent injuries (3). In terms of training strategy, there’s been some debate on the impact of heavy versus light weights as well as lifting to failure or not, and how it drives strength and muscle size. A recent study (4) showed heavy weights (whether lifted to failure or not) had more strength gains than lighter weights (33% to 16-17%), and the not-to-failure light weight group didn’t gain as much muscle cross sectional area as the other groups (2.8% vs 8%). One of the most interesting articles I have come across recently discusses how lighter weight sets can actually create MORE fatigue and take longer recovery than lifting heavier weights (5). This is a really technical blog covering several studies, but worth the read.
“It is perhaps, no surprise that the leg strength increased by 23% in the weight training group and was maintained. Leg strength did not increase in the endurance group. Additionally, in forty-minute time trial tests, the strength group increased their mean power by 8% during the preparation phase and then a further 6% by the end of the competition phase. The endurance group increased mean power by 4% at the end of the preparation phase and this was not increased in the competition phase.”
- Full article HERE.“Strength training didn’t produce any magical endurance gains that were immediately obvious when the athletes hopped on a treadmill or a lab bike. But as they got more fatigued, differences emerged. The strength-trained athletes had better cycling economy during the final two hours of a three-hour bike ride (but not the first hour), and they performed 7.0 percent better in a five-minute all-out trial immediately after the three-hour ride. Similarly, they were 4.7 percent better in a five-minute all-out run following 90 minutes of submaximal running. In other words, strength training seemed to improve fatigue resistance.”
- Full article HERE.“The result was consistent across robustness tests and strength of evidence was high. A 10% increase in strength training volume reduced the risk of injury by more than four percentage points. Formal tests found no publication bias.”
- Full study HERE.“There are two outcomes of interest: strength and muscle size. For strength, both heavy-load groups gained about 33 percent, while both light-load groups gained about 16 to 17 percent. Going to failure didn’t make any significant difference, but heavier weights seemed to be better than light ones. To get strong, go heavy.
For muscle size, three of the groups gained around 8 percent in cross-sectional area. The exception was the light-weight, not-to-failure group, which gained only 2.8 percent. So if you’re looking to gain muscle size with light weights, you need to push it to failure (or at least somewhere close). With heavier weights, that doesn’t seem to matter.”
- Full article HERE.“Contrary to popular belief, light load strength training workouts cause more sustained fatigue than similar workouts involving heavier loads. This greater sustained fatigue can be attributed to more excitation-contraction coupling failure, more myofibrillar damage, and more central nervous system (CNS) fatigue.”
-Full article HERE.
Instagram Post 11/17/20 - The impact of gloves vs pogies for gravel racing
In my latest blog post, I answer an old question, “If I expect really cold weather on race day, how much time will it cost me to use pogies on my bike to keep my hands warm and functional?” I compare the aerodynamic and weight impact of heavy gloves to Bar Mitts as well as Bike Iowa’s Pogie Lites, and share some thoughts on each. I’ve also included a discussion on field testing, and video links where I show you how to use Golden Cheetah or Best Bike Split for doing your own gear testings.
The direct link to the blog post is here.
Instagram Post 11/9/20 - Misc Athlete Tips
HRV (Heart Rate Variability) is a great tool for assessing recovery and readiness to train. It is a well-studied metric and can capture the effects of both physical and mental fatigue/stress. I have personally been using it for years and recommend it to my ultra-endurance athletes as well. My favorite tool for this is the HRV4Training app… it’s cheap, well tested accurate and syncs directly with TrainingPeaks. Currently I am using it in conjunction with an Oura Ring, which makes capturing sleep data and readiness extremely easy. I’ve attached a great article on how to bump up your HRV, which then improves your ability to handle more training stress. Note that I have zero affiliation with any of these products… they just work well for me. Here’s the link for how to improve your HRV (and recover better).
With less sunlight this time of year, vitamin D may be more of a concern for many people. I’ve attached a link to a great article discussing the benefits of vitamin D, as well as sources and potential dosages. Here’s the link on vitamin D.
T2M Athlete Keith Morical (who set the 7500+ record riding through the 48 contiguous states this year) discusses how to avoid and deal with saddles sores in this article.
Instagam Post 10/22/20 - Additional Speed Tips
This first link has a good article on aerodynamics. Although focused more focused on road or time trials, many of the concepts are applicable to gravel racing as well. Bike fit is critical for aerodynamics, since the largest aero loss is due to body position. The key is to never get so aggressive that you can’t hold the position… having a fast aero position doesn’t provide benefits if you are constantly sitting up and riding on the hoods. Likewise, even gear choices can be ported to gravel racing as well. Rather than riding with a dedicated time trial suit, just wearing tighter fitted (non-flapping) gear can make a big difference in aero losses, as well as considering aero road type helmets for fast or long races.
This video from TJ Tollakson provides 5 tips that can improve time trial / triathlon bike speed. TJ covers how standard cranksets, spokes and skewers cost you time, water bottle position and when to use a full rear disc versus a standard deep wheel… some useful information!
Instagram Post 10/13/20 - Marginal Gains Resources
Great video on position differences (hoods, drops and aerohoods), impact of rain coats (coat, zipped down partially, zipped down fully), impact of a beard, impact of numbers mounted on the front of your bike (like a gravel race) and on your back. Unsurprisingly, having your coat flapping, a flat number attached to the front of your bike and sitting up in the hoods are bigger penalties. Surprisingly (in this test), having your coat unzipped part way wasn’t a penalty, having a beard resulted in a slight gain, and folding your number on your back like a small fin was faster than not having a number on your back at all.
Another video on the wind tunnel… hair down, pony tail, bun or braid… which hair style is fastest? Spoiler… the braid is faster than the other styles.
A video on shaved legs… does it really matter? A resounding “yes” on this one…
Tires, Tubes & Sealant:
Time trial tires… the impact of aero and rolling resistance. Vittora, Michelin and Schwalbe all have TT tires faster than Continental GP5000’s (but may not be as durable).
How much sealant impacts your tire rolling resistance. The more sealant you use, the more rolling resistance.
A run down of road tires, both tubeless and tubes. Both can be fast… the tire compounds and construction are a bigger part of rolling resistance than the tube or tubeless debate.
For those more concerned with gravel racing, Bike Tire Rolling Resistance’s website is now starting to build rolling resistance data for gravel tires as well.
Does rolling resistance really matter? Here’s a blog I did on tire choices a while back, and as you can see from the modeling, in some cases tire choices can be much bigger gains than spendier options such as aero helmets. This is equally important (and maybe moreso) on gravel riding, as the rolling resistance is higher and the speeds are generally lower (meaning rolling resistance is a bigger part of overall power use than in road cycling).
A great overview on chain lubes, efficiency and cleanliness. The original data on longevity is shown here. Personally, I wax chains for general riding, I use MSW (will be trying Silca’s shortly) melt wax. I’ve had good results using Silca’s and True Tension’s wax drip lubes as touch up (between re-applying melt wax), and my choice for a traditional lubricant is NFS (when things get ugly… bikepacking in snow, rain, mud and gravel… this is what I carry for backup). For optimized race chains, my (and most of my athletes) use Ice Friction Chains as they are fast, quiet and hold up well for ultra-cycling events. Note that I do not have any financial ties to any of these products or websites… just my personal opinions / experiences.
An article on water bottle position for road bikes. Bottle size and position can be a big factor, with between the arms and behind the saddle generally being the best. Aero bottles on downtube are much better than traditional water bottles.
Instagram Post 10/5/20 - Links for additional resources on “Fueling your events”:
A Model for 4-24 hour cycling events. This was an article I wrote a few years ago specific to ultracycling, but the general discussion and supporting links are applicable to long course triathlon or running as well (but the spreadsheets are specific to cycling).
When I wrote the article above, the recommendation was up to 90g per hour of mixed carbohydrate sources. Since then, new studies have come up showing some elite athletes are tolerating up to 120g/hour. An overview of the study is here, with a followup Q&A section here.
One of the MOST important points is that your “gut” is trainable, if you are systematically increasing the volume / calories as part of your training. This article provides a simple overview description along with strategies, and this article provides more detailed information.
As a whole, carbohydrates are king for fueling, as they are absorbed and process quickly as fuel for the body. One important nuance is within carbohydrates, there are some benefits to complex carbohydrates such as maltodextrin, as they require less fluid to maintain an acceptable concentration in the gut. The discussion can get pretty involved, but here’s a good overview from an ultra swimming blog as a starting point, this one shows the relative difference between glucose, fructose and maltodextrin, and although this final article is from a nutrition manufacturer (and I’m not promoting their specific product), it also does a good job of explaining how the simple sugars require more fluid. The point here is that if you are trying to get higher caloric intakes, you can possible run into concentration issues (technically osmolality problems) that slows absorption or creates GI distress if you are utilizing more simple sugars and not getting enough fluids.
One last point… although your body may contain 1500-2000+ calories of stored glycogen, the majority is stored within the muscle fibers themselves. This glycogen cannot be directly transported to other muscles cells that may be running low on glycogen. For example, glycogen stored in the arms will unlikely be able to be used in the legs, so your total usable glycogen stores will most likely be less than what exists in your body. The caveat here (without getting too technical) is that some transport does occur via lactate, when muscles are operating using the glycolytic metabolic pathway (anaerobically). So when muscles are used at really high intensity, lactate is created and enters the blood and can be used by other muscle cells as fuel. That said, realistically the lactate transport is likely between fibers in the same muscle group (e.g. your quads when climbing a hill). The fibers working anaerobically create lactate that may carried in the blood and used by fibers operating oxidatively… but this is still less than the total amount stored in your body at full capacity. The point is when using the model from the first article, a bonk may occur well below your theoretical total glycogen stores.
Instagram Post 10/2/20 - Links for additional resources on “Protein Recommendations”:
International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise - Position paper describing protein recommendations. Long and detailed, summarizing a lot of research.
How much protein do I need to eat to build muscle? - Excellent article from a well-respected researcher in protein.
What is the best protein source for building muscle? - Another great article from mysportscience describing the differences in protein sources. Not all protein sources are equal, but adequate protein can be obtained from either animal or plant sources with sufficient variety and quantities.
Perfecting Protein Intake for Athletes: How Much, What, and When? (and Beyond) - Another very comprehensive review of the research on protein. Long, but worth the read.