There's a new program on the market that I'm excited about. As a coach, the hardest part of coaching in understanding quantitatively how you the athlete respond to training and recovery. There are ways to manage this, but since every athlete uses the same words to describe different feelings, it's difficult to get exactly right.
Restwise takes the guess work out of recovery. By answering a very brief series of questions every day, Restwise provides and tracks a Recovery Score to quantify your recovery state. The best part is your GEC coach can then see your score and will adjust your training appropriately. I’ve been using this system for a few weeks and already see how by using this I can make your hard stuff as hard as you can handle and can nail your taper based on how you're recovering real-time!
I’m promoting this only because it works—GEC makes nothing off this except your success. Use code GEC for 25% off…AND get a free pulse oximeter for instant measurement of blood oxygen level and pulse. www.restwise.com When you order, let your coach know and we’ll bring your file into our program so your scores instantly download for our info. If you're not a GEC coached athlete you can still use this program to manage your training and recovery.
Brian
Triathlon and Endurance Sports Coaching; Multisport camps, training, and racing in Arizona.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Mix it up
A buddy asked the other day “I run 2-2.5 miles all the time. Why does it not get easier?” It’s all about the body’s ability to adapt.
When stressing the body repetitively in the same mode, the body can adapt but it adapts in more a survival mode by being able to handle that finite amount of stress. We subconsciously know that the run will be over in 2-2.5 miles so we plan for that and the run gets worse at the 1.5 miles mark as we see that on the treadmill or round that corner. After only a short time of this repetitive training, the body’s adaptation slows and fitness growth is limited.
If we mix things up a bit by varying the speed, intensity, incline, and/or duration, the body will adapt with more fitness and strength than survival methods. As simply as increasing one run a week to 20% more than what is “standard,” fitness will increase faster. If you need to, run/walk by time (run 8 minutes, walk 1 minute, etc) to get to the longer distance. Or vary the speed on one run and doing repeats of 2 minutes faster followed by 3 minutes slower. By mixing things up and varying the induced stress, the body responds by increasing true strength and fitness.
Hope this helps. Go train.
Brian
When stressing the body repetitively in the same mode, the body can adapt but it adapts in more a survival mode by being able to handle that finite amount of stress. We subconsciously know that the run will be over in 2-2.5 miles so we plan for that and the run gets worse at the 1.5 miles mark as we see that on the treadmill or round that corner. After only a short time of this repetitive training, the body’s adaptation slows and fitness growth is limited.
If we mix things up a bit by varying the speed, intensity, incline, and/or duration, the body will adapt with more fitness and strength than survival methods. As simply as increasing one run a week to 20% more than what is “standard,” fitness will increase faster. If you need to, run/walk by time (run 8 minutes, walk 1 minute, etc) to get to the longer distance. Or vary the speed on one run and doing repeats of 2 minutes faster followed by 3 minutes slower. By mixing things up and varying the induced stress, the body responds by increasing true strength and fitness.
Hope this helps. Go train.
Brian
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