Training Plan, Journal, and Review
Each endurance event and active-travel-tour is shaped by its unique characteristics that when put together make up the performance you must deliver. Once we identify these characteristics, which include distance, terrain, and environmental conditions, we need to look at your current ability to meet these demands. From here, I will build a preliminary training plan that lays out the path from where we are today to where we can meet the demands of your adventure…. event day(s).
For progress to happen the body must adapt to training. The Training Plan sets the pathway for this. Even when a pathway is set for training, life has a way of wanting to create its own path. That may come by a scheduling conflict or by your own body saying that I am adapting a lot faster or slower than initially expected.
Keeping Objective and Subjective data Depending on your level of service your training will be reviewed daily, weekly, or by block and your plan can be adapted to suit the needs identified.
Keeping a training journal has multiple benefits… Consistency, Overview, Detail… It can be as simple as pen and paper, or it can be advanced as loading data onto an online journal. We use TRAININGPEAKS™ where you can fill in the session that you just completed or have the data automatically load from the device you used (TRAININGPEAKS™ Website: Click Here). Training information can be very helpful… what I especially see helpful (but are often missed out on) is the Subjective feedback. After completing the session, how difficult did you perceive the session to be and how recovered do you feel in your training…. In TRAININGPEAKS™ it is very easy to do… Once you have put in your data, digitally or manually, you can add your subjective feedback on the session (TRAININGPEAKS™ Article: Click Here)
Importance of Enhancement through Training Volume Stress and Recovery
Each training session has a purpose. In effect you are telling your body what you want it to be able to do. A lot of the training is based around holding good form while producing movement at a particular speed. If this is continuous without time to recover, performance will deteriorate, and injury will occur. If the right amount or recovery is allowed enhancement will occur.
Performance of the activity is improved through recovering from the stimulation (focus of the session) in the unique movement. Each training session has a purpose. In effect you are telling your body what you want it to be able to do. A lot of the training is based around holding good form while producing movement at a particular intensity. Total Training Stress, a calculation of Time Spent at particular Intensity should also be considered. For a set amount of training time, Lower intensity brings about a lower training stress then higher intensity. It’s not one or the other, it is a formula of both. By organizing sessions in a particular way over a period of time we start developing certain enhancements.
If someone puts on more effort (intensity) during any time of a session, the time spent in that higher effort creates more stress on the body. In the same regard if a headwind develops on the same training course that you usually cover you have increased the training stress with that head wind by either riding a longer time for the same distance or with more effort for the same time. If this is continuous without time to recover, performance will deteriorate, and injury will occur.
If the right amount or recovery is allowed enhancement will occur. To keep an eye on your training we use TRAININGPEAKS™ to have the training data automatically load from the device you used. We can see how much your training has deviated from the plan and from there we can do some adjustments. Subjective feedback is also very helpful. After completing the session, you can add how difficult you perceived the session to be and how recovered do you feel in your training…. Once you have put in your data, digitally or manually, you can add your subjective feedback on the session.
Sessions are made up of three main parts… Session Preparation, Session Focus, and Session Recovery. The Session Preparation involves getting ready for the focus of the session. On the most part it is activating muscles involved in the activity and increasing Blood Flow plus Range of Motion of these muscles. The planned result of each session dictates the intensities to be used in the Session Focus. Coaches may have different ways to define intensities. I have put together a short description of how I define the intensities below. The Session Recovery comes towards the end of a session. After placing the body in heightened exertion, the body needs to return to a normal resting state progressively to improve recovery and prevent injury. Sets of Recovery are also paired with sets of high intensities in sessions that call for intervals.
Baseline Sessions can help us find our starting point… a bit of measurement of form and fitness. For identifying if we are holding Good Form, we turn to simple observation/Video analysis:
- With Running, a treadmill (Laufband) is very useful…
- With Cycling, your bicycle on an indoor trainer (Rollentrainer, turbo trainer) can help.
- With running and cycling a video setup centered at hip level from the side, back, and front could be useful
- With swimming a video setup above and below water from the side and the front could be useful.
- In regard to camera setting a higher frames-per-second (fps) is important.
The measurement of Fitness will allow us to get a better understanding of Training Stress specific to you leading to better progression of training and lowering the chances of overtraining… In TRAININGPEAKS™ we use the Training Stress Score (TSS) (TRAININGPEAKS™ Article: Click Here).
In the Baseline Sessions we are looking to measure your Threshold (a measurement you can hold for an extended period of time). Beyond the Baseline Sessions there will be occasions where training sessions (and performances) can be intense enough that it will give us a new threshold.