What to Expect from the Training Plan
I am here to prepare you to meet the demands of your adventure with full confidence. This is about you and what you want to achieve.
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.
Current training data, movement pattern analysis, and a little background information goes a long way. I provide the first One-to-One Consultation for free ($75) so that we can go over this data and provide an initial concept of your training plan.
From here, if you do decide to be coached through me, 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).
This plan is broken down into 4-week training blocks that have a specific training load and focus set for each week. This training load is calculated through formulas of varying intensities and time.
The amount of commitment you put in may make the difference of simply finishing with a smile or having a smile for the entirety of the day(s)… and in the case of a race, finishing faster.
Depending on where your body is in training I will place you in either a Preparation Training Block or Build Training Block. And depending on how much time you have given yourself before the event you may see a complete 8-week Peak Training Block. You can find more information on this subject below (see Training Blocks).
What to Expect from the Performance Plan
At the same time, you are progressing with your training we will also need to look at the logistics of getting to, from, and around your event day(s). Then there is your performance in the event itself. We will cover performance strategies including nutrition as part of your training with the final plan set in the weeks leading up to the event day(s). I am putting this together under one Performance Plan.
Welcome to Milestone Station, Let’s get you ready for your adventure.
- Get a TRAININGPEAKS™ Account. I will upgrade you to a Premium TRAININGPEAKS™ Account as soon as I start coaching you. Form at TrainingPeaks.com (Click here)
- Connect your Training Data to TRAININGPEAKS™. Website at TrainingPeaks.com (Click here)
- Contact me to schedule an appointment for your first (
$75) One-to-One Consultation and a TRAININGPEAKS™ coach connection link (this will allow me to analyze your training data) - Fill out three forms:
- All individuals receiving Training Support must show movement skill for the movement being coached. In-Person Movement Analysis can substitute Video Analysis but will be considered as Local One-to-One Time. Can be a video from the last six months:
- For Swimming a recording from the Side and Front, from above and below water,
- for Cycling a recording from the Side, Front, and Back (Center on mid-thigh, can ride on trainer),
- for Running a recording from the Side, Front, and Back (Center on hips, can run on treadmill).
- First One-to-One Consultation is free (
$75) - Your choice… Join us for some training… See Terms of Service here
Training Blocks
Once we had a look at your movement patterns, training data (Subjective and Objective), bucket list, and availability to train, we can start putting together a custom training plan that transforms what you want to accomplish into something you can accomplish.
It starts with making your ultimate goal possible by creating smaller 4-week Training Blocks that become achievable steps leading to what you want to accomplish. The sum of these 4-week Training Blocks is your Training Plan. What is now achievable allows for something that many individuals struggle with… consistency.
Every week in the Training Block has their own Training Objective guided by the overall focus of the Training Block. Depending on what step you are on in your Training Plan, the focus of the Training Block can be one of four.
- Preparation (PR)
- Build (BD)
- Peak (PK)
- Recovery (RC)
You will start with a Preparation Training Block (PR) if you are new, unfamiliar, or out-of-habit with doing a particular movement. You may start here if I see that your form needs some adjustment. We want to make sure your form is efficient and resistant to injury before the next step.
Preparation (PR) Training Block is focused on bringing you to a stable base, characterized with moderate intensity, in preparation of higher training stress. The body is becoming more regular in training and with this used to forces placed on the body, Developing a basic Aerobic Infrastructure and Movement Patterns, basic Stability and Force Production. It is a time of preparing the body for more aggressive forces coming about in the Build Training Blocks. The Training Objectives for each of the weeks in the Preparation Training Block looks something like this:
- Moderate Intensity/Moderate Volume (MI/MV): The initial week of a Prep training block is defined with Moderate Volume.
- Moderate Intensity/High Volume (MI/HV) The 2nd week of a Prep training block is defined with Higher Volume.
- Moderate Intensity/Moderate Volume (MI/MV) The 3rd week of a Prep training block is defined with Moderate Volume.
- Moderate Intensity/Low Volume (MI/LV) The final week of the Prep training block will focus on Building. After three weeks of volume, the emphasis is now on allowing body to adapt to its stimulus
As your fitness develops performance will likely follow, but at some point, progress in performance may plateau. This may call for a change in Focus… If the goal is to progress in performance and you are at the limits of available training volume, the next Block focuses on Building on the Base. The Build Training Block (BD). In this block the body is teased with sessions of a particular focus into further developing the Aerobic Infrastructure.
Build (BD): Training Block is focused on taking you from a stable base and building the fitness needed to accomplish the goal. This training block is characterized with heightening the stress on the body a bit to stimulate a greater change. The Training Objectives for each of the weeks in the Build Training Block looks something like this:
- High Intensity/Moderate Volume (HI/MV) Initial week of the Build training block is defined with a greater emphasis on Higher Intensity. Not all sessions will be high intensity, but a greater emphasis will be given. Upper Aerobic (Threshold) and Form Endurance will be developed.
- Moderate Intensity/High Volume (MI/HV) The 2nd week of the Build training block will focus on Training Stress coming from greater amount of Volume at Moderate Intensity. Form Endurance is developed
- High Intensity/Moderate Volume (HI/MV) The 3rd week of the Build training block will see the return to higher intensity training.
- Low Intensity/Moderate Volume (LI/MV) The final week of the Build training block will focus on Building. After three weeks of high intensity and volume, the emphasis is now on allowing body to adapt to its stimulus
Preparation (PR) and Build (BD) are the two main blocks of training that will help with building towards your goal, but as you get closer to your event day the focus must shift again. This block is called Peak Training Block (PK) and depending on how long the individual has trained can be up to 8 weeks.
Training Sessions
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.
Intensity and Session Focus
The Power Infrastructure creates the movement… the Aerobic Infrastructure allows you continue.
Every activity is unique in its movement and as such has its own Infrastructure to develop. Practicing swimming would not specifically help develop the infrastructure of cycling.
The Force produced by the Power Infrastructure for each activity creates the movement across joint(s) resulting in the presentation of the activity. As we produce more Force in the movement, we also increase our immediate Energy Demand.
The Aerobic Infrastructure resupplies the energy as it is needed. When Energy Demand goes up, you will be able to feel your breathing intensity increase as the muscles beg for more oxygen to replenish the energy used. If at any point the real time Energy Demand is higher than what can be replenished by the Aerobic Infrastructure…
- energy is sourced by a much less efficient production line causing a rapid descent in Energy Supply until it is spent,
- or until Energy Demand is lowered along with Force production.
The enhancement of the Aerobic Infrastructure allows for improved resupply of energy in real time as Energy Demand increases with Force production. The improved Aerobic Infrastructure will also help with recovery in between the sets of higher energy demand.
The Power Infrastructure can be enhanced as well. Improved movement pattern can improve efficiency, reducing Energy Demand. Another enhancement would be to be able generate more Force.
Developing the Power Infrastructure helps produce more force…
Developing the Aerobic Infrastructure allows the developed Power Infrastructure to produce more force for longer.
The Aerobic Infrastructure includes mitochondria (powerhouse), myoglobin (readily available oxygen at the muscle), raw energy available in the local muscle (readily available carbohydrates, fats), capillaries in the muscle to supply oxygen from the blood, and hemoglobin to carry the oxygen in the blood.
Importance of Enhancement through Training Volume Stress and Recovery
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.