In-Form Newsletter
Time-limited Periodisation: Jan ‘23
Hey from Tom and Emma at High North Performance,
We hope you all had a wonderful festive period, and you’re now starting to pin down some targets and ambitions for the new year. Let’s get into this month’s edition of In-Form:
Musings
So, naturally at this time of year, the concept of periodisation tends to be on the minds of many athletes and coaches…
Training studies, and the practices of top-level athletes suggest that it can be useful to periodise training volume across the year, as well as on a smaller scale, such as every 4 weeks.
As an example, a good strategy can be to gradually ramp up volume throughout the year, and then taper this down when you come into your competitive season.
You might also periodise volume over a 4-week block, gradually increasing this over the first 3 weeks, and then taking a recovery week in the final week.
However, these distributions require a high training time availability and flexibility - this availability needs to exceed the amount of training volume you can comfortably tolerate week-on-week in order to see benefit.
That’s because one of the main purposes of volume periodisation is that it allows you to apply periods of training overload, and then reduce volume to allow your body to recover and adapt.
If you’re time-limited, and can comfortably string together multiple weeks of training at your highest training time availability, does it really make sense to be periodising your training like this, so that some weeks you’re not training as much as you have time to?
In these circumstances, we think that a better approach is to implement a flat training load (sometimes referred to as a ‘basic week’), which makes the best use of your available time.
This means, if you have 8-hours per week to train, you aim to complete close to 8-hours per week most weeks, without worrying too much about periodising your volume. This will keep your fitness level at least maintained, or likely slowly increasing.
Then whenever you have the opportunity for extra training time, you can increase that volume to create an overload of training stress and stimulate a more sizeable boost in fitness (given appropriate rest following the overload).
With this periodisation strategy, ‘recovery on demand’ is often a good approach to take. So rather than planning a recovery week every, say, 4-weeks, recovery weeks are used when the athlete starts to show signs that they are fatiguing. Or if it’s been quite a while (e.g. 7-weeks) since the last lower-volume week, a reduction in training might be planned regardless to help maintain mental engagement/motivation.
Here’s a great article by Alan Couzens on this topic, which we go back to regularly.
Science
In this month’s paper review, we opted to write about an older (2014) paper, which we’ve found is very informative on a number of different areas:
This paper takes a deep-dive into the training data of 11 XC skiers over the year leading up to their most successful gold-medal winning competition at the Olympics or World Championships.
It’s rare to get such detailed insight into such elite athletes, and we think there are some interesting learnings that arise from this paper.
Our detailed paper review is here. These are our key take-homes:
The world-class athletes in this study didn’t do more intensive training (in terms of volume) than you’d typically see from average-level athletes. The key difference between the training of elite and amateur athletes was overall training volume, which amounted to 700-900 hours/year in this study.
Towards the beginning of the training year, the athletes’ training was more pyramidal, and became progressively more polarised as they got closer to their main competition (for an explanation of these terms see here).
86% of total endurance training time was spent at a ‘Zone 1’ intensity below 1.1mmol/L lactate. This is lower than most athletes will perform their long endurance rides. We believe this is done to minimise metabolic and muscular strain caused by the high power outputs sustained, even at low lactate levels. This supports a theory that high-level athletes who ride at a high absolute power outputs may need to reduce the power they perform their long endurance rides at e.g. down to ~50-60% FTP, whereas less well trained athletes (and potentially also female athletes) who ride at lower absolute power outputs may benefit from slightly higher powers (e.g. 70-80% FTP) in their long endurance rides.
The athletes didn’t conform to science-based ‘best practices’ when tapering for their key events. This is probably due to the high density of races leading up to the Olympics/Word Champs. We set out some pragmatic best practices for tapering in a condensed racing season in our detailed paper review.
News
In all honesty, this last month, we’ve mostly been busy reviewing our athletes' past year of training, and percolating ideas for how we can improve upon things for next year!
That being said, we wanted to give you a heads up that we’ve got some exciting new premium resources in the early stages of creation, designed to be affordable and digestible products specifically for self-coaching athletes (and coaches too).
The first of these should be launched some time in the first part of this year, and you’ll be the first to know when they’re live 👍
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That’s it for this month! A quick reminder for those looking to start their training for 2023, we have a selection of conditioning plans that could be a good starting point if you’re fairly new to training, or have had an extended break. If you already have some residual fitness, our base plans could be a good fit.
As always you can find our Cycling Physiology Guide and Hill Climb Handbook on our website too!
Thanks,
Tom & Emma
Base Training For Non-Professionals: Dec ‘22
It all begins with an idea.
Hey, Tom and Emma here 👋
Time is flying - here’s December’s newsletter instalment!
Musings
The traditional concept of ‘base’ training is that it involves high-volumes of low-intensity riding, which seeks to build your general aerobic fitness, economy and endurance, and in effect sets a strong foundations upon which to build your ‘higher end’ fitness later in the year.
While many elite and professional cyclists still follow this traditional high-volume training approach, for most this simply isn’t feasible…
So what should base training ideally look like for the non-pro cyclist who doesn’t have the capacity for high training volumes at this time of year? Here are 4 tips from us:
1. Prioritise fun and skills development
When your key goals are still several months away, make sure your training is engaging to avoid the risk of a motivational slump further down the track when your training is likely to be far more impactful on race/event performance! During the base phase, we recommend having at least one session per week where you’re riding for fun rather than ‘training’.
2. Avoid too many “taxing” sessions
Similar to the first tip, it’s probably best to avoid doing too many sessions that are mentally and physically very taxing. This probably means mostly avoiding sessions like VO2max intervals, and longer anaerobic power efforts, for example. This is because we want to preserve your training willpower until closer to your target events so that you can be in peak shape at the right time.
3. Target sessions that will help with subsequent training
Rather than looking for quick improvements in things like threshold power, through the base phase we’re looking to develop aspects of fitness that will set you up to complete better training when your target events are a little closer.
We recommend including 1-3 sessions per week that focus on Zone 3 riding (75-95% FTP), with the aim of building your muscular endurance and developing the aerobic capacity of your muscles.
1-2 times per fortnight, you can also include a little riding at or slightly above your threshold power in order to begin acclimating yourself to higher intensities, where Zwift racing or unstructured ‘fartlek' sessions can be good ways to do this in a fun manner!
4. Take the time to do some strength training
As you’ll probably be doing less high-intensity training, and you’re not racing, this is a great time to introduce some strength training, if you have the time.
We recommend doing this 2x per week, beginning with lighter weights and higher reps (e.g. 15-20 per set), but gradually working towards heavier weights, and roughly 4-8 reps per set, and 3-5 sets per exercise, taking plenty of time to recover between sets. Good exercises include squats, deadlifts and calf raises, plus some basic core strength work. Always consult a strength and conditioning coach before undertaking any weight training to make sure you’re lifting safely.
If you’re still feeling unsure on how to plan your base training phase, we have several autumn/winter training plans specifically designed for the base phase, which you can check out here.
Science
We’ve typically advocated keeping power well-controlled when completing endurance rides, aiming to keep your power below your ‘first ventilatory threshold’ (VT1), or typically between 55-75% FTP or 60-70% Max HR, at an intensity where fat oxidation is maximised. This is because improving capacity for fat oxidation is a key goal for most endurance rides.
However the study linked above, which is by Bent Rønnestad and colleagues, looked at whether inclusion of sprints within a long endurance ride can enhance the adaptations you’d usually expect from such a ride.
You can read a full review of the paper here, including a description of the methods used, consideration of any study limitations and a more in-depth discussion of the key take-aways.
However, the key points from the paper were that:
Adding sprints to endurance rides may have some aerobic benefits, and doesn’t seem to cause notable fatigue in elite cyclists. However, we’d recommend that less well-trained cyclists take care with sprint training to avoid accumulating too much fatigue, which may impact subsequent, and more important sessions.
It seems that adding sprints to endurance rides may not suppress the stimulus for improved fat oxidation, and in fact may enhance this training effect. We suspect though that this may be conditional on the sprints being structured into blocks within an otherwise well-controlled endurance ride, and not sprinkled sporadically throughout the ride. So structured riding is still important!
News
We are excited to collaborate with Wahoo LeCol as their official training plans partner, where members get access to discounts on a while range of ready-to-ride programs. Check them out here.
As part of this collaboration, we’ve also produced a new indoor-specific autumn/winter training plan for those who quite understandably prefer to stay inside when it’s dark and cold!
Finally, we also have a new article on the pros and cons of sweet spot training in the base phase - check that out here.
That’s a wrap - if you have any feedback or comments, do get in touch at info@highnorth.co.uk.
As always, you can find all of our available products and services on our website, including our popular physiology guide, and hill-climb handbook.
Thanks,
Tom & Emma
Phase-Specific Testing: Nov ‘22
It all begins with an idea.
Hey, it’s Tom and Emma.
We both hope you’re having a great week and have been getting in some solid riding time.
Over the years, we’ve had a lot of requests that we send out more training tips via email and so we’ve decided to start a monthly newsletter 🥳
This will include a round-up of our latest training/coaching tips, a summary of recent scientific literature that’s caught our eye, and any other news that we think you should know about.
One of our passions is providing resources and knowledge to help self-coached athletes improve their cycling performance, so we’re excited to start sharing these regularly.
Here’s the first instalment…
Musings
One thing we’ve been talking a lot about lately - both among ourselves and with our clients - is the concept of ‘phase specific testing’.
This is the idea that you need to choose the right types of testing to align with your training goals.
Sounds pretty obvious, but it’s actually rarely done!
If we consider the current time of year, most athletes will be taking a bit of an off-season break right now, and then looking to begin rebuilding their aerobic base through the winter.
Some of the key goals through this period will be to improve fat oxidation ability, and build endurance/fatigue resistance, mainly through a high volume of low- and middle-intensity riding.
However most athletes (and indeed many coaches) will revert to the standard FTP test to assess progress through this phase. It’s a trap that’s very easy to fall into! Yet FTP is typically not something we’re seeking to develop through this phase.
Indeed, improvements in FTP through the winter period can, in some cases, be a bit concerning, as this might indicate we’re doing too much intensive training too soon, and may lead to a burnt-out athlete when the spring and summer come around.
Better testing protocols for evaluating progress through this phase would include the ‘talk test’, which assesses the ‘first ventilatory threshold’ (sometimes known as the ‘aerobic threshold’). We write about this test here, and improvements in this parameter can tell us a lot about improvements in endurance and fat oxidation abilities.
Another option would be to perform what we refer to as a ‘fatigue resistance test’, where you perform an all-out maximal effort towards the start of a ride (let’s say a 60 second effort). Then you ride for 2-3 hours at a Zone 2 intensity. And finally you repeat this maximal effort again, to see how much your power drops off between the ‘fresh’ effort and the ‘fatigued’ effort. In many cycling disciplines, the ability to produce high powers under conditions of existing fatigue (like at the end of a race) is far more important than the ability to produce hard efforts when fresh. So this is a great parameter see improvements in!
After a 12-week period of working on aerobic base and endurance with one of our athletes, we were able to see some pretty clear improvements in fatigue-resistance using this testing method. The drop in this athlete’s 60S power after 2H of Zone 2 riding went from 19% at the beginning of this training phase, to a mere 7% at the end of this phase.
Importantly, there was no change in the athlete’s FTP, or ‘fresh’ 60S, 5M and 20M powers. Yet, the athlete was performing better in races (particularly longer road races and stage races), underlining both the importance of picking the right type of testing, and not just chasing improvements in FTP!
We write a lot about different testing protocols on our website, so be sure to check out some of our articles if you want to learn more. We’ve also recently updated all of our pre-built training plans to make sure we’re including the most relevant and up-to-date testing methods.
Science
On a related topic to our musings above, we came across this recently-published paper, which we thought raised some interesting learning points:
Prolonged cycling reduces power output at the moderate‑to‑heavy intensity transition
Quick Synopsis
This study looked at whether the first ventilatory (VT1) is reduced following several hours of Zone 2 riding. VT1 is a key metabolic transition point that defines the top end of Zone 2 in a 6-7 zone system, or the top end of Zone 1 in a 3-zone polarised model. Having a high VT1 is a strong marker of endurance.
Methods
This study involved 14 endurance trained cyclists and triathletes (13 male), VO2peak 59.9 ± 6.8 mL/kg/min, training volume 9 ± 3 h/week.
Participants completed a ramp test, then rode for 2H @ a Zone 2 intensity (90% of VT1), and then completed another ramp test. The tests were terminated after a fixed duration, and thus participants were not required to continue to the point of exhaustion in either ramp test.
For each ramp test, the first ventilatory (VT1) was determined from expired gas.
Key Findings
The researchers found a statistically significant reduction in power at VT1 after 2H of Zone 2 riding. The reduction in power averaged 21W, which was a 10% decrease.
This drop was partly, but not completely explained by a drop in cycling efficiency (i.e. an increase in the amount of energy required in order to produce power on the bike). It appears that this was a result of a switch to increased fat utilisation over time, which is a less efficient, but more sustainable way to produce power compared with carbohydrate oxidation.
Strengths & Limitations
There are some limitations in relation to the statistical analyses used. We won’t go into the details, but the key take-home is that the methods used can give rise to a higher than expected rate of ‘false positive’ findings, so we need to interpret the results with some caution.
The athletes included in this study were all moderately-trained athletes. We suspect that well-trained cyclists would have a smaller drop-off in VT1 power, and that less well-trained cyclists would have a higher drop-off.
Key Take-Aways
1. Fatigue-resistance testing is important
This study provides data to support the use of ‘fatigue resistance’ testing in cycling, as suggested in our musings above. How well you can maintain your VT1 power, or produce supra-threshold power outputs after several hours of riding is very important across a range of cycling disciplines.
2. Monitor heart rate and breathing to avoid unplanned fatigue
This study also suggests that, if you’re riding for an extended period, you may inadvertently cross VT1 into Zone 3 if you’re only riding to power, and not paying attention to other physiological markers such as heart rate and breathing.
In some instances, stepping into Zone 3 is ok and indeed might be a goal of the session.
However, if it’s important that a session doesn’t result in a high level of metabolic/physiological stress or fatigue, it might be worth also keeping an eye on heart rate and breathing rate, and making sure these parameters aren’t rising significantly.
In this study, the 21W drop in VT1 power was associated with an increase in heart rate of around 9bpm on average, which should give you an idea of the magnitude of HR drift you should be looking for.
However, interestingly, three of the 14 participants actually had a drop in heart rate as the ride went on, so this variable clearly isn’t always reliable..! We suggest making sure your breathing rate also always remains very comfortable (so that you could hold a conversation easily), if you’re looking to minimise fatigue.
News
We have changed the way we sell our pre-built training plans, which has allowed us to substantially reduce the price! 8-week plans are now $25, and 16-week plans are $45. Check out our new training plans page here.
We also have a new and improved critical power calculator on our website, which allows you to input your testing results directly on our site, rather than having to download a spreadsheet. Check this out here.
Finally, we now have a podcast called ‘Explaining Training’. The goal is to provide succinct answers to common training questions. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify etc. If you like it, do feel free to subscribe and leave a review.
That’s all for this month. If you have any feedback or comments, do get in touch at info@highnorth.co.uk.
As always, you can find all of our available products and services on our website, including our physiology guide, and workout library.
Thanks,
Tom & Emma