Training Evolution and Braving Your Limits
Throughout my career or should I say my love affair with cycling, I have had to evolve my training and how I think about it. Much of this has evolved, from the standpoint of training and how we approach it.
Over the years I have gone from the days of just going by feel and talk tests, to using heart rate monitors and now to the use of a power meter on all of my bikes.The power meter has dramatically changed my approach and adaptability to my training to produce some significant results. Power meters used to be a product that for many people were out of reach by their cost or implementation. But now with more affordable options available and coming in pedal, spindle and crank arm options, the power meter is starting to be adapted by the masses. This has been a huge step forward in the coaching and training world and I would venture to say the power meter is the single most significant tool that has changed not only my approach as a coach but my own training results.
Another recent trend has been the significant increase in fueling methodology. For many years the thought was to eat minimally to keep the weight down and only use enough fuel to do well in your workouts and events. Now we are seeing a dramatic change in looking at how much calories you need to train and perform well. The standard started to rise over the last few years with anywhere from fifty to eighty grams of carbs per hour being the standard and now the bar has raised to one hundred to one hundred and fifty grams of carbs per hour being used regularly.
A helpful point to raise on the carbohydrate topic is how many more fueling companies there are out there these days. When I was just getting into racing bikes, there were only a handful of companies to choose from and you had to use their formulas and hope they worked for you. You had to do a trial and error test to see if something worked for you. I found myself with GI symptoms on many occasions, bonking or cramping from formulas that just did not work for me.
A decade or so ago, I stumbled upon a company that changed the game for me and looking back at it, they were an early adapter to the methodologies we are seeing today. Early on, Infinit Nutrition was pushing the envelope with carbs per hour, but also allowing you to customize your formulas. This was a huge factor for my long distance endurance racing because I could add protein for long efforts, tweak the kinds of carbs making up the formula and up the salt content. Additionally as you tweak the formula you can see how it will absorb (osmolality), change how flavorful it is, add in other additives like caffeine and more. This company's products have been a game changer in my corner, but I must say that the fueling sector of the endurance sports space is in a great place right now with so many options of good quality products that are backed by good science.
With all the above adaptations, training and racing has become very trackable and dare I say more predictable. That doesn’t mean we don’t have to think about the specific things we want to accomplish and design programs to achieve them, it’s just that with all the tools we have ,it makes it easier to produce and predict good results with good programs, equipment and supplements.
This has become extremely evident as I age into the over fifty category. The list of hurdles is quite long, from keeping the weight down, mobility, strength, cardiovascular health, and more are all something that as a masters athlete have to be addressed in your training. The key here is to develop adapted programs that work for older individuals and adapt as needed. One of the biggest things I like to encourage is to just get in the habit of doing something good for you daily. That can be stretching one day, then a trainer session the next, and an outdoor ride the next. Once you start getting into a good habit you build on that habit and add in as we progress. I like to build foundations of base training and the habit and routine, then start adapting with interval sessions to build strength and cardiovascular strength, then some tempo and start building towards an event or just healthy living.
As an aging athlete recovery is also very important and making sure you schedule plenty of time for good sleep and recovery are vital to seeing performance gains.
If you can learn to master these skills and be ready to adapt when needed, being a masters athlete is not the end of the line. There are some extremely talented masters athletes I like to measure myself against, from the likes of Ned Overend, Tinker Juarez, Lance Armstrom, Levi Leiphmer and other super fast guys and gals that are pushing the limits, finishing high up in the overall standings and all are fifty plus and still kicking ass.
I specialize in training masters athletes on how to keep moving, keep evolving and always brave your limits. (ABYL)
