Staying motivated and maintaining physical exercise is always a challenge at any age. Working out regularly takes motivation and planning. Lack of time is probably the biggest barrier and excuse for not exercising. Here are some tips for staying focused with your exercise plans.
1) Set one or two short-term goals. Make these goals realistic and one’s that you can accomplish in about two months. Every time you exercise you'll be closer to meeting your goal.
2) Challenge yourself
by working toward an event — such as a 5K walk or run. The minute you mail in your entry fee, you'll have a whole new sense of purpose.
3) Exercise with someone. Plan to meet up with a friend or family member. Not only will you have company but it will also keep you accountable for showing up.
4) Exercise regularly. Set aside time in your schedule for your workouts and try to make it a routine. Set aside a block of time either daily or weekly for your workouts. Treat this time as if it was an appointment. Plan to exercise with a friend or family member for a more effective way to stay in shape.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Why interval training is beneficial for performance
Intensity Training. Zone Training. Heart Rate Training. Whether we are runners, bikers, swimmers or any combination, as athletes we are constantly striving to improve our performance. We know that training at one speed produces one speed. We know about lactate threshold training and improving our VO2 max. But a real understanding of why training at multiple speeds or intensities is beneficial alludes many athletes.
There are several major adaptations that occur in skeletal and cardiac muscle in response to training.
• LSD (long slow distance) or basic endurance training (zone 1-2):
This speed is for long endurance training and base building. Most long endurance training sessions are done in this submaximal heart rate zone. Athletes can build durability, improve aerobic fitness and improve technique or efficiency of movement.
Adaptations:
The ability to sustain submaximal workloads for an extended period of time is a result of an increase in oxygen exchange and supply to the muscles due to an increase in capillaries as well as an increase in mitochondria (aka the respiratory power house of the muscle cell). This increase in mitochondria allows the body to process more fatty acids for fuel utilization thus having a glucose-sparing effect. Slow twitch endurance muscle fibers increase in numbers, become stronger and more capable to produce sustained energy at a lower caloric cost.
• Tempo or intensive endurance training (zone 3):
At this slightly higher intensity of training, slow-twitch muscle fibers as well as some fast-twitch muscle fibers are recruited for work.
Adaptations:
At this intensity, muscle fiber excitability increases producing more muscle contraction and thus force production.
• Threshold (zone 4-5a):
The threshold training zone is the most critical for improving athletic performance. This zone is just below or slightly above lactate threshold. The work effort at this zone is at one’s maximal aerobic zone with intervals at an anaerobic level. Fast-twitch muscle fibers are recruited at a higher rate to help with lactate utilization.
Adaptations:
Even though both slow (type I) and fast-twitch (type II) muscle fibers increase in number, transitional (type IIa and IIb) muscle fibers are formed. These muscles fibers have characteristics of fast-twitch muscles that contract quickly but are more oxidative like slow-twitch.
As larger muscle fibers are being recruited for work, a subsequent increase in VO2 max or oxygen flow and uptake by working muscles occurs. Not only are skeletal muscles adapting to threshold training but so is the heart. As the heart gets stronger and develops more mitochondria and vessels, cardiac output or the ability of the heart to supply more oxygenated blood to the body with each beat improves.
• Anaerobic Endurance (zone 5b):
Intensity at this level exceeds lactate threshold and is completely anaerobic and stressful to the body.
Adaptations:
As a result of short interval high intensity training, lactate threshold increases via improved lactate utilization.
Coach Mike Barnow and intensity training.
Developing a training program that incorporates the appropriate amounts of aerobic and anaerobic stress is both an art and science. Coach Mike Barnow of the Westchester Track Club has over 30 years experience and has coached nine Olympians and 40 U.S. National qualifiers.
His training philosophy is simple. Less is more. Coach Mike successfully incorporates negative split intervals in his coaching of elite athletes as well as his AG runners. He has a unique ability to know what the perfect distance is for an athlete and then asks them to produce a faster split or more power for a set distance at the end of that interval. It is this ability to hold back at the beginning of a workout that has helped many a runner to the awards podium.
On Saturday August 2, 2008, from 9-12:30 Coach Mike (for more info on Coach Mike visit www.westchestertrack.org) will be leading a running clinic at the Mohonk Preserve. The purpose of this clinic is to work individually with each runner to assess their running strengths and weakness, and to coach them through interval training designed specifically for them. For more information or to register for the clinic, please email me dorothy@TriSportsTraining.com or go to trisportstraining.com/trainingschedule.html
See you on the trails - dorothy
There are several major adaptations that occur in skeletal and cardiac muscle in response to training.
• LSD (long slow distance) or basic endurance training (zone 1-2):
This speed is for long endurance training and base building. Most long endurance training sessions are done in this submaximal heart rate zone. Athletes can build durability, improve aerobic fitness and improve technique or efficiency of movement.
Adaptations:
The ability to sustain submaximal workloads for an extended period of time is a result of an increase in oxygen exchange and supply to the muscles due to an increase in capillaries as well as an increase in mitochondria (aka the respiratory power house of the muscle cell). This increase in mitochondria allows the body to process more fatty acids for fuel utilization thus having a glucose-sparing effect. Slow twitch endurance muscle fibers increase in numbers, become stronger and more capable to produce sustained energy at a lower caloric cost.
• Tempo or intensive endurance training (zone 3):
At this slightly higher intensity of training, slow-twitch muscle fibers as well as some fast-twitch muscle fibers are recruited for work.
Adaptations:
At this intensity, muscle fiber excitability increases producing more muscle contraction and thus force production.
• Threshold (zone 4-5a):
The threshold training zone is the most critical for improving athletic performance. This zone is just below or slightly above lactate threshold. The work effort at this zone is at one’s maximal aerobic zone with intervals at an anaerobic level. Fast-twitch muscle fibers are recruited at a higher rate to help with lactate utilization.
Adaptations:
Even though both slow (type I) and fast-twitch (type II) muscle fibers increase in number, transitional (type IIa and IIb) muscle fibers are formed. These muscles fibers have characteristics of fast-twitch muscles that contract quickly but are more oxidative like slow-twitch.
As larger muscle fibers are being recruited for work, a subsequent increase in VO2 max or oxygen flow and uptake by working muscles occurs. Not only are skeletal muscles adapting to threshold training but so is the heart. As the heart gets stronger and develops more mitochondria and vessels, cardiac output or the ability of the heart to supply more oxygenated blood to the body with each beat improves.
• Anaerobic Endurance (zone 5b):
Intensity at this level exceeds lactate threshold and is completely anaerobic and stressful to the body.
Adaptations:
As a result of short interval high intensity training, lactate threshold increases via improved lactate utilization.
Coach Mike Barnow and intensity training.
Developing a training program that incorporates the appropriate amounts of aerobic and anaerobic stress is both an art and science. Coach Mike Barnow of the Westchester Track Club has over 30 years experience and has coached nine Olympians and 40 U.S. National qualifiers.
His training philosophy is simple. Less is more. Coach Mike successfully incorporates negative split intervals in his coaching of elite athletes as well as his AG runners. He has a unique ability to know what the perfect distance is for an athlete and then asks them to produce a faster split or more power for a set distance at the end of that interval. It is this ability to hold back at the beginning of a workout that has helped many a runner to the awards podium.
On Saturday August 2, 2008, from 9-12:30 Coach Mike (for more info on Coach Mike visit www.westchestertrack.org) will be leading a running clinic at the Mohonk Preserve. The purpose of this clinic is to work individually with each runner to assess their running strengths and weakness, and to coach them through interval training designed specifically for them. For more information or to register for the clinic, please email me dorothy@TriSportsTraining.com or go to trisportstraining.com/trainingschedule.html
See you on the trails - dorothy
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Everything you wanted to know about lactate but were afraid to ask
Now that I’ve scared you away from reading this article let me try again. We’ve all heard of the terms lactic acid, lactate threshold, anaerobic threshold, VO2 max. As much as these terms are discussed in the world of the exercise physiologist, the main message is still the same; how to train appropriately for the result you want.
Now I know I was supposed to write about patellofemoral syndrome but since I’ve been conducting quite a few blood lactate tests on the treadmill and bike for many of the local triathletes, I thought that I’d write about lactate and lactic acid. And what it means to us as athletes. The data collected during a lactate test can provide the athlete with specific heart rate zones for training, racing and recovering.
A brief physiology lesson
To understand the value of lactate, a brief (very brief, I promise) discussion about muscle physiology is helpful.
During exercise the contribution of fats and carbohydrates to energy production is regulated by how hard we train and what type of training we’re doing. The energy that is contained within the chemical structure of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins is not released in the body suddenly but rather, it is released slowly in small quantities during complex, enzymatically-controlled reactions. Fats take a long time (up to 9 hours) to be broken down into an usable form of energy and need a sufficient supply of oxygen (an aerobic process) to do so.
Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose and is either used immediately for energy or stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen. The subsequent breakdown of glycogen does not require oxygen and is an anaerobic process. During the breakdown of glycogen into a usable form of energy known as adenosine triphospahte (ATP), a compound known as pyruvate is produced. As exercise intensity increases large amounts of pyruvate are produced very quickly. If the body is unable to use all of the pyruvate being produced, the excess is converted in lactate. Lactate is then reconverted back to pyruvate producing more energy. At some point the body is unable to use all of the lactate produced, the excess then binds with hydrogen ions producing lactic acid. When too much lactic acid accumulates, we begin to experience that dreaded heavy, burning feeling in our muscles that ultimately causes us to go no further.
why are lactate levels important?
As athletes we seem to be concerned with out heart rate response to a workout. We do LSD runs at a low heart rate (50-60% target heart rate or THR), tempo runs at 70-80% and speed workouts at 80% to full max. However, without knowing how our bodies are utilizing lactate as an energy source, we’re basically training with a piece of the puzzle missing.
Blood lactate levels are an indication of workout intensity. To measure lactate levels, blood samples are taken (via a small pin prick) during rest and at set intervals during a bike or run test. The point at which lactate levels begin to increase above a specified baseline (known as lactate threshold or LT) is typically at about 60% THR. In a highly-trained athlete, lactate threshold can increase to 70% THR or above. This would mean that a highly-trained athlete might be running too slow if he/she were to solely use his heart rate response to determine the intensity of training. Another significant lactate measurement is the anaerobic threshold (AT). This is the point at which blood lactate levels rise sharply above a higher specified level and typically correlates to 80% THR in the average athlete. Again, the highly-trained athlete might achieve higher heart rate responses at a lower lactate level. An athlete’s ability to use or clear out lactate from their working muscles quickly could be the difference between first and second place. Or just finishing the race with a smile.
See you at the next race!
Dorothy
Now I know I was supposed to write about patellofemoral syndrome but since I’ve been conducting quite a few blood lactate tests on the treadmill and bike for many of the local triathletes, I thought that I’d write about lactate and lactic acid. And what it means to us as athletes. The data collected during a lactate test can provide the athlete with specific heart rate zones for training, racing and recovering.
A brief physiology lesson
To understand the value of lactate, a brief (very brief, I promise) discussion about muscle physiology is helpful.
During exercise the contribution of fats and carbohydrates to energy production is regulated by how hard we train and what type of training we’re doing. The energy that is contained within the chemical structure of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins is not released in the body suddenly but rather, it is released slowly in small quantities during complex, enzymatically-controlled reactions. Fats take a long time (up to 9 hours) to be broken down into an usable form of energy and need a sufficient supply of oxygen (an aerobic process) to do so.
Carbohydrates are broken down into glucose and is either used immediately for energy or stored in the muscles and liver as glycogen. The subsequent breakdown of glycogen does not require oxygen and is an anaerobic process. During the breakdown of glycogen into a usable form of energy known as adenosine triphospahte (ATP), a compound known as pyruvate is produced. As exercise intensity increases large amounts of pyruvate are produced very quickly. If the body is unable to use all of the pyruvate being produced, the excess is converted in lactate. Lactate is then reconverted back to pyruvate producing more energy. At some point the body is unable to use all of the lactate produced, the excess then binds with hydrogen ions producing lactic acid. When too much lactic acid accumulates, we begin to experience that dreaded heavy, burning feeling in our muscles that ultimately causes us to go no further.
why are lactate levels important?
As athletes we seem to be concerned with out heart rate response to a workout. We do LSD runs at a low heart rate (50-60% target heart rate or THR), tempo runs at 70-80% and speed workouts at 80% to full max. However, without knowing how our bodies are utilizing lactate as an energy source, we’re basically training with a piece of the puzzle missing.
Blood lactate levels are an indication of workout intensity. To measure lactate levels, blood samples are taken (via a small pin prick) during rest and at set intervals during a bike or run test. The point at which lactate levels begin to increase above a specified baseline (known as lactate threshold or LT) is typically at about 60% THR. In a highly-trained athlete, lactate threshold can increase to 70% THR or above. This would mean that a highly-trained athlete might be running too slow if he/she were to solely use his heart rate response to determine the intensity of training. Another significant lactate measurement is the anaerobic threshold (AT). This is the point at which blood lactate levels rise sharply above a higher specified level and typically correlates to 80% THR in the average athlete. Again, the highly-trained athlete might achieve higher heart rate responses at a lower lactate level. An athlete’s ability to use or clear out lactate from their working muscles quickly could be the difference between first and second place. Or just finishing the race with a smile.
See you at the next race!
Dorothy
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