Hot Tip: How Micro-Periodization Leads To Max Performance
Everyone knows that you can’t train hard every day. As a result, we have developed many varieties of “periodization” in training.
The simplest works like this: Alternate hard days and easy days. Some would say, “Take two easy days after every hard day.” (Or three, or … ???) Your age and fitness determine the number of recovery days you need.
Marathon coaches and runners often take entire “cutback weeks” during their 12- to 16-week buildups. These allow you to build your weekly mileage and long-run distance without hitting the wall pre-race. I’ve always supported this schema.
However, new technologies might provide a better way. Instead of using heavy-handed, non-physiological math to determine training patterns--take a cutback week once every month--you could monitor your stress-fatigue more precisely.
That’s the argument made in a recent editorial on “the new frontier of micro periodization for endurance.” The authors, a team of endurance-training experts, believe that older periodization systems are wasteful and limiting.
Why? Because they ask athletes to take too many easy days that aren’t necessary according to daily biological data. Instead, if body measurements say, “I’m good to go,” the athlete can train hard. Even if (s)he trained hard the previous day.
In this system, you forget about the calendar. Instead, you use objective tools like heart rate variability, sleep, muscle-damage enzymes, and hormone fluctuations. These can help you “eliminate unnecessary unloading weeks, which entail an unjustified reduction in training load.”
The authors believe this system allows for “maximizing the training load and achievable adaptations” while also limiting injuries and overtraining.
Conclusion: “Microperiodization emerges as a new frontier in periodization of endurance disciplines.” This is indeed an exciting new frontier.
At the same time, I still like cutback weeks. If you’re not aiming for Olympic gold or a Marathon Majors win, it’s better to be safe than sorry. More at The J of Sports Medicine & Physical Fitness. More details in this great podcast at KoopCast.
What’s The Best High Intensity Workout For Runners?
There’s much to be said for a simple training plan. You learn what works well for you, and you return to certain key workouts as necessary.
Such a plan would have to include at least one high-intensity workout every week or two. This doesn’t have to be a killer, all-out session. There’s no requirement that you must puke under the grandstands.
But the workout should push you to perhaps 90 percent of your max, and leave you near that level for 20 to 30 minutes. Many runners and coaches describe the required effort as “hard but controlled.” I’ve always liked that phrasing.
Over at Reddit, the advanced running group recently discussed t the “single best high intensity workout” for runners. There was considerable support for multiple repeats of 1000-meter intervals--often 6 to 8 repeats at your 10K to half-marathon race pace.
These are similar to Yasso 800s, where you run 8 to 10 repeats at the same time (in minutes:seconds) as your goal marathon time (in hours:minutes). If you’re aiming for a 3:45 marathon, you run your Yasso 800s in 3 minutes, 45 seconds each.
Other runners favored mile repeats--a classic distance formula. And some leaned more toward 2-mile repeats.
An interesting trend I didn’t expect: Most of these runners seemed to prefer the precision of track running over the tempo runs (on the road) many marathoners do. If you like to break away from the track, you can always try “Moose fartlek.” More at Reddit.
Face It: Strange Facial Expressions Can Boost Endurance
Top U.S. distance runner Colleen Quigley, a 2016 Olympian in the steeplechase, caused more than a few raised eyebrows with a recent post on Instagram. She shared a video of herself doing a tongue-pulling exercise intended to relieve tension in the pelvis. This, in turn, improves her running.
Quigley does this tongue-pulling before hard workouts and races. “1000% the weirdest muscle release I’ve ever done, but I swear it works,” she wrote.
Most respondents got a good laugh from the unusual reel, while a few said they had done the same thing in their operatic careers, or when working with horses.
Here’s an explanatory article on Quigley’s tongue exercise with a link to the original Instagram post. I couldn’t find any evidence-based support for Quigley’s practice, but that doesn’t mean none exists. Some in the strength-training world advocate that that tongue placement in the mouth--towards the roof of the mouth vs lower--affects muscle performance.
Quigley reminded me of faces I’ve seen among Maori rugby players. I think a bit of tongue pulling and haka on road race starting lines could liven things up a bit.
In addition, we’ve heard that a smile can help you run faster. Also, we’ve all seen runners wearing nasal strips, while some research has supported jaw-repositioning mouthguards “for performance enhancement in both aerobic and anaerobic performances.” Maybe the face, tongue, and jaw deserve more attention.
Don’t Be Carb-Smart And Carb-Dumb At The Same Time
Most endurance runners understand that carbohydrates are their friend. (There are a few runners, but not many, sticking to the keto-diet approach--probably more in ultramarathoning than in Olympic distances like the 5000 meters to marathon.)
But it’s not enough to be well-read and well-educated. You also have to put your understanding to good use. And many runners fail to do that.
A new paper investigated, for the first time in the scientific literature, the link between knowledge and practice among 50 endurance athletes (37 female) who competed in events lasting longer than 2.5 hours. Outcome: There was “no relationship between the knowledge of CHO recommendations and practice.”
Seems incredible, right? I admit I was surprised. Especially when you consider that over half the subjects had worked with a registered sports nutritionist.
Here’s how the research was performed. All athletes began by taking a test to assess their understanding of carbohydrates for endurance success. They also reported their food consumption for 24 hours before a long race, and in the race itself. “No attempt was made to influence or alter race nutrition practices throughout the course of this study.”
Result: Only 10 percent of subjects met the carb loading guidelines in practice. Many more, 80%, got their pre-competition meal right. But only 19 percent consumed enough carbs during their race.
What happened here? What backfired? The researchers offered several reasonable hypotheses. The subjects probably didn’t plan precisely enough for their meals away from home (at the race location), worried about upset-stomach issues, and/or had a “fear of carbohydrates” related to weight gain.
Whatever the reasons, the lesson is clear. It’s not enough that you know what you’re supposed to eat and drink before and during endurance races. You also need a solid plan to make sure you follow through on carbohydrate recommendations. More at European J of Sport Sciences with free full text.
5 Evidence-Based Tips For Run-Walk Training
I’ve been using the run-walk method of training for the last 20 years, and I’m still learning new variations. Once you get over the big psychological hurdle--yes, it’s okay to take walk breaks on your runs, even if you are a “serious” runner--the world of training for running opens up. It begins to provide many previously unseen possibilities.
Here’s my latest experiment: I’m completing my basic 6-mile and 10-mile training efforts with a relaxed 3:1 run:walk ratio for the first two-thirds of the distance. I had been using a 4:1 ratio for 2 decades, so this represents a slowdown. But, hey, I’m getting older every day, so cut me a break.
The new wrinkle: I’m now all-running the last one-third of the distance at either my half-marathon pace (on the 6-milers) or my marathon pace (on the 10-milers). Neither of these all-run paces are fast, but they are medium hard and steady. And they represent my goal paces for my biggest annual races.
So far, so good. Maybe I’ll let you know more after an upcoming marathon. In the meantime, here’s a solid, evidence-based article about the potential benefits of run-walk training. These are particularly useful for aging runners, and those returning to running after injury or a long layoff. More at Performance Lab.
5 Ways To Lower Triathlon Training Injuries (inc. Bike Accidents)
Triathletes get overuse running injuries just as all runners do. However, their injury risks are likely lowered by a total fitness training program that includes plenty of cycling and swimming.
Of course, cycling is a big problem, because falls and accidents cause traumatic injuries. They can require a long recovery period.
Here a Spanish research team studied 28 of the country’s top triathletes for 3 years. They put the subjects on a Holistic [Injury] Training Program (HITP). It included 5 components that “were worked on continuously throughout the season.”
The components were: strength training, training load control, session development control, bike skills training, and physiotherapy treatment. The researchers then measured injuries during the 3 years.
Result: All told, the researchers noted 24 injuries over the 3-year period. Fourteen were traumatic injuries, and only 10 overuse injuries. Among the triathlete-subjects, 46% had no injuries, and 71% had no overuse injuries. Men suffered significantly more numerous and severe traumatic injuries, while women tended to have more overuse injuries.
Conclusion: “The main findings were that the implementation of an HITP resulted in low injury incidence (and particularly overuse injury incidence).” More at Sports with free full text.
Which Is Better: Caffeine Or Sodium Bicarbonate?
Runners and other endurance athletes are experimenting with ever more supplements, hoping to find legal ones that will provide a boost in performance. Caffeine is a perennial favorite, and well-proven. Sodium bicarbonate is a relatively recent one, now available in new formulations.
It’s reasonable to wonder how each affects performance individually, and how things change if someone takes both before a big event.
That’s the question addressed in this new paper, which used a strong double-blind, cross-over design. The performance measure was an isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP)--not exactly a running time-trial, but a thigh muscle test “which has gained significant popularity in recent years.”
Subjects performed the IMTP 60 minutes after receiving: 1) nothing; 2) a placebo; 3) caffeine; 4) sodium bicarbonate; or 5) a combination of caffeine and sodium bicarbonate. They never knew which of the preparations they had received.
Result: Caffeine, taken alone, “positively affects submaximal strength performance.” There was no such improvement for any of the other conditions.
Therefore, on this IMTP test, it appears that sodium bicarbonate doesn’t provide any performance advantage. Indeed, if combined with caffeine, sodium bicarb erases caffeine’s benefit. More at Sports with free full text.
Complete Guide To Headwinds & Tailwinds
We runners love tailwinds and hate headwinds. There’s a good scientific explanation for this, as performance PhD and blogger John Davis points out here.
He writes: “A headwind will slow you down by two or three times as much as the equivalent tailwind will speed you up.” So whenever you qualify for the Boston Marathon, you’d better hope you don’t get a headwind blowing against you from the East.
On the other hand, a circular urban marathon can give you some protection from the wind. Davis says: “In a dense urban area, the actual wind speed you encounter might be less than half the nominal wind speed measured by a weather station.”
His article on tailwinds and headwinds is longer, more technical, and more mathematical than most will care to read in full. But you can jump down to his “Recap” for the summary. Then you’ll want to head over to his amazing Calculator.
First, set it to your expected running pace in minutes/mile (other units available). The default wind is a headwind, which you can adjust with the < > buttons. To see the effect of a tailwind, grab the blue wind infographic (set at “N” for north) with your cursor, and rotate it to “S.” Now you can play with various tailwinds.
In either case, the Calculator instantly adjusts your pace depending on the headwind or tailwind you selected. It’s a very clever tool.
You can’t do much to change the winds you encounter on race day. But this tool makes it easy to adjust race outcomes, if you want. It also helps you understand why drafting makes a difference, since it cuts down headwinds. More at Running Writings.
SHORT STUFF You Don’t Want To Miss
GREAT QUOTES Make Great Training Partners
“If you feel bad at 10 miles, you’re in trouble. If you feel bad at 20 miles, you’re normal. If you don’t feel bad at 26 miles, you’re abnormal.”
– Rob de Castella, former Australian marathon great and Boston Marathon winner
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. See you again next week. Amby