Once you have managed to Turn the Corner, you are ready to start accumulating fitness. Getting started can be hard, but once you are back to consistent training you are ready to see some big results. That’s right, its time to start busting your butt so you can see some nice improvements in your speed and distance.
But wait…Do you realize that you can actually reach your goals more effectively by approaching your training slowly? The training method that produces more gradual progress will be the most effective. Why? Because the faster your fitness increases, the sooner you will hit a “peak.” Once you’ve reached that peak you can no longer make any further gains no matter how hard you work. If you are new to endurance training and you have never yet experienced this phenomenon, congratulations. But believe me, this exists for real. And there is nothing more frustrating than reaching this peak too far in advance of your goal race or event.
In order slow down your progress—so that you reach your peak at exactly the right time—the key is to find the right balance of intensity in your training. Many athletes--both beginners and experienced competitors—hold the erroneous belief that they should be working hard for a training session to be effective. If you want your workouts to be more enjoyable and effective, then try working less hard.
In his book Slow Burn, Stuart Mittleman advocates the strategy of lower heart rate training. Mittleman is an accomplished “ultra-ultra runner,” with records in the 6-10 day race distance; he has run from San Diego to New York City (3000 miles) in 56 days. Besides consulting for Nike and Gatorade, Mittleman is even Tony Robbins running coach! So it is with all that experience that he coaches runners to “slow down.”
Mittleman not only advocates this strategy for extreme ultra endurance athletes, but also for anyone hoping to burn more fat while at the same time learning to enjoy exercise again. So we are talking about the ordinary exerciser just as much as a competitive endurance athlete. By exercising in a lower HR zone, you can expect these benefits:
· “ Become familiar with the sights, sounds, and feelings…access the zones in terms of what they look, sound, and feel like,” according to Mittleman. Learning to read your body and your senses can tell you what zone you in as well as a heart rate monitor or power meter. Low intensity training is associated with a feeling of calm and relaxation, visual depth, internal awareness, crystalline sound, and a profound sense of feeling one with the world.
· You are training your body to burn fat as fuel, rather than carbohydrates as fuel. If you are training for any kind of endurance event at almost any distance, your performance will be largely dependent on how efficiently your body can burn fat as fuel. As the distance increases (half marathon—marathon—triathlon—ironman) the importance of efficient fat utilization on race day becomes more and more crucial. Speed and intensity training can benefit you for any distance, but the amount of time spent in the higher HR zones is relatively tiny compared to the importance of your aerobic base.
· Additionally, low intensity training is health-promoting. Lower intensity zone effort releases stress and helps burn fat. High intensity exercise is acid producing, which upsets the PH balance of your blood chemistry; stresses the adrenal glands ; increases susceptibility to illness and injury; and strains muscular and soft-tissue.
Mittleman challenges:
“What about you? What is your long-term plan? Remind yourself at every turn that the decisions you make must benefit you not just today but tomorrow and the next day and the next ...surround yourself with people who support you on your long-term mission…realize fully the power of the plan.”
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