tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post2979542063194144814..comments2024-03-15T03:34:26.390-07:00Comments on Alan Couzens: Rocky VI: Fitness v. FatigueAlan Couzenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07123240819644335101noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-43164762961983507832008-11-28T12:01:00.000-08:002008-11-28T12:01:00.000-08:00Hey WP, If you are using wko for swimming, the IF^...Hey WP, <BR/><BR/>If you are using wko for swimming, the IF^3 would only be applicable for pace measurement due to the relationship between increasing drag with increasing speed. <BR/><BR/>If the swim is at 75% of AT pace, the TSS would be .75*.75*.75* duration of the swim in hours*100.<BR/><BR/> In the case of a 1hr swim: .75*.75*.75*100 = 42TSS<BR/><BR/>Happy training!<BR/><BR/>ACAlan Couzenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123240819644335101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-3757910676610213852008-11-28T11:38:00.000-08:002008-11-28T11:38:00.000-08:00Alan, we met briefly earlier this year at the Trip...Alan, we met briefly earlier this year at the Triple T. I love your blog. I would like to start entering a TSS number for swims in wko+, but I cannot figure out what IF^3 means. Can you explain how to calculate an hour swim at 75% of LTHR for a swim.<BR/><BR/>Thanks.Jim Dickerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16843526352217451241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-12876343278837603752008-11-27T09:24:00.000-08:002008-11-27T09:24:00.000-08:00Hey Paddy,Completely agree. While there seems to b...Hey Paddy,<BR/><BR/>Completely agree. <BR/><BR/>While there seems to be a good degree of homogenity for the fitness constant, setting an appropriate fatigue constant demands some trial and error. <BR/><BR/>Here is a link to the Morton paper I referenced:<BR/><BR/>http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/abstract/69/3/1171<BR/><BR/>I have a pdf if you would like me to forward.<BR/><BR/>I am also looking to get my hands on: <BR/><BR/> The quantitative periodization of athletic training: a model study<BR/>RH Morton - Sports Med. Training Rehabil, 1991<BR/><BR/>Please forward if you come across it. <BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/><BR/>ACAlan Couzenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123240819644335101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-23085095638340312572008-11-27T02:15:00.000-08:002008-11-27T02:15:00.000-08:00Dear ACAnother excellent thought provoking blog. ...Dear AC<BR/><BR/>Another excellent thought provoking blog. Just a thought, any equation that describes the change in fitness due to training load can be optimised. Would you send the full reference for the Morton et al (1990) paper?<BR/><BR/>Regards<BR/>PaddyPaddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18354958720761164006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-64751797070343187092008-11-26T08:00:00.000-08:002008-11-26T08:00:00.000-08:00Hey Steve, Hickson et al. looked at detraining in ...Hey Steve, <BR/><BR/>Hickson et al. looked at detraining in swimmers and found that for periods of reduced training longer than 2-4 weeks, fitness could be maintained with 50% of normal in-season volume and 70% of normal in-season intensity. <BR/><BR/>These #'s are good starting points for the athletes 'off-season' in order to minimize fitness losses from the previous season. <BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/><BR/>ACAlan Couzenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123240819644335101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-34946790294620731852008-11-24T16:28:00.000-08:002008-11-24T16:28:00.000-08:00Hey Dan,If you're using Training Peaks in addi...Hey Dan,<BR/><BR/>If you're using Training Peaks in addition to wko, it's pretty easy to do. <BR/><BR/>Go to training graphs -> time in zones -> show data<BR/><BR/>and then cut and paste to an Excel spreadsheet and create a column graph from there. <BR/><BR/>In fact, training peaks provides a similar chart. I just like the excel format. <BR/><BR/>Have fun.<BR/><BR/>ACAlan Couzenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123240819644335101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-62313810588065463352008-11-24T06:57:00.000-08:002008-11-24T06:57:00.000-08:00Great post. I enjoyed it as usual.Do you have any...Great post. I enjoyed it as usual.<BR/><BR/>Do you have any thoughts on just what level of work is required to just maintain fitness?<BR/><BR/>I am thinking of this for two reasons: one is off season and the second is that I am contemplating a training block where I focus on just one sport but don't want to lose fitness in the other two.<BR/><BR/>Stevestevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705263047277787072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-6577991185662553272008-11-23T12:52:00.000-08:002008-11-23T12:52:00.000-08:00Hi AlanI've been rereading some of your old posts....Hi Alan<BR/><BR/>I've been rereading some of your old posts. and in this post "I can see Paradise by the dashboard lights" you show a chart, which i believe shows HR zones. how do you do this chart, do you know if it's possible in wko+, the reason for asking is that I would like to track intensities in both pace, power and HR. any help is much welcome.<BR/><BR/>Greetings Dan <BR/>Denmarkolesendanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13617125931793065764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-68482778067882765682008-11-18T13:27:00.000-08:002008-11-18T13:27:00.000-08:00Hey AB,Sometimes it's tricky to distinguish betwee...Hey AB,<BR/><BR/>Sometimes it's tricky to distinguish between fitness vs. performance. <BR/><BR/>Fitness represent potential performance but it requires you to shed fatigue for it to be expressed. <BR/><BR/>In the process of shedding fatigue, you also ditch some fitness, so when you race your Half after a taper, you are definitely a lot faster but also a little less fit than what you were pre-taper. This is the main reason that we don't extend the principle of specificity to training by doing a lot of races because, unless you are 'crazy-fit' the training stimulus from the race is more than outweighed by the fitness that you shed in taper and recovery. <BR/><BR/>As far as donating blood, obviously it's a personal choice, but in the name of performance, I'd advise against it. We work way too hard for the 160cc of red blood cells that they take during a donation to just give them away. <BR/><BR/>Hope this helps.<BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/><BR/>ACAlan Couzenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123240819644335101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-60959661452789704452008-11-18T12:58:00.000-08:002008-11-18T12:58:00.000-08:00Hi AC,so from this model, what effect could 'A' ra...Hi AC,<BR/><BR/>so from this model, what effect could 'A' racing have on fitness? eg after a 2 week taper for a half should we see an improvement (after initial 'can't walk properly' period), or from the taper/recovery will fitness erosion mean we are back to well below our pre taper fitness?<BR/>Also, as a separate question what effect could donating blood have on endurance athletes? I have postponed donations until transition periods but am I overestimating the physiological effects?<BR/>Ta very much<BR/>ABAB@OZhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17912443935559226179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-24000988905613731462008-11-18T08:48:00.000-08:002008-11-18T08:48:00.000-08:00Hey Jaakko, The great thing is that, while we may ...Hey Jaakko, <BR/><BR/>The great thing is that, while we may find some good concepts in the literature, every athlete is an experiment of one. <BR/><BR/>So, the crux of these 'experiments' is spending a lot of time training and (every session) recording your own personal response. <BR/><BR/>Have fun!!<BR/><BR/>ACAlan Couzenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123240819644335101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-32327001610618941192008-11-18T08:43:00.000-08:002008-11-18T08:43:00.000-08:00thanks Alan!I better start studying more!-JHthanks Alan!<BR/><BR/>I better start studying more!<BR/><BR/>-JHllhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10694446270426418514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-88705379410068750002008-11-18T08:42:00.000-08:002008-11-18T08:42:00.000-08:00Hey Nico, The post was getting a little long and I...Hey Nico, <BR/><BR/>The post was getting a little long and I'm not sure how many folks out there are using wko+ to that extent so I decided not to go into that in to much depth. <BR/><BR/>Basically though if you keep track of critical power and pace #'s from your training, you can see how much taper/recovery time is needed to get back to your season highs. With this info you can modify the default ATL constant (7 days) to better approximate your own fatigue decay rate. <BR/><BR/>Hope this helps.<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/><BR/>ACAlan Couzenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123240819644335101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-49619465333581473202008-11-18T08:38:00.000-08:002008-11-18T08:38:00.000-08:00Hey Jaakko,Modelling the training process is a rel...Hey Jaakko,<BR/><BR/>Modelling the training process is a relatively new science. Not a lot of mainstream literature out there. I think:<BR/><BR/>http://www.cyclingpeakssoftware.com/power411/performancemanager.asp <BR/><BR/>is a good starting point. <BR/><BR/>Still not really tri focused, though. If you use a Garmin, the new version of wko+ will calculate TSS from that. If not, time (hrs) x IF^2 (where IF is training pace/threshold pace) will work for flat courses. <BR/><BR/>For the swim, it's been suggested that IF^3 is a better measure. Probably true given the nature of resistance. <BR/><BR/>Hope this helps. <BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/><BR/>ACAlan Couzenshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07123240819644335101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-89032868945106891102008-11-18T07:28:00.000-08:002008-11-18T07:28:00.000-08:00This is extremely interesting, as always, but, unl...This is extremely interesting, as always, but, unless I am mistaken, it leaves out a crucial part of the question, which is how to "set an appropriate Acute Training Load (fatigue constant)?"<BR/><BR/>I see mention being made of performance markers from my training, but I am not sure what those could be. Any pointers?<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the great post!Nicohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07436817460139582343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7915222980782433094.post-39469175993656233172008-11-17T21:35:00.000-08:002008-11-17T21:35:00.000-08:00AC,is there a good manual to really get into under...AC,<BR/><BR/>is there a good manual to really get into understanding how to use wko+ properly? I have a hard time for ex. putting in swim and run workouts and get stress scores for those.<BR/><BR/>thanks,<BR/><BR/>-JHllhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10694446270426418514noreply@blogger.com