Comments on: Current Training http://gosonja.com/index.php/current-training/ Live for Adventure Fri, 10 Sep 2010 03:26:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 hourly 1 By: Troy http://gosonja.com/index.php/current-training/comment-page-1/#comment-4678 Troy Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:59:30 +0000 http://gosonja.com/index.php/current-training/#comment-4678 Love random Pook pictures. Love random Pook pictures.

]]> By: Sonja http://gosonja.com/index.php/current-training/comment-page-1/#comment-4675 Sonja Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:37:25 +0000 http://gosonja.com/index.php/current-training/#comment-4675 So true. Many women aren't even hitting their peak in triathlon until their late 30's. Wisdom is a useful thing in endurance sports and I think as we learn more about our bodies, we are able to use wisdom and experience to a greater advantage (at least I'm hoping so, when I finally get some of that wisdom). So true. Many women aren’t even hitting their peak in triathlon until their late 30’s. Wisdom is a useful thing in endurance sports and I think as we learn more about our bodies, we are able to use wisdom and experience to a greater advantage (at least I’m hoping so, when I finally get some of that wisdom).

]]> By: Ben http://gosonja.com/index.php/current-training/comment-page-1/#comment-4668 Ben Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:50:06 +0000 http://gosonja.com/index.php/current-training/#comment-4668 huh - I was actually wondering about some of that last night myself. Thinking about the >30yr age and loosing fast twitch. A couple articles I have read said that as you age it is easier to add slow twitch and really hard to build fast twitch. So I've been thinking about adding a couple speed workouts here and there to maintain the fast twitch as much as possible. After reading up on a few of the triathlon boards, it seems like there is a pretty big division on bricks - some say its the cornerstone, others say some (but only at full speed), and others say none at all. I'm leaning towards the middle version. As it is becoming more "popular" to be athletic at older and older ages, it seems that much of the training wisdom build around the 20yr olds will be restructured. It wasn't that long ago that the mass populace considered 24 to be the end of a sprinters career and ~35 to the the end of an endurance athletes career - thats already being tipped on its head... huh – I was actually wondering about some of that last night myself. Thinking about the >30yr age and loosing fast twitch. A couple articles I have read said that as you age it is easier to add slow twitch and really hard to build fast twitch. So I’ve been thinking about adding a couple speed workouts here and there to maintain the fast twitch as much as possible.

After reading up on a few of the triathlon boards, it seems like there is a pretty big division on bricks – some say its the cornerstone, others say some (but only at full speed), and others say none at all. I’m leaning towards the middle version.

As it is becoming more “popular” to be athletic at older and older ages, it seems that much of the training wisdom build around the 20yr olds will be restructured. It wasn’t that long ago that the mass populace considered 24 to be the end of a sprinters career and ~35 to the the end of an endurance athletes career – thats already being tipped on its head…

]]> By: Sonja http://gosonja.com/index.php/current-training/comment-page-1/#comment-4666 Sonja Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:29:04 +0000 http://gosonja.com/index.php/current-training/#comment-4666 That argument is what I generally recognize as accepted knowledge in the sport, especially triathlon. My masters coach (PR is 4:05 for a half Ironman) believes quite differently. He has felt from his experience that every year you age you loose fast twitch muscle responses. He has felt that maintaining what speed you have worked so hard to develop is both beneficial and doable. I can't explain his argument exactly, but it has definitely had my brain stewing this morning. Another thing he said was that he never does bike/run bricks. He never trains his body to run slow off the bike. He says the transition always hurts, and if you just don't mess around and don't waste time, just start hauling immediately, you are better off. Lots of food for thought today! That argument is what I generally recognize as accepted knowledge in the sport, especially triathlon. My masters coach (PR is 4:05 for a half Ironman) believes quite differently. He has felt from his experience that every year you age you loose fast twitch muscle responses. He has felt that maintaining what speed you have worked so hard to develop is both beneficial and doable. I can’t explain his argument exactly, but it has definitely had my brain stewing this morning.

Another thing he said was that he never does bike/run bricks. He never trains his body to run slow off the bike. He says the transition always hurts, and if you just don’t mess around and don’t waste time, just start hauling immediately, you are better off.

Lots of food for thought today!

]]> By: Ben http://gosonja.com/index.php/current-training/comment-page-1/#comment-4665 Ben Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:14:11 +0000 http://gosonja.com/index.php/current-training/#comment-4665 From what I've always understood - as you move into the base building period, the speed at least stagnates if not drops off some. I've understood that you can build both and generally improve, but to really improve you need to follow periodized training that focuses on base; then a build phase where the base doesn't increase much, but speed does; then a peak phase that is all about speed and base may drop a little; and finally a transition back to base. Sort of along the lines from my weight lifting days - you could add muscle or tone muscle and cut fat; if you tried to do both, you could, but it wouldn't give large results. If you focus on one and then the other, you may give up some gains in one area as you focus on the other, but the overall gains are much higher than trying to do both at the same time. Buy letting one area "rest" and working on the other, it semi-"turbo charges" the entire process so you leapfrog your gains rather than grinding them. Is that at all along the lines of what you've understood? From what I’ve always understood – as you move into the base building period, the speed at least stagnates if not drops off some. I’ve understood that you can build both and generally improve, but to really improve you need to follow periodized training that focuses on base; then a build phase where the base doesn’t increase much, but speed does; then a peak phase that is all about speed and base may drop a little; and finally a transition back to base.
Sort of along the lines from my weight lifting days – you could add muscle or tone muscle and cut fat; if you tried to do both, you could, but it wouldn’t give large results. If you focus on one and then the other, you may give up some gains in one area as you focus on the other, but the overall gains are much higher than trying to do both at the same time. Buy letting one area “rest” and working on the other, it semi-”turbo charges” the entire process so you leapfrog your gains rather than grinding them.

Is that at all along the lines of what you’ve understood?

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