Gone Camping: Physio testing and a lot of number crunching

Report from Team Physiologist Adrie van Diemen:

This training camp in Calpé, Spain we started off with the physiology testing of all the riders attending. The riders racing Tour down Under will attend later and do also the physiology testing. Building a training plan involves always defining the training load for each rider. The training load consists on the intensity, the duration and frequency of the training.

With the physiology testing we began by defining each rider’s individual training zones so we know the intensity where each rider will be training. The test consists of workloads of starting at 2 1/2 watt/kg body weight which was increased every five and later every ten minutes during the test with ½ watt/kg body weight. The long periods of work load gives a real steady state. At that point we are sure that the physiological parameters measured like oxygen uptake, carbon dioxide production as well as heart rate, fat burning rate and blood lactate values in the blood elicit the real physiological responses to the the workload that is given to a rider.

After analyzing the measured values the individual training zones for the riders were determined. Each heart rate training zone is used to get a precise training adaptation. We will work with five training zones. Starting at the lowest intensity we determine the recuperation training zone. The endurance 1 zone is used to develop endurance and it is always done with a high pedaling frequency. The endurance 2 zone is used to develop the maximal fat burning rate. The endurance 3 zone is used to develop the race pace intensity and it is mainly based on carbohydrates as fuel for the aerobic energy system. The highest intensity is all above the Maximal Lactate Steady State.

Dan Martin just after failure with Marqc Quod taking a blood lactate sample

After the testing was done and the data was analyzed and the riders got their individual training zones. The other results of the tests are already or will be discussed with the riders in individual sessions. To make sure that riders can optimize the parameters obtained from the physiological testing through individual training programs their bikes are equipped with Garmin 500 and SRM systems. The Garmin 500 constantly measures where the riders go and also analyzes the power output, heart rate, pedaling frequency, speed and elevation.

During the training rides we individually control with blood lactate measurements the validity of the indoor testing and the ongoing physiological response of the riders to the power that riders put out during the ride. After every training ride the data from the Garmin is downloaded to the Training Peaks website where it is available to the rider and coaches of Team Garmin-Transitions.

We will also be doing a constant monitoring of the riders throughout the year. This training camp will make riders work hard but it will also provide them with the necessary tools to optimize their performance. We really try to implement the best possible scientific knowledge, and then apply it to the training and development of the riders. Valuable new knowledge and methodology will be generated form this project which will absolutely be profitable for our riders. More to come… as the training camp and team evolves. Special thanks to NewLeafFitness.com, SRM and Garmin which sponsored us with the right measurement equipment and software to make this possible.

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 4:40 pm and is filed under Home Page, Slipstream, Technology and Training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.