Off season lab testing

19 May 2013

It’s all in the science.

A few members of the Q-Power team (James Bailey, Eddie Ventress, Jo Allsebrook and yours truly) met at the Q training lab on Saturday for some gas exchange testing and a bit of a chin wag.

Whilst the actual test is relatively short lived (you only get one chance and once you pop that’s you cooked!), the brief before and de brief that followed was worth the 3 hour journey in itself.  Understanding why we are training the way we are and understanding the science has become fundamentally important in my quest for glory over the past 11 months and in particular the past 3 months. It helps you ‘feel’ every single piece and what we are trying to force upon the body and during rest.

Also it is a great opportunity to catch up with some of the team in person (we exchange comments on a day to day basis through he team forum) as our daily lives evolve around working, training, eating and sleeping.

Having done the test after the Worlds back in February whilst holding onto part of the speed peak I was eager to see the difference in numbers now whilst deep in off season training with no speed work and pure volume training.  One interesting observation was my ability to hold just one step less than before but with a different set of numbers to show for it. Also the power displayed was completely different – In the last test, after the penultimate step the lowest split all out before popping was 1.29/1.30, yesterday it was 1.24.

I also had an important lesson in HRV (heart rate variability) and testing for fatigue and understanding the data. We all take daily data readings first thing in the morning to input into a Q spread sheet to keep a close eye on tiredness and nervous system stress all year round.  Right now we are building a picture of what patterns occur during various times of training overload, family life, work, stress etc.  More info here:- http://www.q-power.co/Fatigue__1_.html

A small social in the evening was followed with a steady 16km with the boss this morning before getting on the road and heading off. The next gas exchange testing will be as the off season comes to an end before speed work commences around November.

Back to the grind tomorrow.

Total metres this week – 94km

“A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive, and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.”

Ollie Osborne

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