january meeting

Another meeting with the coach on Tuesday. Each time more and more doors open. This is a great learning experience for me.

Anyway, here are the notes I made:

Base period 2

This week marks the start of the 2nd base period.

Increasing volume

During the 3 weeks of this base period, it is important to increase the volume each week (in terms of total hours). ex: 14, 16, 18 hours. Therefore if I go over my target, I should aim to progressively increase the volume in subsequent weeks. This is something I should pay attention to

Increasing intensity

In base period 1 I aimed to do my work in HR zones 1 and 2. In zone 2, much of the work was at the lower end of HR z2.

In base period 2, I will aim to increase the intensity into the mid/upper zone (around 130 ~ 145 bpm).

(In base period 3, we envisage that I will be working in upper zone 2 and up into zone 3).

Base 2 strength work

I haven't done any strength work this year. In the UK I was consciously putting my time into endurance work to try and limit weight gain / fitness loss. Now I will refocus on strength work. Strength work will continue until the beginning of March. I will aim to do 2 or 3 strength workouts each week.

In base 2, I will reduce the volume and increase the weight. I will aim for 4/5 sets of 10 to 12 reps.

In base 3, we will increase the weight and reduce the reps further.

I will try to use the gym for this.

Testing

I will perform an FTP test on 7/8th February. Ideally I will do this on the road but will use a stationary trainer if necessary.

The heart rate zones may be adjusted based on the results of the test. It is hoped that lots of work in zone 2 will pay off and I will be able to produce a higher power output at a lower heart rate.

Body weight

I am 77 ~ 78 kg now. Last year I went down to 75 kg and was happy. But we will try to get an understanding of my optimum weight and I may try to go lower.

I will start to check % body fat too.

Nutrition

I have set up an account at myfitnesspal.com which I will use to record my eating habits and link to Training Peaks.

We are interested in looking at input vs. output in terms of calories.

We will also look at the balance of carbohydrates, fats and protein.

I am particularly interested, as a vegetarian athlete, if I am meeting my protein requirements.

We talked about the effects of protein deficiency. We also talked about the roles of fats, carbs and energy for different intensities of exercise.

I really appreciate my coach's time and knowledge. Looking forward to a successful 2015!