photo credit: nDevilTV
Using metrics to measure your fitness is a double-edged sword. No more is this true than in the OutSeason, when the fitness you have right now is competing with the fitness you had during the season. Don’t be depressed by the disparity; instead find a deeper meaning in what the numbers are telling you.

Using metrics to measure your fitness is a double-edged sword. No more is this true than in the OutSeason, when the fitness you have right now is competing with the fitness you had during the season. Don’t be depressed by the disparity; instead find a deeper meaning in what the numbers are telling you.

Let’s say I have a “friend” whose FTP was 325 last season. He’s a big doode, so it’s actually not that impressive. For 9 months he thought of himself as Mr 325; that’s what he tested, that’s what he rode…it was just a huge part of his being. Enter the OutSeason. After a few weeks off, my “friend” starts training again only now indoors. The first test is a debacle; so hard it’s a slap to the face…the net outcome is 305 watts. It’s humble pie, it’s a bit of a knock-down, some might even say a step back.

But my friend isn’t phased one bit.

After all, it’s the OutSeason and while he hoped for higher numbers, he didn’t expect to see them after not training for a solid month. Instead, he’s excited about his results!

• First off, he survived the test and has added another layer of toughness to his mental six-pack.
• He now has a new target for his immediate training, one that’s “just” challenging enough instead of making him over-reach.
• He has a “gap” goal, or a target to attain last season’s fitness — he can strive to be as fit as last year before this next season even starts!

Our mutual friends knows that taking a step back is an important part of being able to leap forward. It’s not easy eating some humble pie, but learning to do so, developing the ability to effectively self-assess, is a really important part of achieving your potential as an athlete. Learn more about the OutSeason and how you can improve in our FREE Virtual Seminar by clicking here.

Do yourself a favor and put last season away. Live in the now. Do the test. Get the numbers. Own them. Be them. Get fitter and beat them.

Next season won’t know what hit it when you emerge from the pain cave.

Popularity: 30% [?]

Tune in as Endurance Nation Coaches Rich Strauss and Patrick McCrann cover the most important parts of getting your bike ready for the big day. From wheels to helmets to food, we’ve hit it all to make sure you are 100% dialed in! Click here for more information: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/endurancenation/2009/05/11/Endurance-Nation-Radio-Weekly-Check-In-With-The-Coaches

Popularity: 33% [?]

This week Coach P talks Watts per Kilo, keeping it real and…finally reveals the sign up URL for our free Bike Fit Webinar on 3/29! Czech it out!

Popularity: 23% [?]

From a post by Rich on Slowtwitch. The discussion included some questions about our bike training at Endurance Nation so Rich decided to provide a summary of how we do business on the bike:

Thanks for the mention. Patrick and I did a free webinar in the winter and turned it into a free ebook, which you can download here: https://www.box.net/shared/l57mxcp2pa. In it is a $20 discount code on our much more complete webinar product that you helped us with (thanks!) last year:

Since Endurance Nation was mentioned in the thread I want to clarify a few things:

• For the first 16wks of our season (our Out-Season, your Off-Season), we are 100% focused on lifting FTP. Interval sets, zero concerns for volume, about 4hrs total cycling volume per week. Average FTP gains last year, teamwide, were 15%. We are gathering the data from this year. Several members have posted 24%+ gains this week
• In General Prep (about 8wks for us), volume increases because it can (you’re outside) but we stick to about 2.5-3hrs max on the weekends. This is the volume that is repeatable week after week for our athletes given work, family, etc. Still focused on FTP but we add 80-85% time. Additional volume comes from a warmup but we still prescribe nothing below 80% (other than a warmup)
• Race Prep the volume increases but tops out at 4.5hrs for Saturday, about 3hrs on Sunday. 1 x interval session during the week with zero volume goals. Main Set only. On these long rides we do prescribe 70-75% riding, to build race-specific fitness. More specifically, they lock themselves in the aerobars and wrap their heads around nutrition, the art of riding steady, and the pacing discipline we expect of them on race day, etc. But, again, the FTP and 80-85% work continues.
• They perform 2 x race reahearsal rides before the race. These are the only sessions that they ride over 4.5hrs. These are by far their easiest rides with us.

In general, our focus throughout the season is:

• Lifting FTP. Best time for us to do this is on the Out-Season, when they don’t also have to go far, but we maintain this focus, in some measure, throughtout the season. That said, we believe the value of going far (for much of the year) is significantly over-rated. The last three years we have done a cycling camp for the Tour of California. About 350 miles last year, close to 400 this year. About 2/3 of our participants are east coasters, dropping into this camp after no more than 4hrs/wk of cycling. From 4hrs on a trainer, all FTP-focused, to 20-25hrs outside on challenging terrains…no problems: Tour of California Summary
• Optimizing (usually by maximizing) their TSS/hr of training time by having them do alot of 80-85%/sweetspot training. Low risk method to significantly boost the TSS of each session.
• We reserve the race specific intensity for much closer to the race and don’t have any “magical adaptations” thoughts about it. You’re strong, time to get comfortable at your race watts in your race position, learn what works for you nutritionally, and get your mind right about how we want you to pace the race.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Endurance Nation is pleased to release another free eBook today, 3/9/2009. The Intro to Power Training for Triahletes eBook contains the content from our Intro to Power Webinar back in Dec 2008. The PDF contains basic power info, the slides from our presentation and 60+ minutes of accompanying audio. This is another step forward in our unswerving commitment to giving triathletes access to great resources on the fundamental elements of our sport.

Please pass this on to your readers/network. We hope to hit 2,000 downloads today…so please help us out!

Here is the direct link to download the file: https://www.box.net/shared/l57mxcp2pa

Popularity: 20% [?]