Testing

We ran a bit of testing for our Front Runner athletes this week, we run these tests periodically, but particularly near the beginning of the season. We have a multitude of reasons for running these tests, but they all center on data gathering. The testing of choice this week was a threshold test for the bike, which we ran using a 30 minute maximum effort testing protocol. Pretty much 30 minutes of giggles. Sort of.

The main data we are looking to gather in these tests is an anaerobic threshold measurement. What we are measuring depends on what technology the athlete is using, ie heart rate monitor, power meter etc, but whatever they have, this test helps us determine a threshold measurement for it. Gathering this data early in the season gives us a benchmark to base our programs on, something to build upon. From here we can specify intensities for efforts, build race plans etc. By measuring it we can then build a plan to improve it, without a quantification we would largely just be making educated guesses. 

These test results are also a great way to track progress over a season, both for us and the athletes. Testing at the beginning of the season helps us to compare where we were at at the end of last season and modify our training programs accordingly. Importantly having an early season benchmark also gives us something to compare to as the season progresses, giving both the coaches and the athlete an idea of progress and improvement. Once again tracking these improvements allows us to modify our training programs accordingly to make sure we are always challenging an athlete at the appropriate levels for the physiological adaptations we are wanting to promote. 

When used appropriately these test results can be a very powerful tool and a key part to building an effective training program that delivers tangible gains. Now that we have completed the testing and gathered the data we have a point to start from for the season. The challenging part for the athletes is now training consistently and intelligently to build on this start point. If the athletes can manage consistent training over the next couple of months, then they should see measurable gains in the next round of testing that we do. That next round of testing will give us more data to allow us to further modify the training program to drive more improvements, in that way the cycle of consistent, incremental gains rolls on. 

Simple as that. It all starts with the testing.