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Performance Testing  

• VO2 Max Testing
  

  VO2 max is defined as the maximum amount of oxygen that can be taken into the body, transported around the body and used in the working muscles during severe exercise.  Evaluation of the athlete's VO2 max is the best criterion of an athlete's aerobic efficiency and is the basis for all endurance sports. The more oxygen you can get to the muscles the more fuel you can burn as you will have a higher rate of ATP re synthesis so you will be able to cover a greater distance over a given time for the same number of heart beats. This is because increases in aerobic capacity are linked with the lungs ability to offload oxygen to the blood, the bloods ability to hold oxygen (haemoglobin concentration), blood volume and cardiac output (how much the heart can fill and eject with each beat, peripheral blood flow (the density of capillaries in the muscle) and aerobic metabolism (the amount of mitochondria within the muscle where the energy reactions take place).

     
• Lactic thresholds and maximum lactic steady state (MLSS).
  

  Lacic threshold is defined as the intensity, below which there is a 1 mmol/L increase in lactic acid from baseline levels during an incremental exercise test.  Knowing this point and the MLSS (The workload at which the body starts to use anaerobic energy with a rapid build-up of lactic acid in the blood) is very useful as has been shown to be a better predictor of performance in endurance sport than VO2 max.  Knowing the HR and power at which this occurs can be used to set training intensities and enabling the optimisation of aerobic training.
     

• Economy

  Economy is the oxygen cost of doing work. Recent studies have shown that professional road cyclists require a high cycling economy in order to allow them to maintain high workloads for an extended period of time. They also exhibit considerable resistance to fatigue of recruited motor units at high intensities below the MLSS.  When an athlete is tested from month to month with analysis of expired air at a given power output, if the VO2 (amount of oxygen used) at a given power output is less than the previous test the athlete is becoming more economical.

• Maximum Aerobic Power
  

  Maximum aerobic power (MAP) is the maximum power maintained at the end of an incremental maximal test to volitional exhaustion.  MAP has also been shown to predict cycling performance and when given as a relative measurement with the athlete's body mass can give a power to weight ratio or fitness index, which can be used to assess performance against norm tables.  For example, a power to weight ratio of 6.0 and 5.0 w/kg generally considered a necessary prerequisite for a top-level male and female cyclist respectively.

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Coaching  

• Periodisation
  

  This is the process of structuring training in order to maximise the training time and effect and avoid burnout or staleness through any training plateau.  Tudor O. Bompa, PhD, revolutionized Western training methods when he introduced his groundbreaking theory of periodisation in Romania in 1963. After adopting his training system, the Eastern Bloc countries dominated international sports through the 1970s and 1980s. Periodisation is a dynamic training plan, a sort of training road map, that will allow you to reach specific goals whilst being flexible enough to allow for route changes en route to specific objectives. Separate periods in the year are structured into cycles, which have separate training goals and methods in order to maximise the gains in the different components of performance required for each period.
     
  Macro cycles  
  Months to years.
    
  Meso cycles  
  2 - 6 weeks sub divisions of macro, with specific objectives different from others.
    
  Micro cycles 
  

  7 - 14 days containing detailed information about the training frequency, intensity and time sequence of the training this concept is built around the scientific principles of training, which are;

     

• Progressive Overload
  

  Once an athlete has adapted to a specific training stimulus the training stimulus must be increased in order for the athlete to adapt further and gain performance increases. To get an overload effect training must exceed the normal load. The skilled combination of volume (frequency and duration/time) and intensity known as the FIT principle will determine the appropriate training level. This also applies for psychological training when an athlete is learning a new skill. However too much can cause injury and burnout whereas too little will cause no adaptation and a performance plateau.
     

• Reversibility
  

  Use it or loose it, slow gradual training will imply slower losses when training is cut whereas, fast gain methods will imply a quick loss. For example VO2max has been observed to decrease by 15 to 20% after a 12 week period of detraining in elite endurance cyclists. This will vary within the maturation of the individual, but an athlete must consider that when they are not able to train in their chosen sport due to injury they must use a different mode of training that incorporates similar muscle groups in similar neuromuscular recruitment patterns, for example a speed skater could switch to cycling in order to maintain aerobic conditioning.
     

• Specificity
  

  The adaptation to training will be specific to the type of training. For example high VO2 in cross country running may not translate to a high VO2 in indoor track running.

    
• Variation
  

  Mix it up to avoid low training motivation and reduce the chance of diminished returns. Burnout has been shown to have a high association with lack of motivation and low perceived ability in a given task. An increase in task salience will increase labouring, something that is missed out of most peoples' training during the long winter base training.

     
• Recovery
  

  Training adaptation comes during the activity with tactical, technical and mental conditioning, however physical conditioning is catabolic, meaning it breaks the body down, usually leaving it in a weaker state.  The adaptation comes during the recovery period, remember training = work + recovery.

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Putting the scientific training principles into practice 

 When you chose to be a part of Patterson Training you will pass along an athlete intervention pathway

• Individuality
  

  We are all different in our physical make up, our psychological orientations and we all adapt differently to training due to our individual genetic factors that have been reported to be responsible for 80% of adaptation to training stimulus. Also we all respond and are motivated differently to different coaching styles. Some well known coaching organisations allow coaches to coach vast numbers of athletes, that are no doubt coached by off the shelf plans that have no relevance to the individual, a far cry from the support that is received by Patterson training clients.

     
• Annual plans
  

  The annual plan sets out your training year based upon the races or events you have listed for that racing season. Within the annual plan is your training periodisation with each macro, meso and micro cycle clearly shown, along with information such as variations and contributing percentages of technical, tactical, physical and psychological preparation. It also lists the variations in frequency, intensity and training time for each training cycle. The annual plan enables the athlete to easily take a look at the forthcoming weeks and months and know by simply running their finger down the plan that corresponds to a given date and have a clear idea of every aspect of the training for that date.
    

• Weekly plans
  

  Within the weekly plans is the detailed information about the week's training including specific exercises, skills, training terrain and details about the frequency, intensity and training time. The weekly plan also has allocated space for the athlete to give the coach detailed feedback on the training completed, and also some physiological variables such as resting heart rate and "feel good factor".
     

• Fatigue profiles and rider feedback
  

  The rider feedback is a critical part of any coaching relationship and at Patterson Training we have designed a number of spreadsheets and forms referring to the athlete's physical and mental well being, to be completed on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. These forms enable the coach to spot any trends in physical and mental state that will aid in the prescription of training and recovery and educate the athlete to listen to their body and be more proficient at giving feedback to the coach.

     
• Psychological skills
  

  It is a well-known fact that most coaching on a club level is geared towards "working the engine" of an athlete, referring to the physical conditioning especially in cycling. Improving an athlete's physiology is very important, but is usually done at the expense of psychological skills. Many elite athletes have gone into a major competition and competed well below their ability only a couple of weeks after recording a personal best. Steve Backley, the British javelin thrower stated during one competition that although his physical ability was great he did not have the right tune playing in his head. This loss of mental focus during an event such as a tactical road race or a tough time trial can be as detrimental to performance as a low lactic threshold, so at Patterson Training we have a strong emphasis on mental skills training that, as with all aspects of our coaching, is specific to your chosen event and delivered in a knowledge-based practice.  If the intervention required is beyond our expertise the athlete can be referred to a accredited sport psychologist with our full support.

      
• Evaluation and re assessment of the athlete
  

  "If you don't know how it works how can you fit it?" One of the great advantages of being a Patterson Training coaching client is the high standard of performance testing that we are able to offer using high quality Gas and blood analysis and power measuring using SRM training systems, and also the ecological validity and comfort of using your own bike on a Kingcycle ergometer during performance tests. We don't use correlations from computer programmes to evaluate VO2 values or lactic thresholds at Patterson Training, we follow BASES guidelines using calibrated and reliable metabolic testing equipment for all our testing procedures to ensure reliability and validity of our testing. This regular testing allows the coach to measure if the training stimulus has been successful and adjust the training plan accordingly. This is coaching science, not coaching by guesswork.  If you want to succeed then Patterson Training should be your choice for coaching and sport science support.

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