I don’t know how many times we have to hear it and tell athletes the merit, value and reason for those easy spins and days off the bike. What I do know, is that until I saw it explained via the raw data provided to use by power meters, I only understood it intellectually as well.

However, when the ability to Monitor Training Stress and it’s effects on the body with power meters came into existence, I, like so many whom I have since shown afterwards, finally truly understood what this meant. And why is that? Because now we could see it with our very own eyes.

Why it takes our silly scientific minds so long to actually listen to and trust what our hearts, minds and bodies have been telling us for decades is a topic for a completely different day and time.

For now, I’ll stick to using a simple explanation that I just sent to one of my own athletes who was asking about what I was seeing in her power meter files as of late and if progress was a part of that which I was seeing.

Well, I’ll let you be the judge for yourself by examining this graph that belongs to a client of mine and the following explanation as to how to interpret it and what it means, and hope that you too become a true believer in the power of rest in the process.

Here’s what I was talking about where the training stress model evidences an almost perfect rise to the right.

The pink is the ATL (Acute Training Load) and the Yellow is the TSB (Training Stress Balance), which shows the relationship that the stress from the workouts you do combined with rest affects your overall fitness level as evidenced by your CTL (Chronic Training Load) in blue.

As you can see, there is an inverse relationship between the ATL and the TSB. Whenever you are training, the CTL is high and the TSB is low, meaning you are training which causes fatigue. Each time you do a block of training , the ATL (pink or fatigue level) goes up and the TSB (yellow or your freshness) goes down.

However, the exact opposite is true when you rest, your ATL comes down and your TSB comes up, and this is where you want to be when you’re going into a key event. You are rested (as evidenced by the higher TSB) and fit, (as evidenced by the overall increase in the CTL.

This is the ultimate explanation for that age old saying that we only get stronger when we rest and that “training only creates the potential for fitness, resting realizes is”. –Andy Coggan

Until people see it here as evidenced by the numbers, they say that they understand it, but only intellectually. It’s not until they really see it that they really get it and then feel a heck of a lot better about those active recovery spins and days off.

The level and shape of the CTL (chronic training load or cumulative fitness that results from resting and racing) is the direct result of the type and amount of training we do as well as the type and amount of resting that we do.

As you can see, you have been in a continuous linear increase overall to the right all year which is, of course, by design.:-)

What typically happens around the time we start racing and doing shorter, harder workouts is that the CTL starts to level out and sometimes drop a bit, which isn’t something to worry about. It just means that we are turning your fitness into another form, which is usually speed and power and if the CTL continued to raise indefinitely, then you’d always be tired and never be able to truly tap into the fitness you have built for yourself.

I hope this sheds some light on things for anyone who happens to read this post as it certainly did for me the first time that Hunter Allen eagerly and excitedly showed it to me long before it showed up in their baby, which is no what’s referred to as WKO+.

While I believe that the most exciting and powerful changes occur within the heart and the mind, I’m as big a numbers geek as anyone, and knowing the numbers is a fundamental part of working with athletes today no matter how you slice it. I just prefer them when they slice nicely!

-JS

While this accident happened to someone I didn’t know personally, it is a tragedy none the less that did happen to a fellow cyclist and a friend of friends of mine. One blessing of a blog is the ability to reach and connect with the people who read it. So, as a reader of my blog, I would like to ask you to take 30 seconds out of your day to simply send Ryan Barnett some healing energy, thoughts or prayers, depending on your personal slant on how things work.

“Ryan Barnett, has been seriously injured in a bike crash when he was hit by a truck in Atlanta. He has a serious spinal chord injury and is at the Shepherd Clinic in Atlanta off Peachtree in Buckhead. He will have surgery on his spine sometime next week and he needs all your love, prayers, thoughts, and positive vibes sent his way. I wanted to make sure everyone knew. Show him the love any way you can.”

-As sent to me by friend and Athens, GA cycling legend, David Crowe.

What’s really neat is that we can not only send him our support energetically, but tangentially as well. Check out what’s been created using simple internet technology. I find this to be very cool indeed.

This link is a blog that has been put up as a way for all to “visit” Ryan.  You can go to the site and leave comments to him.  He has the ability to see them and respond, and even update his own condition…etc.

http://www.realitybikes.com/RyanBarnett/

I think this is really neat, as those who know him, as well as those of us who didn’t can play a role in helping him to recover from this injury. I challenge you to leave him some encouraging words, in spite of the fact that you don’t know him. Whether he knows you or not, I guarantee that your thoughts will help uplift his spirits which in turn will play a part in his healing process. What a better way than to brighten someone else’s day, and yours, at the very same time.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and reach out to Ryan, a fellow cyclist and human being in need of some LOVE and healing energy.

-JS

The more creative a workout is, the more likely an athlete is to enjoy it and put forth a greater effort in their training, thus leading to an overall increase in the effectiveness of their training. That’s why Endurofit athletes like Jen Urich, can often be found pushing the envelope of performance when doing any number of creative interval workouts just like the one shown here.

This file of what’s commonly referred to as a ‘cruise interval’ is a perfect example of how to keep interval training fun. Instead of going out and doing 1 mile threshold repeats on the track, or even worse, up and down a street, Jen chose to incorporate her speed work into an 8.5 mile endurance paced run on one of her favorite trails. In doing so, she was able to keep the run rejuvenating and fun, which motivated her to accomplish her training goals for the day.

It wasn’t long ago that she wasn’t able to run sub-7 minute miles. However, after only a few months of creative interval training, Jen is now easily able to knock out 2 straight miles at a 6’45” pace in the course of an 8.5 mile run, without even breaking her stride. This shows marked progress in her running speed, endurance and total work capacity.

Whether you like it or not, if you want to get faster, you’re going to have to go faster, and that means doing some form of interval work from time to time. Just remember to think outside the ‘training box’ when creating your interval workouts. Have fun by getting creative and doing them in a way that motivates you. After all, most of us started riding, running and/or swimming for the pure enjoyment of it, so don’t let your desire to get better and a lack of creativity steal the fun factor from your training.

Instead, break out of the ‘training box’ and mix things up to make getting faster fun. I guarantee you that you’ll be glad you did. After all, the only thing that beats being fit and fast, is doing it with a big ol’ smile on your face.

JS

After an awesome off-season and working through injury and illness, Katie Reynolds has persevered and is having some of her best performances on the bike of her career.Katie finished just of the podium in 4th at the Athens women’s 3/4 circuit race and just nailed the 2nd place spot in the coveted Roswell criterium in Roswell, GA.

What’s impressed me the most about Katie’s progression as an athlete this year is her attitude. He focus had become so much more positive and in doing so her confidence has risen and the results show for themselves.

After working through a neck injury and being sick, Katie was worried that her fitness might had suffered more than she had hoped, but because of the training she had done previously and a belief in herself and the work that she had done, she has come back stronger, fitter, smarter and faster than ever before. I’ve honestly seen an injury, illness or work obligation that takes someone off the bike after a period where they had been close to burn out or where they had been struggling, save their seasons and take their fitness to levels they had never dreamed of before.

Keep that in mind folks, when you either get sidelined by life, injury, illness, work or whatever. Often times, as long as you have been training leading up to the event, quite often the time off is exactly what it takes for the body and the mind to get the rest and recovery it needs to truly adapt to and get stronger from all of the stress that we put it under through training and every day life.

Katie’s story is a perfect example and is one of many that I have seen go this way over the past few years. So, if you are forced off the bike for a few weeks, don’t fret. Instead, enjoy the down time, make the most out of it and stay positive and you might come back stronger than ever before yourself.

Congratulations Katie, and thanks for the wonderful example for us all.

-JS

As many of you know I am not only an athletic coach but a success coach, for lack of a better description, who’s primary goal as a professional is to help others determine and overcome their personal roadblocks to success en route to achieving their goals, whether that be in the physical realm or otherwise.

As such, I am always open to, and on the lookout for new and effective means for growing personally and adding to my tool box for helping others do the same. My motto as a professional and as a human being has always been that “My approach to coaching and to life is one that is subject to change given better information at any given time”. Fortunately for me, and for my clients, I am presented with better, or should I say, new and exciting information and tools for helping others succeed all of the time.

One such example has recently come to me in the form of a tip from a fellow coach and friend whom I hold in the highest regard. He is a coach and a human being who I feel really ‘gets it’ in both arenas. What I mean by ‘gets it’, is that he understands what’s really important in life, and how to really bring out the best in people through his coaching by caring about his clients and through leading by example. He has certainly helped and been an example to me.

We connect on a monthly basis to share and trade ideas and last month he had shared one with me that I didn’t really ‘hear’ until this week. As some of you may already know, Oprah has been doing a 12 week, special web broadcast around the world, where she has been interviewing a revolutionary spiritual teacher and visionary by the name of Eckhart Tolle.

In the course of doing so, they have been going through his most recent book, titled “A New Earth”, that focuses on the shift that is occurring in human awareness in order to help us evolve to a higher level of functioning through an elevation in our individual and collective levels of consciousness.

While that may sound, and is to some degree quite esoteric, it is by no means as ‘out there’ as it sounds and is actually quite down to Earth. (No pun intended, but gladly achieved!). The subject matter is also extremely congruent with my own personal philosophy and espouses many of the beliefs, techniques and tools that I utilize in my own journey of personal growth as a coach and as a human being and that I have found useful in working with anyone who is also interested in growing towards their highest potential.

Unfortunately, this Monday, May the 5th, 2008 will be the last show of this 12 week series. However, fortunately for us, each show has been archived on Oprah’s website and is available for the viewing, free of charge. Finally heeding my friend’s suggestion to check it out, I watched the first recorded show last night and was so moved by it, that I not only felt inspired to share it with as many people as possible, but felt a certain sense of responsibility to do so.

After watching the show I went out for a run with my dog as I often do in the evening, and felt a sense of exhilaration, inspiration, clarity of purpose and connection that I have not felt in a while. It provided me with the catalyst I have been meditating on and waiting for as of late, a catalyst of inspiration & guidance in this area of focus in my business and in my personal life. I am so grateful to have chosen to take the time to watch this first show and plan to watch the next 11, starting with Monday’s last live showing at 9pm PST and the rest of the shows that are archived on Oprah’s web site.

If you are interested in checking it out, and I highly recommend that each and everyone of you do just that, just go to her site (I know it sounds cheesy, but just trust me on this one here folks) and look for the Book Club section and the recent discussions with Eckhart Tolle on his book ‘A New Earth’. You can also check out the videos directly at the following link.

“A New Earth” discussions w/ Eckhart Tolle on www.Oprah.com

I can say with confidence that I know that you will be glad that you did. I hope that you get at least half as much, if not more than what I have gotten out of it so far. If so, please feel free to drop me a line and LMK what you thoughts about it are and what it brought up for you.

Be sure to keep checking in here at my blog and to sign up for my ‘Success Tips’ and Monthly Newsletter to find out about more happenings and opportunities like this one, including a number of upcoming webinar series that I will be giving on topics like this as they relate to human performance enhancement. I will also be offering a membership-only discussion forum of my own here soon, where you can meet and discuss topics such as this one and many more with myself, my colleagues and fellow members of the forum.

Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to hearing from you and hope that you keep visiting my site as we continue to explore new topics and ideas aimed at, and related to helping us all be our best, enjoy life to the fullest and help others do the same. Until next time…be well my friends.

-JS

For anyone who’s going to be in the Brooklyn area, be sure to stop by and check out a lecture that my brother is giving at the Brooklyn Public Library this Saturday, May 3, 2008.

Josh is one of the most charismatic, creative, humorous and brilliant people on the planet who just so happens to be an extremely talented film maker. As a self-employed, independent film maker who has traveled in more countries than most people have other counties; his views on life, politics, film-making, the environment and the plight of the common man provide content for some of the most interesting and enlightening discussions.

This weekend he will be speaking about his experiences as an independent film-maker, including the ups, the downs, and everything in-between. Regardless of your personal interests, you’ll be guaranteed and interesting dialog at the very least.
Visit this link to find out all of the details.

Brooklyn Public Library