HyperPower Protocol #4 -- The Redemption

HyperPower Protocol #4 -- The Redemption - The Cycling Network

I sure am glad I'm not doing this workout tonight with the boys.
This is the exact email I sent them:


Hope you are psyched cuz tonight's gonna be off da hook.

Everyone's zones increased based on the files I received from last week, including the power profile test if you sent me one.

There is one caveat in that if you are feeling tired, we will modify (especially in Orion's case).

However, tonight's workout is going to challenge you to the next level...meaning, remember the flow we spoke about last week where the first workout was kind of an opener but was perhaps too conservative, the second one was tough and the last one felt easier. Well, my bet is that this one will be tough again.

So gear up mentally because I'm sure physically you've already done all the right stuff.

Now, don't get hung up on the primary digits of your zones. Just round up or down as appropriate (example: Mike's will target 355 or 360 watts for the first 5min workout, Orion 420, Stan 350 and so on).

I sure am glad I'm not doing this with you!!!

Kam

HyperPower Protocol -- mid-way analysis

HyperPower Protocol -- mid-way analysis - The Cycling Network

We are 3 weeks into our HyperPower Protocol and everyone is doing great. Some are feeling a bit fatigued and others are thriving under the workload.

Last week's session was a fun one in that our guest coach, Hunter Allen, added an element of support and inspiration to help us through the grueling 3rd week workout.

I don't know if it was Hunter's presence, the added fitness or perhaps a little bit of both, but all four athletes commented that last week's workout felt easier than the previous week's protocol (number 2). Since I did not reduce the workload nor their target power zones, it must be the combination of gained fitness and Hunter's presence that added that extra OOMPH the boys needed.

Last week ended with a scheduling of the second Power Profile Test, which the athletes performed before our very first session to establish a baseline of their fitness. This very same test will be performed again at the end of the HPP to measure the fitness gained during this 6-week protocol. Take a peak at the PPT and see what entails this test.

Only two of the four athletes had the opportunity to perform this test and their results are posted on the published spreadsheet we use through Google. Take a look at each athlete's numbers by clicking on their name in the tabs on the bottom of the spreadsheet.

One athlete, Orion Berryman, participated in what turned out to be an epic road race with regards to the conditions: snow, wind and cold hammered the racers at this year's Boulevard Road Race in San Diego East County.

Orion did well just to hang in there with the conditions, let alone taking 26th in the Pro 1-2 race, a race in which 2/3 of the field dropped out. From a coaching perspective, Orion is sure to pay for that race for a few days and so I will modify his Wednesday training with either lower power zone targets or have him do only 1/2 the number of intervals by taking twice the rest.

A quick look at Orion's performance management chart reveals several interesting things.

1. His Chronic Training Load (CTL) is heading in the right direction. CTL has long-term effects and measures the accumulation of long-term training. Is Orion training effectively to peak at a later date? The answer is YES. The trick is to make sure CTL doesn't rise too aggressively and that he backs off in time to peak for his season's top event(s).

2. His Acute Training Load (ATL) shows a more erratic pattern but this is to be expected as athletes mix high-intensity days of training with easy recovery days during the week. What is important to note is the deep trough before the sudden peak towards the right side of the graph. This says that Orion took it easy the day before Boulevard and that it was a hard race for him. The astute observer will notice that the ATL for the Boulevard race is not as high as the first HPP session or the few workouts after that. The answer is that while the first HPP was certainly hard, because of missing data prior to the first HPP the algorithms used to measure ATL and CTL will measure the physiological impact of the first workout against no workouts. In other words, the software assume Orion suddenly put away his potato chips, wiped his hands on his T-shirt and jumped on his bike to do a massive workout. And, we know that while he may have wiped his hands on his T-shirt, Orion is certainly favors spicy tortilla chips to potato chips.

3. Because of the longer interval requirements associated with a road race, I would expect to see power numbers for longer than 5min intervals to head up. And, we certainly see this happen in 5, 10 and 15min power graphs. And we see a drop in all the less than 5min power zones, including 2min, 1min and 15sec power...the same 15sec power that we have been hammering on during the HPP. Oh, Orion...how could you? Nah! This to be expected because in reality, we don't expect to see too many all out 15sec bursts and the road race, especially Boulevard, is mostly about sustained effort. So, in a sense, one could say that Orion was perhaps not doing the right kind of training for Boulevard, which is okay because it is very tough to train effectively for that race the first year out. I my opinion, it takes one year to learn the course and one year to train for it effectively.

4. Last, and perhaps most importantly, Orion's Training Stress Balance (TSB) is headed in the right direction, up, which indicates that there is a high probability that he would have had good legs for the race last weekend. TSB, oversimplified, is a measure of how good you can expect to feel for a particular ride, whether it is training or racing. TSB is a function of work and recovery, the two "duh" variables needed to gain performance in athletics. A positive TSB number means there is a greater chance of the athletes being ready for a good performance. A negative TSB means the opposite.

Thanks for reading.

Coach Kam