Dear multi-sporter, if the light bulb in your stale mind has finally been switched on and you have taken up the snowshoe challenge, you will need to plan your alpine expedition ahead of time. A very helpful and sensible accessory to pack is a headlamp; whether it’s an early start, late finish, fog, overnight hut stay or finding your way in foul weather, a decent lightweight headlamp is a must-have. A strong range of candidates for the snowshoer come from specialist snowshoe manufacturer, TSL of France. The test unit was their featherweight NOXYS.
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Switch to cross country skiing for improved running, riding and multi-sport performance. Trail runners, mountain bikers and multi-sport athletes looking to boost their strength and endurance without hammering overused musculature should gear up for a winter of cross country skiing.

It hones your agility, balance and coordination skills getting you to glide across the snow with your body at a forty-five to sixty-degree angle to the ground. The upper and lower body work together in a rhythm of kicks, long glides, and propelling poling motions. Unlike running or cycling, cross country skiing makes use of a much larger portion of your body’s muscle mass. While your legs and hips are used for propulsion and support, your trunk and core are forced to provide active balance and stability while your arms, shoulder and upper back give you forward motion. You can combust anywhere between 600 and 900 calories an hour without tearing apart joints and muscles through step after step impact. Cross-country skiing is renowned for its VO2 max boosting benefits.

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In my previous article, I examined the notion of a periodised training program, where we systematically manipulate frequency, volume and intensity to stress our physiological systems, we recover (at a pre-determined rate) and adapt. However, the problem with this approach is that it does not cater for a variable recovery component. Variations in our recovery rate are normal as our life stressors can certainly impact on our ability to recover, irrespective of ‘the plan’. RBT (recovery-based-training) moves away from the autocratic nature of systematic periodised plan and instead, as the name suggests, manipulates training based upon how well the individual is actually recovering at any one time, which enables us the time to sufficiently adapt and perform at a higher level. (more…)

Is it or is it not effective for endurance athletes to add strength training to their training programs? Numerous studies have shown differing results, however the consensus seems to be leading to numerous benefits from the addition of strength training.
Strength, as defined by the N.A.S.M. is “the ability of the nervous system to exert internal force against an external resistance”. Stronger muscles tend to be more resistant to fatigue and injury and all things being equal, the stronger athlete will always prevail. The purpose of strength training for the endurance athlete is to develop an ability to produce greater amounts of sustainable power. The bottom line is that any strength training program must result in the athlete producing power outputs at or below lactate threshold that are a greater and greater percentage of VO2 max.

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Self-confidence is a crucial influence on your performance in an event where you are physically capable of performing the task (such as a major descent with tight corners to maneuver) but you are uncertain about your capabilities. Your thoughts about what you can or cannot do strongly determine performance. Confidence affects results and results affect self- confidence.

We all like to win or to accomplish the goals that we set for ourselves. I don’t know of any athlete that would go out in a race or an event and deliberately try to fail. Yet when we do have a poor performance it is not uncommon to see athletes mentally beat themselves up. Significant losses can result in self-doubt, self-damnation, worry and even guilt for some athletes.
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As hard as it is to believe , I am something of a social leper. Apparently not everybody is as passionate about 800m track races from the mid 1980’s nor do they seem to enjoy the subtle pleasures of collecting trail running shoes and pine cones.

Yes folks, I’m the guy who clears the beer tent post-race with my presence and causes vegetation to wilt as I pass. Or at least I was! Now, as the proud owner of the ultimate in casual cool - the altDIRT merino TI am sleek, svelte and in demand socially by all genders. I am healed.

Don’t endurance athletes require higher amounts of carbohydrates than your average Joe?

Yes, and no. They require more carbohydrates at specific times of the day, but not all day long! You see, endurance performance is correlated with muscle glycogen stores and as a result, some nutritionists have suggested that endurance athletes should eat very high carbohydrate (>70%) diets to keep muscle glycogen high. Unfortunately, this means a reduction in fat oxidation. Reduce fat oxidation and carbohydrate storage and oxidation is less efficient during both rest and exercise.

Now if I were to tell you that I can get you the same muscle glycogen concentrations while being able to reduce your total carbohydrate intake, improve your fat use during rest and exercise events, and reduce your body fat, would you be interested?
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