That Triathlon Show

Richard Ferguson, PhD, has his main research interests in the areas of blood flow restricted (BFR) exercise on skeletal muscle and peripheral vascular adaptations. In this interview, we discuss his research findings on these topics and how they may relate to endurance athletes.     IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT: -A primer on adaptations to endurance training and limiters to endurance performa...

Q&A #122 - Metrics to track (and not to track) for beginners, intermediate and advanced athletes; The Power Duration Curve and WKO What metrics should triathletes of different levels (and different levels of training/coaching and technical literacy) be tracking? The danger of trying to track too many metrics, and tracking irrelevant metrics What is the Power Duration Curve, who would benefit f...

Aitor Viribay Morales is a performance nutritionist at Astana Proteam (a World Tour cycling team) with a background in science and academia. In this interview we discuss his research findings and practical experience with ingesting really high amounts of carbohydrate (up to 120 g/h) in races, and the effects such high-carb strategies can have.     IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT: -Aitor's studi...

Q&A #121 - Training on 4-6 hours per week - is it a waste of time? A lot of the conversation around triathlon training is centred around people training 10 hours per week or more. Am I just wasting my time training 4-6 hours per week?  How do polarised training and "80/20" training apply to training at a lower training volume Structuring your training at lower training volumes   LINK...

Wolfram Bott is the head coach of the German Triathlon Federation development center in Freiburg. This is a squad for some the most promising young talents in the country. Wolfram also has a decorated background as coach of long-distance athletes such as Nils Frommhold, Christian Brader, and Andreas and Michael Raelert.   IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT: -Wolfram's coaching and training princip...

Q&A #120 - Muscle fibre typology (fast twitch vs. slow twitch dominance) and training individualisation Response and recovery from acute exercise depending on muscle fibre typology Response and recovery from chronic training load depending on muscle fibre typology Muscle fibre type shifting  A non-invasive method of estimating muscle fibre typology   LINKS AND RESOURCES: Scientific Triathlon w...

Robert Gorgos is the team nutritionist of Bora-Hansgrohe Cycling Team (a World Tour level team). In this interview, he discusses his role and responsibilities as nutritionist at a World Tour team, and how cyclists at the highest level approach nutrition in racing, training, and in their day to day.    IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT: -Robert's role and responsibilities as the nutritionist of Bo...

Q&A #119 - Running distance and energy expenditure; Heart rate and energy expenditure; Running economy Can energy expenditure (EE, in calories) in running be estimated simply from the distance covered?  Can heart rate be used to accurately estimate EE?  Which device gives the best heart rate based EE estimates: Garmin, Suunto, or Polar?  What is the impact of economy on running EE?  Normative...

Joachim Willén is a triathlon coach, and former professional triathlete and Olympian from Sweden. He is the head coach of the high school triathlon program Motala Rikstriathlongymnasium, which has the objective of developing the up and coming top talents of Swedish triathlon. Previous graduates of the program also includes Vasco Vilaça (still coached by Joachim), who took second in the ITU Triathl...

Q&A #118 - Training and preparation for extreme triathlons like the Norseman, Swissman and other XTri World Tour races Training considerations for extreme triathlons: overarching principles, specificity, and strength training Mental and cognitive skills training, and nutrition and hydration training Logistics preparation, race planning, and equipment   LINKS AND RESOURCES: Scientific Triathlon...

Trent Stellingwerff, PhD, is the Director of Performance Solutions at the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific in Victoria, Canada. His primary research focuses are in the field of nutrition and physiology interactions, as well as in environmental (heat and altitude) physiology. In this interview, we discuss the current best practices from and applied and scientific perspective in endurance and ultra-...

Q&A #117 - Interval training (HIIT and SIT) part 2: theory and application with expert guest Michael Rosenblat Interval training for masters athletes Combining interval training in swimming, biking and running Sprint Interval Training - minimal effective dose and biomechanical benefits Active or passive recovery in interval workouts Is one high-intensity session per week enough?  Interval prog...

Olav Aleksander Bu is a sports scientist and elite coach working with the Norwegian Triathlon Olympic team. He is heavily involved in testing, performance optimisation, and the scientific approach adopted by the Norwegian Olympic Team, that has brought so much success in races from Super League through World Triathlon Series and Ironman 70.3 for athletes like Kristian Blummenfelt and Gustav Iden. ...

Q&A #116 - Swim training on two swims per week; How to know if you should focus on swim endurance or intensity; Effective use of swim toys If you're limited to two swims per week, should you make them both hard swims with easy swimming just in the warm-up and warm-down?  How to find out whether endurance or high intensity are relative strengths/weaknesses for you in swimming Is swim training w...

Ian Armiger is a professional swimming coach, former Director of Swimming at Loughborough University, Great Britain Team Head Coach, and Olympic coach. In this interview Ian discusses his coaching style and model, swim technique, advice for triathletes and triathlon swimming, and much more.    IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT: -Ian's coaching style and training model -Thoughts on swim technique,...

Q&A #115 - Interval training (HIIT and SIT) part 1: theory and application with expert guest Michael Rosenblat The variables of interval training - is there a "most effective" interval workout? Intensity, work duration, rest duration, work-to-rest ratios, and more Maximising time at a high oxygen uptake or maximising mechanical work- what is the driver of adaptation in interval train...

Iñigo San Millán, PhD, is the head coach of the World Tour cycling team UAE Team Emirates, and the personal coach of Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar. He is also a professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine where he does clinical and research work in cellular metabolism, not only in exercise science but also in diabetes, cardiometabolic disease and cancer.    IN THIS EPISODE YOU...

Q&A #114 - Using kilojoules to monitor training load; Big rides for Ironman; Should your training be as hard as your race How work (kilojoules) done can be used to effectively monitor training load at a micro- and mesocycle level, and even within workouts When should you do your key Ironman rides and what should they look like? Should your training meet or even exceed the demands of your goal...

Kevin Poulton is a World Tour level cycling coach who has worked with top cyclists like Caleb Ewan, Alex Dowsett and Mat Hayman. He is also a former employee of Zwift and is incredibly knowledgeable in how to effectively incorporate indoor cycling in a training program, for professionals and amateurs alike.      IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT: -Kevin's coaching and training principles -Equipme...

Q&A #113 - Theory and application of threshold training What is threshold training and what are its benefits? When should you do shorter rather than longer threshold intervals?  How should you work threshold training into your periodisation and into your weekly routine?  Common mistakes around planning and executing threshold training What are some good examples of threshold workouts in swimmi...

Marco Pinotti is head of performance of CCC Cycling Team (world tour level) and a former professional cyclist who is a six-time Italian Time Trial national champion. In this interview he discusses what it takes to become a good cycling time trial rider at a professional, World Tour level, but also what the key focus points for amateur riders focusing solely on time trials should be.    IN THIS EPI...

Q&A #112 - Theory and application of moderate-intensity training; How to make training decisions informed by test results If you do a performance test (e.g. FTP-test), how should you make training decisions based on the improvement/decrease/lack of change in performance. What is moderate intensity training and what are the physiological benefits? When should it be done in the season, and who s...

Sebastian Zeller, PhD, is a full-time triathlon coach with a strong background in sports science.  In this training talk we cover a number of key topics on endurance training, and Sebastian goes into detail on his approach and methodology.    IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT: -Sebastian's coaching approach -Using lab testing to individualise training -Training structure and appropriate use of di...

Q&A #111 - Build, then recover vs. consistent training load; Creatine for endurance athletes (that lift weights)  Is it better to work to a 2-1 or 3-1 "build-then-recover" training model, or to keep training load and volume consistent across a larger number of weeks?  Is creatine supplementation beneficial for endurance athletes doing concurrent resistance training in order to improv...

Professor Grégoire Millet is one of the world's foremost researchers in the field of altitude training and hypoxic training. He combines his academic prowess with a background as an elite triathlete and coach, and is therefore in a perfect position to not just do the science, but actually apply it in the real world. In this episode, we discuss all things altitude training, plus general training pr...