Endurance Innovation

Maximilian Hoflich on Training Intensity and Testing

Episode Summary

Miximilian Hoflich of Polite Coaching speaks about his approach to measuring, controlling, and prescribing intensity-based endurance training.

Episode Notes

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148 Maximilian Hoflich

• 3:30 meet Maximillian Hoflich of Polite Coaching
• 6:15 the very basics of beginning an endurance training program
• 9:15 starting to think about eliciting specific metabolic responses during training
• 10:00 stimulus response model
• 10:45 the 3-zone model of intensity
• 12:30 a muscle fiber utilization model of training intensity (in a 3-zone model)
  • Zone 1 - exclusively type 1 (slow twitch)
  • Zone 2 - beginning to use type 2a (aerobic fast twitch) on top of type 1
  • Zone 3 - heavy type 2a use as well as potentially some type 2x in very intensity bursts
• 18:30 the value of developing the aerobic system for endurance athletes
• 19:30 why bother controlling and monitoring training intensity?
• 21:45 defining ‘the‘magic’ zone 2
• 23:45 determining the top of zone 2 (VT1, LT1)
  • First appearance of excess CO2 during a VO2 test using a metabolic cart
  • First lactate rise observed during a lactate step test
• 32:45 goals for lactate values during ironman training
• 35:30 triggering an improvement in Z2 power 
  • High volume training
  • Substrate availability can be used to enhance shorter bouts of Z2 training
• 37:30 using a combination of power and HR to gauge progress in Z2 training
  • Using this metric to gauge training load during longer efforts - up to 80% of HRmax for Z2 work in fit individuals
  • Confounding factors
  • HR-limited Z2 validation testing
• 42:30 the role of RPE
• 44:30 training Z2 when training time is restricted
  • SOME CHO restricted training may be useful, but care must be taken - especially for female athletes
  • Using Z2 training during life-stressful situations
• 49:30 defining the second intensity threshold (VT2, LT2, MLSS, CP)
  • It is possible to maintain work below this point for a relatively long period
  • Combustion of CHO increases rapidly as athletes approach this threshold and more type 2a muscles are used
  • These ‘thresholds’ are more of a range than a fine inflection point
• 56:15 determining MLSS
  • All-out time trials >30 minutes
  • Lactate minimum test following a max-effort ramp test
• 63:00 training to improve time to exhaustion at MLSS
  • Sweet spot intervals at the lower edge of the estimate of MLSS
  • Over-unders
  • Some low cadence work 
  • ideally, stressing the type 2a fibers to improve their endurance
• 67:30 work above MLSS - aka VO2max or HIIT 
  • Improving VO2max ceiling
  • Most effective workouts for accumulating time above 90% VO2max may be longer intervals such as fast starts
  • Short HIIT intervals like 30-30s may be less useful for long-endurance athletes with limited anaerobic / glycolytic capacities 
• 74:30 should we be doing training in the aero position or sitting up - especially during VO2max intervals

Follow Maximilian on Instagram and get in touch through his website.