Testing
What is VO2 max?
VO2 max is the size of your engine. Why it matters, why bodyweight, strength and an aerobic base come first, and the workouts that develop it.
The Lab
From the lab
Gareth’s posts on VO2 max, Zone 2, lactate testing, heart-rate training, periodization, nutrition and recovery, from the Santa Monica lab.
Training
What is Zone 2 training?
Zone 2 is low-intensity cardio that builds your aerobic base. Its benefits, how to find your Zone 2, and how often to train in it.
The Lab
What is lactate threshold testing?
Why top endurance coaches have used lactate testing for decades, what the test measures, and how the data sets your training zones.
Testing
Is a VO2 max test worth it?
You do not need to know your VO2 max to improve it. Gareth uses the test for fuel mix, and only after lactate has set the zones.
Training
The do’s and don’ts of heart-rate training
Very few athletes know how to get the best out of a heart-rate monitor. What cardiac drift, temperature, fuel, hydration, bike position and race day do to it.
Training
How to use your heart-rate monitor
Heart rate is an excellent guide to the stress and intensity of a workout. What cardiac drift, heat, cold, fatigue and race day do to it, and how to react.
Testing
How to test better
Every 4-8 weeks you do a test session to check progress and set your heart-rate zones. Nine tips to get an accurate result from it.
Training
Know your zones
A heart-rate monitor, power or pace, and a sense of effort all matter, and RPE is the fallback when the strap fails. How to read each zone by feel.
Training
Interval training
Interval training is one of the best ways to raise performance in every endurance sport. How the sessions progress, and how to pace them so they work.
Training
The need for speed
Once the aerobic base is in, speed work comes in three parts: threshold, aerobic capacity (VO2) and peak speed. How to do each one.
Training
Periodization
Periodization is the science of putting the building blocks of training in the right order, so each phase prepares you for the next.
Running
Are your carbon-plated running shoes hurting you?
Carbon-plated shoes offer “free” speed and faster times, but they may not be the best choice for daily training and can quickly lead to injury and de-training.
Coaching
The pillars of success
Commit to being coached, use sports science, train the mind, build structural integrity and eat real food: the pillars of injury-free peak performance.
Coaching
Why you need a coach
A coach tells you like it is: train the limiters, stay in zone, and do the unglamorous daily work that makes the plan work.
Training
Maximize your time like a pro
Training for an endurance sport takes cardio, recovery, strength, injury prevention, gear and fueling. How to fit it all into the time you have.
Training
What is the difference between economy and efficiency?
Running economy is how much oxygen or energy you burn at a given pace. Gareth treats it as mechanical, movement-centred efficiency.
Nutrition
Are you fat adapted?
Some athletes sit under 2 mmol in Zone 2 and still burn almost no fat. Others oxidise 80%+ at the same effort. Low lactate is not fat adapted.
Nutrition
Maximizing body composition
For out-and-out endurance performance, lighter is faster most of the time. How far to take it, and the healthy way to get leaner.
Nutrition
Hydration for triathletes, IRONMAN and endurance athletes
Hydration is often reduced to “just drink more water”. When to drink, why electrolytes and carbs matter, how to check in, and why to test it.
Nutrition
Meal prepping for athletes
Meal prepping saves time and money, controls portions and macronutrients, and frees your energy for your goals. Key tips to do it like a champion.
Nutrition
Fuel with color
Even when you are eating like a monk to be race-lean, a splash of color makes meals exciting to look at and to taste, and turns food into fuel.
Nutrition
Gut health and the microbiome
Endurance athletes know to get enough food and fuel in. Fewer focus on quality, or on how well those foods are absorbed. Digestion starts with chewing.
Recovery
Don’t train when you are sick
If you are fighting a cold or flu, rest. Training while sick is inferior work your body cannot absorb, and it keeps you depleted so the bug hangs on.
Health
Avoiding back pain
Back pain is a leading cause of missed workouts and failed programs. Strengthen your core, perfect your form, address imbalances and train all round.
Health
Exercise and mental health
Exercise habits and mental health go hand in hand. What the research says about mood, depression, anxiety and self-esteem, and how to start.
Book a test
Stop guessing at your zones
One hour in the lab in Santa Monica, and you’ll know exactly how your body produces energy, and precisely how hard to go.