Stop beating yourself to death riding a bike that does not fit you and running in a way that is destroying your joints and cutting into your training. Schedule a Optimizing Session with us and tap into the power and energy that you may not have realized you have. Don't mistake the "fit" you were provided when you purchased your new Time Trial or Road Bike, most bike shops are either not willing to take the time needed to provide a professional fit or don't have staff trained in the art of "professional bike fitting". A well orchestrated bike fit is extremely comprehensive and is worth every penny it costs. If you have invested in a bike that has cost you thousands of dollars, you most likely spent the money in hopes that the technology the bike provides will make you faster and lighter. This is true, but if you are not fit according to your personal geometry you are not going to see the true benefits of the new machine. Have you ever thought about the implication of cleating your feet to pedals in a fixed path that is contrary to the direction your feet are in when you run? Do you wonder why you have knee pain or blame the bike, or blame the run where in fact it could be a combination of the two contrary efforts? Invest a few hours with us to assess, measure, correct and fit you to a complimentary method of movement, a perfect marriage between the two skills, your running and bike fit. The outcome is;

1. More efficient power production on the bike at less cost, in a posture that is far more comfortable and sustainable.

2. More efficient running performance, the ability to log more running miles free of injury and ultimately faster splits.

3. Training without pain is priority one. Ask yourself; are you struggling with the sport? Do you hate the thought of waking up and getting on the bike or running because you remember the pain from the last session? If so, give us a call.

Book an Optimal Fit today 805-484-1347

Endurance Performance is highly dependant upon one fundamental challenge, energy management. The longer the course the more daunting the challenge. The cost of work "energy" becomes more and more expensive (so to speak) when the effort of movement is intensified. Work can be measured in many ways, in heart beats per minute, in watts or calories per hour. Regardless of the method of measurement the end result is the same. If you spend more energy than you can store you must stop doing whatever it is that is consuming your fuel.

What can we do to improve endurance?     Book an assessment today 805-484-1347

VO2 max & Anaerobic Threshold Evaluation

At dhp we strongly recommend that your training begins with first, a precise identification of your unique metabolic functionality. This entails finding your anaerobic threshold and VO₂ max. Many athletes will tell us that "they know their bodies" and this is pre-season testing is not important. Our experience shows that  this is rarely the case and could not be more incorrect.

The truth is, that lactate build up in the working muscle is difficult to "sense" until it's too late. If you are burning, you've most likely been anaerobic for quite some time and your fuel efficiency is suffering. The outcome generally in triathlon is that you will be either doing some walking, crawling or at best sacrifice performance. For the cost of a good pair of running shoes or a dinner out with your date you could settle the issue and get tested. In our lab we have the technology to precisely provide a clear representation of your fitness and metabolic profile.

This is the same technology used to maximize performance for Olympic and professional athletes. They can't afford to make training mistakes like putting in useless junk miles, or training too hard and ending up injured or ill. What makes your time, or body, any less important?

Just as no two people have the same DNA or fingerprints, no two people have the same metabolic response to exercise. Know precisely how your body responds to exercise, and you take away the guesswork that defeats most exercise programs. It's a simple map to efficient weight loss, greater cardiovascular fitness, faster race times - and it is available now, through a simple test.

Cardio-Metabolic testing measures the bodies gas exchange capacities, as we exercise the body demands oxygen rich air that is taken into the lungs as we inhale. As a result of the exercise we do energy is expended or "burned" at the cellular level and then released from the body as we exhale.

This exchange of gases holds a wealth of information regarding how effective we are in our energy management, identifying our anaerobic threshold or "AT" relative to heart rate is invaluable for training purposes. Heart rate is monitored during the graded exercise test and used like a metronome, marking metabolic consequence from rest to peak V0₂ max. Or, in the case of general fitness enthusiasts, a more guarded test can be conducted reading information at a sub-maximal level of exertion.  

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Physiological variables of endurance performance

1. Maximal oxygen consumption
2. Lactate / anaerobic threshold 
3. Efficiency

First, oxygen delivery, which is dependent upon maximal blood supply to transport a greater amount of oxygen and potential for more muscle to be active during exercise. V0₂ is limited by the pumping capacity of the heart and arterial development to the muscle. The heart appears to be remodeled as a result of endurance training, developing greater ventricular volume and diameter, which results in greater stroke volume, increases in arterial dimension, resulting in greater blood volume. An increase in blood volume in conjunction with higher stroke volume results in improved cardiac output and a more efficient oxygen delivery system.

Second, is the ability to utilize this delivery of oxygen, the more intense work we can achieve prior to the onset of inhibiting lactate accumulation the faster a sustained pace we can tolerate. In an untrained state we are limited by the lack of capillary density, fatty acid breakdown, enzyme levels and mitochondrial density in the task specific skeletal muscles.

Last but not least, is the economy in which we are able to perform any sport specific task. Efficiency links sustainable power to performance. The more efficient or economical we are the greater pace we can achieve at any given level of energy output.

These factors are not independent of one another but influence each other. Each sport specific activity places specific demands on the system and is challenged by its unique resistance to movement. It is important to keep in mind that anaerobic threshold is more specific to the mode of exercise than is V0₂ max.

To improve endurance, athletes must learn to overcome fatigue, and they do this by adapting to the training demand. Any degree of adaptation is reflected in improved endurance. Athletes must develop the two types of endurance, aerobic and anaerobic, according to the specifics of the sport or event. Developing these two types of endurance depends on the type of intensity and the methods used in training.

Adaptations Resultant from Anaerobic Training: Training at high speeds improves motor skill and coordination at higher intensities, optimizing fiber recruitment to allow more efficiency, which lends to economical use of the muscles energy supply.

Anaerobic training does not stress only the anaerobic energy systems; part of the energy needed for sprinting is derived from oxidative metabolism. Consequently, repeated bouts of sprint-type exercise (such as 30 sec. maximal efforts) followed by recovery enhance the muscles oxidative potential. Anaerobic training also improves the muscles capacity to buffer the acid that accumulates within them during anaerobic glycolysis. Lactic acid accumulation is considered a major cause of fatigue during sprint type activity as it interferes with metabolism and contractile process. Aerobic training does very little to assist in lactate tolerance.

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Bike Fit Services and Coaching it's interesting that people put so much attention into the type of shoes they wear for running but offer little energy into a proper fit on their road or time trial bikes. A proper fit is critical to success in cycling. If you are riding with discomfort it will keep you from enjoying your training at the very least and at worst, generate annoying pain and injuries. Our bike fit pro will provide a head to to fit, with the use of spin scan technology to measure improvements as he sets about adjusting your posture over the bike.

Our pro suggests "the body is segregated into two components over the bike... the motor and the driver". The legs being the motor and the upper body being the driver. Placing you in the most efficient position to reap the greatest performance requires comfort and leverage to extract the most efficient power output and sustainability.

We also provide workshops in our lab to educate athletes in all facets of racing and human performance, if you drop your name into the sign up page above we'll keep you posted as how clinics and workshops roll out.

Contact us to arrange your fit now! 805-484-1347 or diazhp@verizon.net

 

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Check out some of our work on YOU TUBE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K7pNf9P0FA   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6odD2P2CY1g http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_SQrRSfSTc