As we spoke of taking care of our bodies last week by taking care of our asymmetries and of our weak links, naturally, this week the subject would be related to energy systems development.
Everything is under control, we are focused on working on those functional asymmetries that we may have and now we want to include the fun stuff. As an endurance athlete, energy system development is very important and I qualify it as being part of the fun stuff. When we think of energy system development we think of cardio right?
The thing is, we are working on more than just cardio. If you want to have results in your training and in your sport, you need to invest the time into your training and you need your workout to become purposeful. What are your sporting endeavours? Even if we are all the “same”, our training will be different according to the sport that we enjoy doing.
If you are a runner and you are looking to improve your fitness, you need to get out of your comfort zone by working on particular zones or paces according to McMillan running formula. There are endurance paces, stamina paces, speed paces and sprint paces. Most endurance athletes spend more time on the endurance and the stamina paces. We get to have a workout that is meant for improvement of stamina and we get the endurance workout to help us build our endurance and or also recover.
That kind of cardiovascular training is good for everyone and you can apply it to any type of sport. How do you get the endurance junkie to become a more rounded athlete? You start including other types of training that involves developing energy systems such as high-intensity interval training also known as HIIT.
All you need here is your body and a stop watch (at a minimum but you can start including toys such as medicine balls, bosu balls and so on). Doing tabatas with jump squats can be a great idea if you have the proper foundation. A tabata involves 20 seconds of all-out effort for 10 seconds of total rest and you do it 8 times in a row, with the same exercise. What you are looking for is to develop the highest amount of force in the shortest amount of time. You want to challenge the homoeostasis of different metabolic pathways and create physical adaptation. Remember that Stress+Rest=Success.
By working on different areas of fitness that you are not used to, it will help you become a better overall athlete. You will be able to go further than you ever thought you would if you are willing to work on areas that you haven’t worked on or that scares you. Remember that there is a time and a place to do any type of training and that you have to stay focused and know what your priorities are.
Remember that to go where you haven’t gone before requires you to do things that you haven’t done before. Happy training!
Coach Véronique Roberts 