Coach Rob is picking up where the great Bill Edwards, PhD (Engineering) left off. Bill wrote an e-book http://www.computrainer.com/rm_inc/stories/bill_edwards.htm ,which I highly recommend, about Progressive Power Training (PPT). In short, PPT is very much like Resistance Training in the gym. For those of you that are foreign to resistance/weight training (or gyms), in order to increase muscle strength in the gym the initial weight (or load) is progressively increased with training. The body adapts to the to the increased training load and gets stronger. Coach Rob is using this same principle/methodology to increase strength on the bike.
Coach Rob will also be posting other videos on U-Tube. In fact, he just posted a video on how to put together your Annual Training Plan (ATP). I like that he uses the same terminology as Joe Friel uses: Base, Build, Taper/Peak, Race and Transition Phase of training. They are the same ones I use because it's simple and makes a lot of sense. There's no need to talk about microcycles and macrocycles like some coaches do. During the base..you increase training volume and get a lot of aerobic training in at lower intensities. i.e. L3. During the Build, you start increasing intensity in the L3/L4/L5 zones and build on what was established during Base Training. During the Taper/Peak phase, you start decreasing/tapering the training volume and working on race specific training. i.e. sprints to get you in peak shape. Finally, it's Race Time..when you have some fun and show everyone how hard you trained over the Winter. Transition is the break after racing season...a time to relax, cross-train, have some fun and spend some time with family/friends.
I think you'll be surprised (one way or the other) at Coach Rob's training methods when you see his video on Monday. I think he's going to prescribe more hi-intensity workouts be implemented into the annual training plan. High Intensity Training (HIT) seems to be the big buzzword these days in cycling training..especially for the time-crunched athlete (see Chris Carmichael's book). There is a lot of recent (credible) research that concludes that HIT is not only beneficial for improving lactate threshold and VO2max performance but long tempo endurance as well (hello Triathletes).
Hey, if it were up to me, I'd prescribe hi-intensity training (HIT) intervals (L4-L6) all the time for my athletes. The reason I don't, is threefold: a) the athletes won't do them- because they HURT like hell and you'll feel like puking afterwards b) the athletes eventually burn out from doing them every week and/or c) the athletes get injured (or sick) by doing too much too soon. That's the primary reason why I prescribe tempo and sweetspot interval workouts in the first two months of ALL of my athletes training plans- to build strength to ensure the legs are ready for the more intense workouts to come- thus, preventing injury.
Anyway, should be interesting. I've emailed Coach Rob and told him that I have Bill's book and pretty much subscribe to everything Bill says (in the book) for the past 2 yrs. He was happy to hear that. I also told him I would post a blog (like this) recommending athletes to view his video. He was REALLY happy to hear that. So, visit Coach Rob's site on Monday and check out the FREE U-Tube Training Video. Perhaps we'll discuss the Video (in my blog) next week.
For more information, go to Coach Rob's website: http://www.coachrob.tv/
Until then, Power ON! The other Coach Rob
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