The Importance of Accurate Heart Rate Zones for Optimal Training and Racing

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Training with a heart rate monitor is crucial for achieving optimum training and racing performance. However, ensuring that your maximum heart rate (MHR) number is accurate is essential. Here’s how to validate your MHR and why it’s necessary.

Understanding Your Max Heart Rate

When assessing your MHR, the goal is to evaluate the average heart rate against the maximum achieved during a time trial or field test. It’s important to note that the MHR can vary significantly depending on the discipline being tested. For example, motorcycle racing requires different physical exertion compared to swimming.

Many people mistakenly rely on MHR assessments conducted in controlled environments, such as a VO2 max test, which measures the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise. However, they often do this without considering external factors like heat and humidity that can influence the MHR.

Validating Your Heart Rate

To validate your MHR:

1. **Understand the Value of Accurate Heart Rate Zones**: Accurate heart rate zones are crucial for effective training.
2. **Implement the Right Testing**: Ensure you conduct the correct type of MHR assessment for your specific sport.

For those new to a sport, it’s important to remember that improvement is a journey. It may take multiple assessments to push yourself to your true MHR due to unfamiliarity with the required effort and discomfort. But as you gain more experience, you will be better able to push through discomfort and achieve a more accurate MHR, inspiring you to keep pushing your limits.

For seasoned athletes, experience is key. Recognizing when biomechanics start to falter under fatigue and proactively adjusting to maintain optimal performance is a skill that comes with time and practice. This experience should reassure you that you have the tools to maintain your performance levels.

Example: Running

When fatigued, an experienced runner knows how to adjust their biomechanics, such as falling forward to maintain efficiency. Other adjustments could include shortening your stride, increasing your cadence, or focusing on your breathing. This awareness ensures a more accurate MHR assessment.

Simple Check: Comparing Max and Average Heart Rates

To ensure your MHR number is accurate, compare it with your average heart rate during the assessment. For instance, during a three-mile time trial, start your monitor at the beginning and stop it immediately at the end. The deviation between your maximum and average heart rates should not exceed 10 to 12 beats. If it does, retest your MHR.

Accurate heart rate zones are the foundation of effective training. If Zone 3 feels too easy, it’s a sign that you might need to reassess your MHR to ensure your training zones are correct. Having confidence in these numbers is crucial for feeling empowered and in control of your training.

Final Tips:

Start and stop your heart rate monitor precisely at the beginning and end of your assessment to avoid skewing the numbers.
– Use heart rate spreadsheets to calculate and verify your training zones accurately.

By following these steps, you can have complete confidence in your MHR and training zones, leading to more effective and efficient training sessions.

 

Key Components to Early Season Fitness and Speed

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In an attempt to make up for the lost time associated with winter, motocross riders and other athletes have a tendency to get a little overzealous during early season workouts, which frequently results in injuries and/or performance frustrations. By implementing these four strategies, you will make early season training both productive and injury free.

Establishing Your Physical Weakness Profile – Maximize Your Training Efforts

“Strengthen your weaknesses and race your strengths” is the motto that I say to all of my clients, because as humans, we spend the majority of our time doing things that we like and that we are good at. To make the greatest progress within your training program, you must identify what you are not good at and start there. Establish where you are lacking muscular strength, endurance, lactate tolerance, and don’t forget the non-sweating disciplines of flexibility, plus consider nutrition and realistic goal setting. Begin where you are the weakest or have room for the most improvement (relevant to your personal goals). Early season baseline testing will help pinpoint your weaknesses as well as capture your current maximum heart rate for that specific discipline.

Establishing Heart Rate Zones – Avoid Injury and Burnout

By not knowing how hard you are actually training (versus perceived exertion), athletes and riders run the risk of injury and burnout. Actual intensity levels need to be monitored with a heart rate monitor to ensure you are training within your aerobic zone for the majority (not all) of your early season efforts. Please note that you must establish your heart rate training zones for each discipline that you train. For example, if you use the Concept 2 rower as a cross training tool for motocross, you cannot use your heart rate zone from the bicycle; more muscles are engaged during rowing than cycling which results in a different max heart rate number and associated heart rate zones. Over my last 37 years of coaching, I have seen the use of generic formulas (i.e., 220-age) have a margin of error as high as 30%. The assessment of your pre-season max heart rate can be captured with a simple pre-season max heart rate assessment.

Establishing A Personalized Eating Plan – Determining What Works and What Doesn’t

The food you eat has both a long- and short-term effect on your body. An immediate influence of food is reflected in your energy levels and mood. A long-term influence includes the building and repairing of lean muscle tissue and bones. Research has validated that the muscles, bones, connective tissue, and skin that is on you now is the result of your food intake over the last six months. By keeping a detailed food log and comparing it to your training log, you can get feedback on what is working immediately (i.e., energy levels to complete a high-quality workout or early season race), as well as the long-term (i.e., body measurements indicating increased muscle and decreased body fat). Don’t be intimidated by this process. Humans tend to eat 15-20% of the same products each day. By following a consistent eating plan, you can determine the positive or negative effects of a new food item added to your eating plan.

Establishing A Soft Tissue Maintenance Plan – Maximizing Power and Endurance

Chiropractic and massage are two modalities that should be a part of every athlete’s routine for one simple reason: tight muscles pull bone out of alignment, and misaligned bones keep muscles tight. It is the same as if you pulled the ends of a rubber band far part. No matter how much you rub the center, the band is still tight. You have to get the attachments of the muscles to the correct position before you will get the tension out of the muscle. The reverse is true as well. If you get an adjustment and the muscles are tight, the muscles will simply pull the bone back out of alignment. Lining up the spine and removing tension within the muscles will result in better strength and improved endurance.

 

This article first published in Issue #75 of Endurance News, June/July 2011

 

Why An Off-Season is Critical to Performance

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Every sport has an end season (even motocross!) and once the season is over, it is time to rest and recover physically and mentally. Without proper rest there can be negative long-term ramifications such as injury or burn out.

If anything positive came out of the coronavirus pandemic, it is that people turned their energy and focus to becoming healthier through fitness, nutrition, and rest, with the goal of long-term wellness rather than short-term chiseled abs or personal records.  At Complete Racing Solutions, our mantra has always been health, wellness, then performance. Exercise is a great habit to have within your daily life; however, when it becomes an obsession, it can actually become counter-productive to your overall health.  Excessive training (in the form of volume and/or intensity) without adequate rest and recovery causes the body to become “numb” to external indicators of over training such as mood swings, simple sugar cravings, interrupted sleep, loss of sex drive, loss of body weight, suppressed appetite an elevated resting heart rate, and most important in today’s climate, a compromised immune system.

Research indicates that after 12 weeks of consistent training or exercise, Cytochome C (a mitochondrial enzyme involved in the production of energy at a cellular level), reaches a peak and then beings to decline. In addition to Cytochrome C levels, so does your maximum oxygen uptake (also known as your VO2 Max.).  At this point, the body must be allowed to rest and re-group for continued progress. When athletes truly invest in an off-season (as part of periodization), the off-season practice period can return significant dividends if done correctly.

Training creates adaptations within the body’s various systems (muscular, cardio-pulmonary, lymphatic, nervous and connective) and needs to be supported with rest and food for positive adaptations.  Inadequate amounts (and quality) of sleep and food set the body up for a physical break down which leads to negative effects on the body (i.e. suppressed immune system and muscles with less power and endurance).

In addition to adaptations within the body’s systems, training causes changes at a cellular level – cell mitochondria swell, metabolic wastes accumulate, essential nutrients (particularly electrolytes and stored glycogen) deplete, and muscle tissue is torn.  This tearing is known as microtrauma of the cells, and torn muscle tissue doesn’t work efficiently.  As popularly noted, it takes 48 hours for the body to recover from this micro-trauma and has to be supported with rest and food for proper recovery and improved overall health.

If the body doesn’t get the opportunity to rebuild from the intense work phases of training, overall health and associated performance begin to slow down (and in extreme circumstances, cease all together).

During the off-season, the emphasis must be transferred from “training” to simply having fun riding your dirt bike, mountain bike, or any other physical activity. It is important to find an enjoyable way to get exercise as to avoid becoming burnt-out or injured. All in all, the off-season is important regardless of the sport because it is a time to rest, develop, improve, and focus on skills that directly and indirectly affect competitive performance. Those that don’t invest in the off-season start the new season tired and spent, while those healthy will be able to continue and prosper.

The key to overcoming your fear of taking time off is to understand how much it will help, rather than hinder, your performance.  Think about it this way, if you are not fresh, you will not have the energy (or desire) to push to the next level of performance.  If your body doesn’t experience the next level, you will begin to stagnate within your performance cycles. So, when it is time to rest and recover, don’t ignore it! Remember, that rest allows your body to recover, rebuild, and ultimately become stronger and healthier.

Post-Race Depression – Is It Real?

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With the National Amateur Championships behind us, it is not atypical to have discussions with riders and parents about the emotional letdown following a one-year build. Even if you had a great week of racing, be aware that post race depression is real and not a figment of your imagination. Anyone who has dedicated tremendous amounts of time, energy, and other resources into such an accomplishment asks themselves why they are feeling this way, what can I do to offset it, and what’s next?

Your accomplishment is associated with an adrenaline high; the crowds are not there cheering you any longer and the sounds of the announcer, and the background music is a distant memory. This is where the post achievement let down/emotional depression sets in – subtly initially, then heavier as the weeks transpire.

As articulated by Cindra Kamphoff, Director of The Center of Sport and Performance Psychology at Minnesota State University, “You had this clearly defined goal and made it a priority, then you wake up the next day and you don’t have the goal to work towards or the training you have become accustomed to is now removed, this can lead to a subtle level of depression.”

Now that your big race has come and gone, the athlete may experience a deep level of depression for a few reasons:

  1. Up until race day, EVERY hour has been accounted for. Now there is a surplus of time on your hands because you are in a mode of recovery (ideally 4-8 weeks depending on the event). This extra time allows you to think that you are losing your fitness – which you are not, you are simply recovering (mentally and physically).
  2. You will spend a lot of time thinking about “I could have gone faster if….” This will mentally wear on an individual – adding to an already tired mind and body.
  3. Hormonal Imbalances. Due to the stress of training and ultimately racing, you will find high cortisol levels, low DHEA, along with low testosterone levels (in both men and women). In the world of athletic performance, when an athlete is in this state, the external symptoms are poor memory, reduced concentration, and as a result, depression.

There are several strategies to help offset post-race depression.

  1. Bring the Fun Factor Back. When did the transition happen from just riding your dirt bike to “training?” The same applies for any form of cross training (i.e., cycling, running, etc.) It is time to remove all structure from your program and put the fun back into everything you do for the next 4-8 weeks.

Note, that structure is imperative for achieving anything in life (personal, professional, and athletic). But, just like your motorcycle, there is a time to rebuild and bring back the full potential of the body, mentally and physically.

  1. Eat and Sleep. Your body is in a mode of repair at the cellular, muscular, and mental level. Eating real, raw, brightly colored foods is imperative to offset the catabolic state of the body. Consuming smoothies is one of the fastest ways to absorb high-quality nutrients. Strive to sleep 8 to 10 hours every day. Nap for 2 hours on both Saturday and Sunday.
  2. Soft Tissue. For the first week, keep all soft tissue work superficial. Deep tissue work will only add to the stress that the body is enduring.
  3. Ride With Other People. Reconnect with your riding buddies, friends, and family that you haven’t had “time for” while diligently training and racing over the last 12 months.
  4. Give Forward. There is something to be said about teaching someone about your journey from concept to the finished result. Use your experience to inspire and influence other racers, regardless of age and race background. Become a mentor to someone who needs that little bit of extra encouragement to face their fears of accomplishment.
  5. Re-establish a Routine. Challenging yourself with new goals to boost your mental outlook and provide a positive outlet for your post achievement blues. Refrain from setting new goals and objectives too high that may lead to excessive fatigue and possibly injury. Allow yourself 4-8 weeks to recover and completely absorb your last race season and accomplishments.
  6. Refrain from Rushing Back Into Racing. Although your fitness is at an all-time high, refrain from racing for a minimum of 8 weeks. The goal is to get the excitement and desire needed to put in the necessary work for training and racing again. By giving yourself rest and recovery time (mentally and physically), you are recharging your tired body and mind.

 

The Difference Between Being Warm and Being Warmed Up

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In the world of physiology, just because you are hot and sweaty does not mean you are ready to perform. It is actually quite the opposite. Let me explain. When the body heats up because of outside temperature, we release sweat from the more than 2.5 million eccrine glands throughout our body. Sweating is the body’s natural radiator system trying to regulate heat so that internally we can cool off as the air blows over our skin and the salty liquid known as sweat evaporates.

When it comes to performance, we must warm up metabolically versus warming up due to temperature. When you go from stationary to active, the receptors in the hypothalamus area of the brain send a signal to our muscles letting them know that we are going to start moving and as a result, internal heat will be created. As we warm up, blood gets directed into the moving muscles to provide oxygen for maximum muscle contraction. When we do not warm up and go from idle to wide open we feel a burning sensation in the muscles…this is the accumulation of lactic acid. Similar to exhaust from your motorcycle, lactic acid is a by product of burning stored sugar (glucose). The faster you go on your motorcycle or higher the intensity of your workout, the more byproduct (exhaust) is produced. When you warm up properly (20-minute minimum), you are letting your body know that activity is about to occur, and your muscles are gradually getting the oxygen-rich blood necessary to power your workout or performance. Do you ever notice when you go to the gym that the second set of reps always feel better than the first set? This is because on the second set the body knows what to expect now and is prepared for what is to come. As the intensity goes up, the body turns on different energy systems, and if you have developed those energy systems you will be very efficient at being able to handle those higher intensities.

This should explain the misnomer that if I am hot and sweaty am I warmed up? The answer will always be no.

Recovering From an Injury – Part 2: The Mental Aspects

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When you become injured there are stages of emotion just like any major issue in life: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

Denial
Unless the injury is obvious: broken bone, concussion, etc., our brain wants to “ignore” the fact that something is wrong and needs to be addressed. Whether this mind set is due to “we don’t want to be considered weak and injury prone” or ”if I ignore it, it will go away”, either way, we as humans fight the idea that we are injured and we have to pull back in our training and become more creative to get your workouts in.

Anger
Once we acknowledge and accept the fact that we are hurt, anger inevitably sneaks in. No one clearly understands the sacrifice of time, energy and resources you have invested in your current level of speed, endurance and strength. You feel that all these performance elements will quickly slip through your fingers and your fitness levels will regress back to where you were a year ago. The anger and frustration levels escalate to completely new levels when the source of your injury isn’t truly your fault: car accident, dirty move by one of your competitors, equipment failure, etc…

Bargaining
We begin to bargain with ourselves that instead of training eight hours a week, we will pull back to six hours and this will be enough for us to heal while minimizing our fitness loses. Many times, we will continue with the same sport specific activities, but rationalize our behavior by “going slower”.

Depression
One of the huge benefits of consistent training is the hormonal release of endorphins commonly referred to as the “athlete high”. When your body doesn’t get to experience the releasing of these feel good moments on a regular basis, the mental capacity to deal with relationships, professional obligations, financial situations, etc., becomes less resilient and even intolerant. Little issues that used to roll off your back now set you off in a verbal tantrum adding to the frustrations of not being able to exercise and sport specific train like you used to.

Acceptance
Once you recognize that ignoring your injury won’t help heal the injury (chemically, mentally or physically) and staying angry isn’t going to solve your situation, it is time to move into a state of acceptance. Facing accountability for why the injury happened is one of the hardest things for an athlete to do. Over my last 35 years of coaching, I have found that the catalyst of injuries typically falls into three categories:

1. Working in a mode of fear. Instead of working in a mode of fear, successful individuals work in a mode of pleasure. They are motivated by enjoyment of success and look at each decision as a building block to moving them closer to the desirable outcome verses looking at decision and behavior as a punishment for poor choices. Pro-active example: If I go to bed early, I will get more sleep and wake up leaner and fully recovered. Mode of fear example: If I don’t go to bed early, I will get fat. Ironically, the brain much prefers pleasure over pain. However, our society has glamorized the “no pain, no gain” mindset that has literally hurt us.

2. Not listening to the body. The human body is an incredible machine and has a multitude of ways to let you know when something is not correct. It is our responsibility to look for, recognize and respect when things do feel right. This is where there is a slight overlap with number one above, working in a mode of fear.

In the exercise realm, I refer to using exercise for punishment because of the bad food choices that were made. Individuals that work in a mode of pleasure take the time to understand “why” they are drawn towards bad food choices. For example, if someone is craving simple sugar, it is a sign of adrenal fatigue that needs to be offset with high quality fats, not simple sugars as the brains wants to tell you.

When a sign of an ailment begins to reveal itself (virus: an elevated heart rate; muscle strain: hurts to walk; bone situation: pain throbs at night while sleeping; stress: becoming more intolerant and even short tempered or get physically weaker with more effort, etc.), if you are working in a mode of fear, you will take the necessary steps to turn the situation around immediately because you are motivated by the enjoyment of success. You recognize that if you acknowledge and respect the messages your body is giving you, you may miss a day or two from training to address the situation (virus: sleep and avoid simple sugars; muscle strain: foam roll or get a massage; bone situation: let it rest; stress: avoid negative people) but it will get you back onto the path of health, wellness and associated performance in a shorter period of time. It will also reduce the amount of residual damage that is done.

The accumulation of residual damage (not sleeping enough, not getting massage or foam rolling, not eating fruits and vegetables, etc.) creates a hole that can take a long time to dig out of. For example, when it comes to adrenal fatigue, I get asked frequently “how long will it take to turn my symptoms around?”. The answer is two-fold. First, how long have you been ignoring the body’s indicators – we need to determine the depth of the hole you have dug yourself into. Second, how committed are you to proactively addressing each element necessary to recovery: food, sleep, soft tissue maintenance, balancing volume and intensity of training, managing the overall levels of stress you are placing on your body – professionally, personally, athletically, etc.

3. Following uneducated trainers and self-serving agendas. When someone presents themselves to our office, we always strive to uncover the source of the injury. Ninety-nine percent of the time it is associated with some so-called expert or coach that has recommended some ridiculous training program that has no justification behind the volume, intensity or exercises. Thanks to the proliferation of online coaches and weekend certification courses, everyone has become an expert and as a result, has led to epidemic levels of injury and burnout.

The most imperative question to ask is any program or trainer is “Why am I doing this workout and how does it contribute to eliminating my biggest frustrations that are keeping me from achieving my fullest potential”. Anything that you are doing that doesn’t move you towards YOUR personal achievement goals, puts you on the path of your program or trainer’s agenda.

This agenda doesn’t have any regards to your health, wellness and ultimately performance, it is simply an agenda. We have picked up clients that are on a collegiate athletic scholarship and the injuries that they are presenting are nothing more than too much, too hard, too often and the athletes are told “if you don’t want to do what we tell you, we will replace you with someone who will” – no matter what the physical sacrifice.

Every minute of every day needs to be spent moving you closer and closer to your desirable goals in a healthy and sustainable manner. You should know why you are training a specific number of hours and what percentage of them are going to be aerobic and anaerobic. The volume and overall intensity need to be in line with the amount of stress your body can absorb in the area of physical activity. Contrary to what many are saying, you can’t handle more than 100% of anything. If you are extremely busy at work and it is commandeering more and more of your hours in a day, where are you going to pull those hours from: personal, athletic, sleep, eating, etc.?

Life is all about balance, and if you over-extend yourself, you will find something will start to break down. Unfortunately, it usually is your body – mentally and/or physically!

In the next article, we will do a deep dive on nutrition’s role as it relates to an injury.

Top 3 Mistakes When Recovering From an Injury and How to Avoid Them – Part 1

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Nobody enjoys becoming injured due to overuse or an unforeseeable impact that happens in less than a second.  However, as the old saying goes, as an athlete, if you haven’t already been injured, most likely you will be at some point. Once you cross that fine line, there are three areas – physical, mental and nutrition – that tend to get handled incorrectly making the healing process both difficult and slow.

Physical

First and foremost, follow your doctor’s and physical therapist rehab protocols and complete the entire duration outlined.  Coming back too early will only result in less strength, endurance and long-term ramifications like limited range of motion, joint stiffness and unwanted scar tissue.  As an athlete this will also result in less speed, agility, strength and endurance.

Unless you have a high impact injury that affects more than one area of your body, you are normally dealing with one area of injury.  With this being said, you still have 90-95% of your body left to strengthen and expose to cardiovascular improvement. This usually requires becoming creative with your cardio.  If you have broken an elbow or wrist, you can use a recumbent bike, walk in the pool with a pair of sneakers, or use a zero-gravity treadmill.  If you have broken an ankle or torn an ACL or MCL you can get a vacuum sleeve to cover the injured area and swim.  If you are in a wheelchair because of a leg injury, you can use a Concept 2 Ski Erg.

Despite being injured, your strength can be maintained and even enhanced with a variety of options: stretch cords, TRX systems, free weights, kettle bells and medicine balls.  If you let pain be your dictator and you are not masking the true pain with pain killer medicine, you will keep yourself from doing too much and slowing down the healing process.

With regards to pain medicine, it is imperative that you mask the pain and discomfort with over the counter pain medicines, but ONLY while you sleep.  The key is to reduce the chances of your body being woken up due to pain.  The deeper your sleep, the longer you are asleep, and the more sleep cycles you can complete per night will ensure that your body is repairing itself as quickly as possible.  To maximize the probability of quality, pain-free sleep, eat a high-quality snack or smoothie that is rich in protein and good fats to satisfy appetite and then consume your pain medicine.  The fat and protein will satisfy your hierarchy of need of hunger and the ibuprofen will mask the pain allowing you to sleep deeper and with less interruptions.

When discussing the physical side of an injury, the concept of non-sweating physical elements is frequently overlooked.  Soft tissue maintenance such as foam rolling, and trigger point therapy changes the consistency of the soft tissue meaning that it will respond to pressure by opening the blood vessels bringing nutrients and oxygen-rich blood into the tissue. Fresh blood flow will speed up the healing process.

Another soft tissue modality is contrast therapy where you use cold and hot water to stimulate and change the consistency of the muscle tissue.  One of the main reasons why contrast therapy is often discarded is due to the mindset that it must be  extreme: extremely hot or extremely cold.   This is not the case.  Think about contrast therapy this way, the bigger the temperate difference, the more effective the therapy is to the tissue.  For example, if you have the cold water at 70 degrees and the warm water and 110 the difference is 40 degrees.  You can create the same difference if you lower the cold to 65 and the warm water to 105.  Your body doesn’t know the difference in temperature highs and lows, just the difference.  If you don’t like extreme colds and you believe that you must be in nearly freezing water and/or it is so cold you feel like your skin is going to burn off your body, you are more prone to avoid contrast therapy.  This all or nothing mindset must be changed.

In addition to foam rolling, trigger point therapy and contrast therapy, you can always schedule a therapeutic massage.  A qualified massage therapist that works on your muscles, tendons and ligaments can identify muscle patterns associated with pain and limited range of motion.  For example, if you have injured your shoulder, a massage therapist can help you identify what muscles in your chest or your shoulder blades are excessively tight and causing unwanted “pulling” on the head of your humerus (the top of your arm in your shoulder) resulting in additional pain and limited range of motion.  The same applies to each joint in your body.

The irony of these non-sweating components: creative cardio, sleep quality, contrast therapy, massage therapy, etc., should be part of every athlete’s daily routine; however, these are the components that are frequently left out resulting in being mentally bored, physically stale, reduced range of motion, increased nagging injuries and ultimate frustration.

By staying focused on these specific physical components, you will come back from your injury stronger, with enhanced range of motion allowing for better sport specific biomechanics, improved speed, strength and endurance with the areas of your body that are not inured and healing.  Once you get clearance from your doctor to resume normal activity with your injured body part, you only have to improve that one area, versus the entire body.

Concussion Dangers and Side Effects

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In a previous article I outlined what happens to the brain when a concussion is experienced, and the four stages associated with a concussion. (Note: if you need a copy of this article, please email me and I will send you a copy of the article). In this article I want to outline the associated dangers and side effects of a concussion.

Defining a Concussion

Research has validated that you don’t have to be knocked unconscious to be classified as a concussion. We now know that a hard hit to the head without losing consciousness can result in damage to the brain tissue and the neurons and nerves embedded within this tissue. Initial symptoms of concussion include, but are not limited to disorientation, headache, vertigo (loss of balance), nausea and vomiting. The secondary symptoms include, but are not limited to mood swings, insomnia (not able to sleep), memory loss, inability to talk without slurring, sensitivity to noise and light, sudden symptoms of being clumsy and unable to hold onto things without dropping them unintentionally.

Health Dangers Associated with a Concussion (only made worse by multiple concussions)

You have rattled your brain, extensive research has validated that a second mild concussion shortly after the first can add up to a lifetime of physical disability (troubles with balance, walking, eating, etc.) and cognitive disorders (inability to focus, remember, perceive analyze and blend sounds, delayed processing speed which makes it difficult to take a test, tie your shoes or answer questions).

How to Handle a Concussion

First and foremost, discontinue any more activity – no matter what anyone says (reference the long-term complications outlined above)! According to the American College of Emergency Physicians, the following criteria must be met before a patient is released from the hospital after incurring a concussion:

  • Patient is alert, oriented and able to follow simple commands
  • Patient has no suggestion of skull fracture (which can include some subtle signs, such as bruising around the eyes or behind the ears, blood behind the eardrums, or clear fluid leaking from the nose or ears)
  • Patient isn’t taking aspirin or other anticoagulants (a substance that keeps the blood from clotting)
  • Patient hasn’t had a seizure
  • Patient can remember events up to 30 minutes before the injury
  • Patient is younger than 65 years of age

Ironically, even if you pass the criteria outlined above, the next round of questions stems around the nature of your concussion:

  • Did you fall from higher than three feet?
  • Did you vomit more than once after the injury?
  • Were in a car accident?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, then you need to cat a CAT scan (CT Scan) of your head to ensure that there are no signs of inflammation or swelling. If the CT scan comes back normal, you will need to ensure that someone is with you at your place of residence to wake you up every two hours and ask you simple questions like: What is your name, what is today’s date, when is your birthday, etc.?).

How Long to Wait Before Resuming Training & Racing

This decision needs to be made by a qualified physician and no one else. When you realize that you are making a decision about your brain and your long-term health, clearance to resume training and racing needs to be made with medically backed supervision. The reason for this is two-fold. First, the physician is providing you feedback without emotion: your body is either ready to resume training and racing or it isn’t. Second, if your physician is saying that you are not ready to train and race, he/she is keeping you from injuring yourself worse. This occurs as a result of your brain not being clear and the lack of skills necessary to safely train, ride and race: depth perception, ability to process speed, etc. This situation will result in you hitting the ground again and causing not only a delay in your return, but worse, causing more damage to your head and associated bodily functions.

I realize that you love to train and race, but you have to respect the fact that you have only been provided one brain and it is literally the center of your existence – if your brain is injured, the rest of your life will suffer. No puns intended, but think about this…

What Happens to the Brain When You Get a Concussion?

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Inside your skull you have cerebrospinal fluid and of course your brain. A violent impact causes your brain to vibrate and sometimes even bump against the skull bone. If the force is too much, you end up with a concussion. Ironically, the trauma that occurs when the brain hits the skull is often not evident because the damage is on the inside.  It is known as the “Silent Injury” according to Dr. Lovell from the University of Pittsburgh’s medical center which researches concussions.

Once common mistake is assuming that because you didn’t get “knocked out”  the hit to your head was minimal. If you experience vomiting, dilated pupils, loss of smell or taste you should visit with a neurologist immediately. Additional negative symptoms after a head impact are headaches, dizziness or memory loss lasting more than five days or delayed memory of easy questions (i.e. what did you eat for breakfast yesterday morning?).

Four Stages of a Concussion

Impact to the head – The most common causes of concussions are falls, car accidents, impact sports and explosions. The trauma causes force to the head in two directions: linear (forwards and backwards) or rotational (side to side). These forces literally cause your brain to “slosh” within the cerebrospinal fluid and bump up against the skull.

Inflammation – Trauma to the brain can damage neurons, the cells that govern the flow of chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters. In the worst-case scenario, those damaged neurons lose control of the neurotransmitters, allowing them to accelerate up to five (5x) their normal speed. The resulting chemical acceleration can cause memory loss, blurred vision, dizziness, headache and nausea.

Hibernation – Your brain’s cortex detects the neurotransmitter imbalance and tries to fix the neurons by calling for a surge of healing glucose. At the same time, calcium neurotransmitters start constricting the blood vessels, delaying glucose from reaching the neurons. Your brain function slows until blood flow returns to normal.

Recovery – Healing the neurons within your brain can take several weeks.. However, if you sustain another concussion during this period, you could suffer permanent damage and a lifetime of headaches and other adverse side effects. Though it is hard for competitive athletes,  staying away from the potential of re-hitting your head, rest and proper nutrition will facilitate the recovery process.

Note: if you experience headaches after hitting your head, DO NOT consume aspirin or ibuprofen (this may increase your risk of brain bleeding); instead use acetaminophen.

Periodization – What It Is and Why It Is An Important Component of a Racer’s Program

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You are a dedicated athlete that trains on a regular basis. You have the best of intentions with your training, but lately, no matter how hard you work out, you aren’t making any gains. You have plateaued. What has really happened is that your body has adapted to your workouts, and it needs new challenges. This is where periodization comes in.

At both the amateur and professional levels, the racing season has increased to the point where the racer is competing nearly year-round and actually inhibiting his or her ability to improve physically as a racer.  It is unrealistic to think that a racer can be in top form every weekend from January through December.  Throughout the year, the body has to be provided the opportunity to develop various energy systems through specific workouts. For long term improvement, a window of time must be provided to rest and recover from the stress loads applied to the muscles and cardiovascular system.  This is where periodization comes into a racer’s program.  Periodization creates phases of training or “periods” to keep your body working hard, while still giving it adequate rest. It answers how hard, how long and how often a racer should train to reap the benefits of training without burning out or getting injured.

With riding and racing encompassing so many elements of your life, it has literally become a lifestyle – sleep, eat, ride, train off the motorcycle, repeat until the next weekend.  However, this lifestyle of training, doesn’t allow you to systematically decide to begin training seriously for four weeks out and then be ready for the season’s first big race.  On the other hand, hitting the Concept 2 Rower the Monday after your big race and riding every day until next weekend’s race isn’t productive for you either.  The reason being, you will not be able to push the body beyond its normal performance level and then you don’t allow enough time for the body to adapt to the stress loads.

At CRS, we break a year into four training “seasons”: Pre-Season, Pre-Competitive, Competitive and Off Season.  Each season has a different performance objective to optimize your training time for maximum results.

The duration of training cycles varies based on individual identified weaknesses during assessments, but typically consist of the following:

Pre-Season (12 weeks): Develops maximum aerobic capacity, muscular strength and flexibility; this is also an ideal time to work with your riding coach to help with technique and mechanics.

Pre-Competitive (8 weeks): Continued development of aerobic engine, final stage of maximum strength development, and the implementation of slight lactate tolerance intervals.

Competitive (4 Cycles of 7 weeks): Specialization is the main component of this season.  Your anaerobic threshold and sprint training should make up the high-quality workouts during the week.  Also during this phase is the increased need for rest – ideally one complete day of rest per week to help you recover both mentally and physically.

Off Season (4 weeks): This is where you deviate away from heavily structured training. Instead of structured training, you are back to casual riding or

any other type of cross training.  You don’t want to become so inactive that you begin to lose the conditioning you have worked so hard to achieve throughout the year; you do, however, what to remain active and healthy.

 STEP ONE: ESTABLISHING GOALS

This step involves establishing your long-term goals and developing a plan for achieving each of your goals.  This step needs to be quantified, simple, optimistic and realistic. Though this sounds like an easy task, it takes real brainstorming to narrow this first step down and onto paper. An example of an unrealistic long-term goal: “I want to be fast”.  There is no way to quantify fast and there is no timeline established to complete it.  It also doesn’t tell you what you are setting your standards against.

If you say: “I want to be the top local rider in my class by May in the Gold Cup series” – this is quantified, specific and with a little research you can determine what it will take to surpass the current top riders to achieve the status you are looking for.

At CRS, we have our clients establish three sets of goals – 3-month, 6-month and 12-month.  The most important thing to remember when you are sitting down to establish your goals is that they need to be specific, and each should have a date applied.  Without specific goals, you will quickly lose your motivation to stick to the homework, especially when it becomes difficult (due to either the duration or intensity levels required) or boring (i.e. stretching).

STEP TWO: DETERMINING A STARTING POINT WITH YOUR TRAINING

If you are starting at a minimum fitness level, you will have to increase your overall strength and endurance before your dive into a comprehensive performance training program.  As a general rule of thumb, strive not to increase your duration of your overall workouts by more than 5-8% every other week.  Once you have been consistent with some level of training for six to eight weeks without any physical setbacks, it is time to determine exactly where your fitness levels are – this will identify your strengths and weaknesses and what to address with daily training to maximize your training time (especially for those of you that work and/or have a family to balance).

The main concept to keep in mind when it comes to training is to strengthen weaknesses which have been specifically identified through field testing.  Riders and racers, like any athletes, have a tendency to complete workouts focusing only on the elements where strength already exists.  For example, in the gym, you rarely see anyone working their legs due to the high levels of lactic acid and associated increased heart rate levels.  Instead, they avoid these uncomfortable exercises and complete lower intensity exercises which do not address their physical limiters.   If you use riding a road bicycle as a form of cross training, and you are not a strong climber, how often do you go out and complete hill repeats to increase your strength and lactate tolerance?  It is not that you are soft; it is simply human nature to do the activities where we feel strong and confident.

When it comes to assessments, it is imperative that you capture three key testing data points in field testing: aerobic capacity, muscular strength and lactate tolerance.  At CRS, we are more interested in testing these three variables within the training modalities that you have been using over the last six to twelve months.  The important thing to keep in mind with establishing base line assessment numbers is to be consistent with your testing protocols.  For example, if you use the Concept 2 Rower for your cardio training, it would not be a wise choice to use a running test for your lactate tolerance and aerobic capacity testing due to the different muscle groups and demands on the cardiovascular system – ultimately your testing data would be inaccurate.

STEP THREE: ESTABLISHING A TRAINING PROGRAM BASED ON YOUR FIELD TESTING RESULTS

This is where a human performance specialist can be an asset to a rider and racer’s development program – identifying where the most progress can be achieved in the shortest amount of time.  As an illustration, a racer gets a riding coach to help work on problem areas around the track.  A racer may be fast through the whoops, but if he or she cannot get in and out of the corners fast, the time gained in the whoops is immediately lost in the next corner.  The same applies to developing the training protocols that are going to maximize the appropriate energy systems to enhance the elements of aerobic capacity, muscular strength and lactate tolerance specific to riding a motorcycle as fast as possible for as long as possible.

If you are serious about making performance gains, periodized training will ensure that you continue to make measurable progress and steps towards achieving your goals.