Updates

cycling, performance, Sport

How Strava Helps Cyclists Improve Their Performance

March 26, 2018 / Alex

Are you looking for more ways to improve you cycling, Apps like Strava can really...

Gym, Performance, Running, Sport, Strength training

5 Leg Exercises Every Runner Should Be Doing In the Gym

March 13, 2018 / Ben

To enhance your running performance, here are 5 effective leg exercises you should be doing...

gym training, performance, running, Sport, training + workouts & exercises

How Weight Training Can Help Enhance Runners Performance

March 6, 2018 / Ben

If you have been running consistently and still struggle to increase your pace or distance...

cycling, performance, Sport, training + workouts & exercises

5 Core Exercises That Improve Cycling Performance

February 19, 2018 / Ben

Enhance your cycling performance with better bike control and stability, with these 5 core exercises.

gym training, Sport

6 Ways to Improve Your Squatting Technique

February 8, 2018 / Ben

Love it or hate it, the squat is one of the most effective exercises to...

injury prevention, Sport, winter sports

Top 5 Ways to Prevent Injuries While Skiing This Season

January 31, 2018 / Ben

We look at the top 5 ways to help you prevent injuries while skiing.

cycling, performance, Sport

How to Increase Power Output in Your Legs for Longer Bike Rides

January 2, 2018 / Aston

A step by step guide on what you can do to increase your cycling distances...

running, Sport

How to Increase Your Running Distance From 5k to 10k

December 15, 2017 / Ben

A detailed guide of what you need to know when making the jump from a...

injury prevention, running, Sport

Top 3 Ways to Prevent Injuries While Running During Winter

December 1, 2017 / Aston Lincoln

Make sure you approach winter training with caution and make it through the season injury...

performance, running, Sport

The Definitive Guide To Increase Speed And Distance For Runners During Winter

November 16, 2017 / Ben

Winter is a great time to establish a solid foundation for increasing running speed and...

performance, Sport, winter sports

How to Train for Longer Slope Time While Skiing This Winter

November 1, 2017 /

With winter approaching, it’s time to get fit and enjoy longer slope time while skiing....

Performance, Sport

3 Ways to Improve Your Performance for Endurance Sports

October 11, 2017 / Aston Lincoln

With the barrage of obstacle course events; half, full and ultra-marathons and growth in cycling and triathlons in the UK and around the globe; it is no surprise that people want to improve their endurance and mental fortitude. Events can vary from “short” sprint distances through to herculean courses that will test the toughest of athletes. When training for these events, a lot of people will focus solely on cardio routines like cycling or running. This shouldn’t be the case though, building in some power based routines will help build your lactate threshold, tolerance and mental fortitude as well. These 3 attributes are the keys to improving your endurance alongside your normal cardio routine: 1: Combine Strength Training Days with Cardio The more muscle tissue you get working, the more it will test your cardiovascular system and your heart. Rather than developing cardio-only workout routines make sure you integrate training days incorporating power based exercise as well. Most people will have one day for power based training, and another for endurance based cardio. Why not combine the two? You can start a routine with a bench press exercise, quickly linking with pull-ups and straight into a 1km run as hard as you can. Alternatively, you could try using a skipping rope for 60 seconds, followed immediately by leg squats, into an overhead press and finally sit-ups. Keep repeating the routine until the point of failure. Intense exercise takes a lot of energy and is a good test of your strength, endurance and mental fortitude. The more intense exercise you build into your routines, the quicker you’ll see improvements in your performance. 2: Try Fast-Paced, High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Interval training can be done in the gym or outside. The harder you train and the more muscle groups you activate, the more it will raise your heart rate and work the cardiac muscle tissue, which will help your endurance. A great general interval training session is a fartlek training. Fartlek is Swedish for “speed play” and as the name suggests; you intermix a long run with preset periods of flat out sprinting and then a slower paced recovery zones. For a gentler fartlek route, you can use pre-set distances to define where you sprint and where you rest. To make things harder, you can work with times (i.e sprint for 30 seconds every 1 km) as this will ensure that you are always working harder each session. Similar sessions can also be done on a bike or in a pool. To target specific muscle groups, you are better off basing your interval training in a gym. Combine routines to make a hybrid workout, intermixing different exercises to meet your goals. For example, combining an overhead press (“thruster”), bouncing pull-ups, and bicep curls are excellent hybrids. HIIT training is also excellent at boosting your metabolism where as a cardio-endurance only routine can actually reduce it as your body will try to conserve energy. *statement about why a boosted metabolism is good for endurance* To achieve this, you will still need to make sure that you are consuming enough energy and meeting your nutritional needs. We suggest reading our "article how to improve your running with HIIT", this can be used in any sport. 3: Cut Down the Break Between Sets When training with predefined rest periods, in the gym between sets for example, you will often see rest periods prescribed of 30 – 60 seconds, longer if doing a longer set of exercise like a 1km row. As you get stronger and your endurance improves you can look to reduce these rest times instead of just increasing the weights. At the end of a session you should be exhausted, you should be sweating and out of breath. If you aren’t then you need to look at your routine. Reducing your rest periods is one thing that can be done to make the workout harder again to push your body further. Add these three elements to your training routine and you will find your performance improving with the work that you put in. Subscribe Today!