Other than a great sense of accomplishment the biggest take-away from my double century bike ride this summer was a new perspective about endurance training. That perspective came from a conversation with Freddie Rodriguez about the intensity of training rides. In short, he said the key was to spend more time focused on heart rate-based training than power training. Since then I’ve done a ton of reading about heart rate-based training and I’ve incorporated it into my practice. That’s why I enjoyed a new TEDx Talk titled How “Normal People” Can Train Like the World’s Best Endurance Athletes.
In this new talk Dr. Stephen Seiler shares his experience and research from working with and studying some of the world’s best endurance athletes including cyclists, Nordic skiers, and rowers. Listen to his talk to learn why the old adage, “no pain, no gain” isn’t a great motto for training. Dr. Seiler promotes spending more time training in the “green zone” than in high intensity, painful training. His contention is that it’s not only better for your endurance overall, it’s also less likely that you’ll suffer from the burn-out often associated with joining high intensity workout plans or “boot camps.” In short, he wants athletes to enjoy training, be persistent, and have patience that the results will come.