Keith Lea's LBP test 06-10-08

[Robh]

So what I will be doing for future tests as this is a physiological assessment and not a performance test is take people up to the same wattage next time (Perceived effort of 8 ) so it's standardised for each person and allows for overlapping of tests. Wel that's the theory anyway...

[Michelle]

News to me ...about Keith being .....you geddit

But Rob, if the training goes all to plan, surely we will be stronger, so if you take people up to the same wattage you will have a lesser perceived effort.

That will mean the retest won't work....

[Robh]

[quote="Michelle"]News to me ...about Keith being .....you geddit

But Rob, if the training goes all to plan, surely we will be stronger, so if you take people up to the same wattage you will have a lesser perceived effort.

That will mean the retest won't work....

[quote="Robh"]Now off to test victim number 11...Wish me luck

[Paul H]

Keith,

I think your problem is that when you come out on the training CRs, you do longer turns at the front than others at what some would say "no mans land pace". Myself and others tend to do shorter but harder turns at the front and then sit in which is closer to what happens in Road Racing. Your muscular endurance is poor as well - hope you dont me me saying.

[Keith]

[quote="Paul H"]hope you dont me me saying.

[Robh]

2 definitions listed below both speak of the importance of STF fibres & mitochondria for muscular endurance.

Using Fact philosophies to improve the above one rides in your own personal Basic Intensity Slow Twitch Fibre zone (BI-STF) which is not found by percentages but by how your own body reacts during LBP testing.


1. Muscular endurance is very important for people playing sports and who have to sustain an activity for long periods of time. Muscular endurance is determined by how well your slow twitch muscle fibers are developed. In case your wondering what slow twitch muscle fibers are, I will explain. There are generally two types of muscle fibers in your body, slow twitch and fast twitch. Slow twitch muscle fibers cannot exert as much force as fast twitch, but can sustain an effort over a much greater period of time. Fast twitch muscle fibers can exert a great amount of force but for a very limited amount of time. Therefore, slow twitch equals endurance, while fast twitch equals strength.


2. Muscular endurance, sometimes called muscular respiration, is the ability for a muscle to repeat a specific movement repeatedly. This is dependent on the body's ability to supply the muscle with oxygen, so it is obviously dependent on cardiovascular fitness. However it also depends on the muscle's ability to utilize the oxygen efficiently.

At the muscle site oxygen must be able to enter the muscle cells in sufficient amounts. The muscle cells be able to utilize this oxygen quickly and efficiently in order to produce energy.

Developing significant muscular endurance is difficult and requires many years of training. That's why most endurance athletes, such as marathon runners, are older. It is very odd to see a 20 year professional marathon runner, or endurance cyclist. Mitochondria are little units in muscle cells which are responsible for oxygen/energy production. And it takes years to increase the number of mitochondria and to make them more efficient.
In addition to training, genetics and muscle type are the two major factors that can affect muscular endurance.

[Robh]

Been chatting to Juerg & Andrew about Keith's recovery lines :-

From Juerg :-

This green line. ( recovery line ) is actually a very good recovery . As you can see it will go back up to the performance line, meaning he actually even after a hard push can recovery back to the blue line.

Here's the idea of the recovery line :-

A recovery line , which converts back to the blue line is a good recovery information.

A green line who is below the blue line and never will cross over to the blue line but is getting closer is somewhat less good recovery .

A green line which is actually opening , bigger distance to the blue higher up is a sign of very low recovery stage in that specific test , due to different
reasons.


From Andrew :-

Juerg's point is well taken...if the green line eventually meets the blue line, then the person is able to "fully recover" fromm the original effort, showing "good" recovery (as both of those examples you gave demonstrated).

However, you and I are looking at it with a bit more detail, and actually examining the exact drop in wattage after the step test portion, and in this case, the recovery seems a little less than ideal.

As I mentioned yesterday, Paul has a good point...if you push an athlete very hard on the step test, they will have a bigger drop in the second portion.

And Juerg has a good point, that if the green line approaches the blue line, then that shows a good recovery as well. 

My interpretation tried to identify a weakness that may be improved with training of the STF zone...and that is less of a drop in performance during the initial part of the recovery phase.

It is not clear whether this rider has "poor" recovery as I discussed previously, but it certainly shows there is an area of weakness that can be reassessed the next time around.

As you learn from us, you will realize even Juerg and I have different views on the same test. Sorry for that, it will cause some confusion for you I am sure. Easier for you to interpret the results having walked through the full test and seen with your own eyes what was happening.

[Keith]

Thanks for the extra info, Rob.

[quote="Robh"]
.... you will realize even Juerg and I have different views on the same test.

[quote]Paul has a good point...if you push an athlete very hard on the step test, they will have a bigger drop in the second portion.

It is not clear whether this rider has "poor" recovery as I discussed previously.