by Robh » Fri Oct 10, 2008 12:50 pm
There is a very interesting discussion going on in the UK on how to train.( we had that discussion already 20 years ago and it will show up as often as people forget what FaCT really is.
Hard and intense or slow and long ?
Both "camps" use certain names and "bibles" to make their points. I like to make a clear point from our position of FaCT Canada.
FaCT stands for Feldmann and Chlebek test or Feldmann and Chelebek Trends.
What we do is? Searching worldwide for newest and affordable equipment to introduce to the research, as well as to the user comunity on the field.
We try to close the gap between research in the lab and practical application on the field.
To be able to serve our customers as good as possible we first test and study new ideas in the Lab. setting and see , whether we can use some trend and some info so it is applicable as well for the person on the field and for the coaches , health professionals and researchers.
With this approach (since over 20 years) we had the luck to learn and contact many very nice and very adventures and out of the box thinking people and researcher.
This helped as as well to test the equipment outside of the box and help equipment developper to give feedback on how we see or could see further development on this specific tools or ( toys)
This and the above contact leads us, to try to develop and test new ideas.
a) it started all out with a handheld point to point lactate tester and a first (PE 2500 ) wireless HR monitor )and is now so far advanced, that we work for the moment on non invasive cardiac testing equipment with Manatec ( Physio flow) with some very intriguing wireless respiratory equipment ( bio harness ) and the newest water proofed HR system ( Herb just got in )and we will test on the weekend in the pool.
Why do we do that ?
As a long time Physio therapist and coach and exercise physiology hungry guy I learned the tools to coach at the university . I got educated and was able to repeat what I learned.
After many years of knowing everything , I learned to understand that I really know nothing, but the fact , that the physiological system has very unique individual reactions .
Do make education simple , so we can repeat what we learn , we develop in schools and universities standard procedures to compare and repeat.
The key word is Statistics.
Many years of practical work learned me to take one person as an individual with individual reactions and needs.
This was the start to try and develop and still develop a testing approach, where we can find individual reactions and can compare the changes in this individual person step by step to learn and try to understand what kind of stressor ( training ) will produce what kind of a respond. So FaCT is exactly that . It is not NOT a training proposal or program at all. It is a tool in progress for any coach of any believes to see, whether his believe , what training and stress is ,really leads to the "planned" adaptation or whether it may not work at all.
The key problem of coaching is , that if the athletes makes progress we "believe" it is the training plan . ( perhaps it is the recovery plan or the nutritional plan ) Problem : as long the person makes progress it is difficult to argue against that plan. We may not know , whether it is really the plan or not.
If the person does not make progress , we are somewhat in trouble , as we don't know why .
By using the FaCT idea we can follow the changes ( progress and negative progress ) and may be able to see what biomarker or what systems actually change the performance due to certain intervention.
Based on this we may be able to slowly choose very individual intensities and stressors to work in the shortest time available for the biggest benefit .
So when people argue , that FaCT is LSD , than that is just simply an interpretation of a person and not the idea of FaCT. We train in all different "zones" but try to see, which zone at what stage is the most effective one.To be able to do this you need a testing tool and that is FaCT and what you learn in the FaCT education certification courses with Dr. Andrew Sellars.
The new philosophies of Lactate is not the cause of fatigue, there is no AT or VT is not identical with AT and there is never an anaerobic stage will further add to the need of searching for an objective testing idea individually based.
Over many years we where searching for intensities , which changes LBP levels and performance lines and we have a pretty good idea, how we in a short term ( functionally ) can change LBP and how long it will stay up in very specific athletes .
This thanks to hundreds of tests in all different situations.
The next "generation " in testing now is to see, whether classical ideas like VO2 max and LBP can be changed by finding other biomarkers so we can add them to lactate and respiration rate and test and re-test.
So all "wattage" believer can use FaCT as a tool to see, whether the zoning based on wattage actually changes the performance and if , what did really changed:
cardiac adjustment . pulmonary adjustments, metabolic changes , coordination changes and so on.
We use wattage as a clear objective performance tool to compare the above systems by the same wattage to see , what is contributing by a specific wattage level to this performance.
How much Cardiac work , how much pulmonary work/ how much metabolic input and so on. With this tool we can see possibly which of the above system may be at the current moment the limitation ( weakest link in the chain ) .
So FaCT -Canada is not a training program at all , it is a tool; for coaches and individuals to critically assess their believe , what their training philosophy will change in the physiological system after certain training intervention and this in the functional field as well as structural adaptation.
We support and offer service to the public , who really is critical to their own ideas and like to offer the best possible service to their clients by assessing their own ideas regular and objective, instead of selling a "religious" believe on what is the best based on very little research and real individual assessments.
We have cleints and universities, who use our ewuipment for many different reasons and many different ways exactly out of the above idea. Searching for tools to improve their own knowledge adn testing their own ideas.
So to all readers there is no FaCT training plan or FaCT Bible.
There is a FaCT test , where the different equipment are used to find the different limitations of the systems and see what intervention will change this test data.
Cardiac tools ( Polar and Physio flow water proofed HR equipment )
Respiratory tools ( Fit Mate , Spiro pet , Spiro Tiger, SpO2 tester and Bio harness )
Metabolic tools : Lactate pro.
Strenght assessment/ Coordination EMG and wattage trainers)
All this equipment ( depending on budget and ideas ) can be used in the FaCT protocol and it can than be used in the field.
So if wattage is the way you like to control intensity you use a wattage tool. If HR is the way you use intensity you use a HR monitor.
Ir respiratory information is the tool you may use a bioharness.
if you use HR based on trends in cardiac reation you may now use a Physioflow in connection with a HR monitor.
If you like to base it on lactate numbers or trends you use a Lactate pro.
After all the training you did based on your individual philosophy youi go back and test with FaCT and you will see, what changes your training idea has produced and in what system.
Summary :FaCT is your store for quality equipment and service for unique and best testing and training equipments
FaCT is an assessment tool , where you can use all this ewquipment to help your clients to get the best results for the time they are ready to invest and you can objectively control your own idea of the planning and see, whether your client reacts accordingly . If yes great , if now you can react and adjust the training plan.
FaCT equipment will help you to move yourself above the "educated" coach by producing your individual approach to your client with unique testing tools.
Hmm I sound like a "sales person " but I think all of our sutomers know, that we try to help as good and as honest as we can.
One of our very active writers here. Rob from UK may remember why he contacted me and what my advice at that time was to him and where he should spent his money. Thanks for reading all of that. Juerg
Last edited by
Robh on Fri Oct 10, 2008 1:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
