Fundamental principles of resistance training

I feel proud and fortunate that many ultra runners have written to me to thank me for the learnings from the book I wrote a few years ago on Ultra Trail training.

My goal in writing it was to try to convey the key idea that the training time is not proportional to the competition time and therefore, even if one participated in the Indianapolis 500 miles running, there would be no significant differences with the training of a person who ran a 100 mile ultra trail.
And this statement is not only applicable running, but I have been able to verify empirically (theoretically I was already convinced of it, otherwise I would not have applied it) that the same thing happened with swimming, cycling and mountain skiing.

Javier Iriberri did the RAAM and trained as if he were preparing to win the Quebrantahuesos. Nuria Picas almost crossed the Alps from Vienna to Nice on cross-country skis as if preparing for the Pierra Menta. And so many others I could name.

If you haven’t read the book and are curious about the fundamental principles of resistance training, I’ll summarize them below. I’m sure they will be useful to you. And if you have read it too, since it will be like a reminder of what one must do on a day-to-day basis to be highly effective in terms of the time dedicated to training with respect to the result obtained.

1. Base your training plan on density and intensity

   Prioritize quality work, whether they are strength, speed and high and medium intensity; with little recovery between sessions and few days of recovery per month/year. Don’t spend time on long sessions at low intensity. Remember: “train more 10 sessions of 1 hour than 1 session of 10 hours”.

2. Stop thinking in quantitative terms and think more in qualitative terms

   Look for a method that allows you to accurately quantify the training impact of your sessions so that, based on this, you can program a training plan that is progressive, sustainable and adjusted to the requirements of the competition you are preparing and according to your possibilities. of time.
   In this sense, the way I prefer as a coach is through the Stryd power meter and the evaluation of the training load through the stress factor. Having this information I can make a tight approach and a controlled siege to the target competition to achieve the best results.

3. Evaluate the intensity of the competition as a reference in your training

   However you plan your program, knowing the paces at which you will compete will give you an idea of the intensities to reach in your training. So, in this way, you will be able to program the training sessions of the construction phase as close as possible to the demands that you will have in competition.
   Personally, I usually use a reverse planning in which I start by working on strength and speed, then VO2 max and finally competition rhythms.

4. Assess your goals in competition to determine the degree of demand of your training

   Being a finisher or looking for victory in a competition have nothing to do with planning a training session. It is obvious that in the first case, we will look for the free spaces in the athlete’s personal schedule to see if they are enough to be able to achieve a final result with confidence, safety and without injuries. Otherwise, I would recommend a rethinking of the selected competition to avoid frustration, risk of injury and loss of time in general.

   Those who seek to win, however, take time from wherever in order to train to the maximum of the body’s assimilation capacity and thus obtain the maximum potential performance.

   Determining objectives is crucial in order to align them with the training plan, in a way that is consistent with the degree of dedication and involvement with the expected result.

5. Evaluate your plan

   Periodically you should be able to evaluate your physical condition to see the changes that the training plan is producing in your performance capacity. Seeing that everything is going according to plan will motivate you and strengthen your determination to stick with the plan and move forward with firm steps on your calendar. Otherwise, it will also be very positive so that you can redirect your steps and act with enough time before the bull catches you and you find yourself in the race with the feeling of homework to do.

6. Adjust your training zones

   Your physical state is something that changes as you train. For this reason, as the level of competition is higher (or it should be), you should be able to readjust the power, rhythm or heart rate values to train in the right measure with the desired intensity. Otherwise, we will find that if we improve, the training will be below our real possibilities, with the consequent loss of time or a reduction in use.

7. Be aware of invisible training

   Sleeping well, eating clean, not having toxic habits… are as important to our performance as training itself. Therefore, you must keep it in mind when following a training plan. This is already hard enough that you also add stress to the body with greasy and low-quality meals, poor quality and quantity of rest, alcohol, tobacco or other harmful habits and irregular schedules.