PERFORMANCE TESTING
TEST - IDENTIFY - PLAN - TRAIN - PERFORM
Performance Testing is a crucial and under utilised aspect of training for many keen amateurs. In order to individualise training and improve performance, it is of paramount importance to measure your current levels of fitness. By measuring performance, anaylsing the results, athletes and coaches can then plan a specific and tailored block of training to drive performance forward.
ALL TEST RESULTS COME WITH FOLLOW UP TRAINING RECOMMENDATIONS.
HEART RATE MEASURES AND TRAINING ZONES
Heart Rate provides great information for the intensity of training. While GPS, power and speed provide fantastic external measures of performance, heart rate gives us a great insight into what is happening in the body. Using a combination of internal and external measures help to generate a broader picture of an athletes level and capabilities. As elite coach Inigo San Milan says "HR provides a great surrogate to what is happening within the body."
Heart rate monitors are also affordable and easy to use. A HRMax Test allows us to establish accurate training zones. This is especially useful to monitor the intensity of the easier sessions, ensuring the athlete is not straying into what Stephen Seiler calls the "training intensity black hole." Every session should have a purpose and using HR to keep the easy sessions easy is a vital part of training.
Following up with a Conconi Test enables us to identify the athletes "threshold." Training at or around the threshold is an effective and important part of training for endurance events. By using these performance tests we can work together to optimise your training.
HRMax TEST
£70
Establishing the HRMax is important for endurance athletes. With a chest HRM a true HRMax can be established in the field. Following the test the athlete will receive a report clearly identifying training zones, using a 5 zone model, with a full explanation of how to apply them to your training.
CONCONI TEST
£80
The Conconi Test is a ramp test conducted on either the treadmill or turbo trainer. HR is monitored throughout the test as intensity increases. The data is used to identify the "Heart Rate Deflection Point", identifying the "threshold."
CRITICAL POWER AND SPEED
Critical Power (CP), Critical Speed (CS) and Critical Swim Speed (CSS) is a level of intensity used by elite endurance athletes. It marks the area at which an athlete moves from the heavy to severe intensity domain of exercise. Measured accurately it marks the athletes highest levels of power or speed in running, cycling and swimming at which they are in a physiologically stable state. In my experience this forms a key part of an athletes athletic profile. Above this level the athlete will be dipping into their anaerobic reserves (W Prime or D Prime). The tests can also measure the size of the athletes anaerobic battery or reserve which can be important in racing. If you need to surge at the start of the swim in triathlon, accelerate out of corners, or surge on hills on the bike, or push to break the field in a 10km, you will be able to use the W or D Prime to pace your efforts, reducing intensity again before it becomes detrimental to performance.
Most importantly CP, CS and CSS provide us with a key area to target in training. In order to programme and design high intensity sessions appropriately for individual athletes, we must know the CP, CS and or CSS so that we can generate appropriate overload and eventual adaptation from consistent training. As Buchheit and Laursen (2018) identify in their market leading work on High Intensity Interval Training, HIIT must be programmed above the Critical Speed or Power to generate overload and subsequent training adaptation.
CRITICAL POWER
From £100 (Variety of testing options available)
A series of tests can be used to measure Critical Power (CP). We will use the tests to plot an accurate and current power-duration curve, identifying your current CP as well as the size of your W Prime. The results can be used to inform race strategy and plan training.
CRITICAL SPEED
From £100 (Variety of testing options available)
A series of tests can be used to measure Critical Speed (CS). We will use the tests to plot and accurate and current speed-duration curve, identifying your current CS as well as the size of your D Prime. The results can be used to inform race strategy and plan training.
CRITICAL SWIM SPEED
£50
The athlete will test in the pool to establish their current Critical Swim Speed (CSS). This can be used to design training sessions appropriately, depending on the distance of event you are training for. CSS can also be used to build an effective race strategy.
LACTATE TESTING -COMING SOON
From £160
Measuring blood lactate (cycling or running) will identify both LT1 and LT2. The results can then be used in training to accurately gage the intensity in easy sessions, as well as planning longer sustained efforts and intense interval sessions. Follow up testing is recommended to analyse the effectiveness of a training block.
STRENGTH AND POWER TESTING
Strength and power testing have long been polarising topic for the endurance athlete. There are a whole host of long standing myths that are prevalent within the endurance community that often present a barrier to strength training. However, I believe strength training to be an important part of endurance performance. To keep things simple strength training will play a part in injury prevention, making you faster, and delaying fatigue. Done properly this can all be carried out without the significant weight gain that endurance athletes commonly worry about.
We can assess your peak force, mean force, repeat force and rate of force development. All of this can identify areas for athletes to target in training. We can also identify potential muscle imbalance and asymmetry, which may lead to injury down the line if not corrected.
Crucially all of this can be done in an unintimidating private facility, and carried out safely using Vald ForceDeck technology.
STRENGTH TESTING
£100
A variety of options are available including use of the state of art Vald ForceDecks to measure force in a variety of movements including the Isometric Mid Thigh Pull. Most importantly this will be conducted in a safe and controlled manner.
POWER TESTING
£100
Power testing will be completed using the Vald ForceDecks to assess peak power, mean power, concentric and eccentric power. We will also assess muscle balance and make programming recommendations following testing.
SPECIAL OFFERS
MUTIPLE TESTS
For athletes wanting a series of tests rather than a full athletic profile please contact me for a quote.
TEAM TESTING
Special offers are available for multiple athletes being tested. Teams or groups can contact me for a quote.