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Training Vlog #1: Norwegian (Singles) Method for BEGINNERS

First edition of a training log where I will document how I personally use VTCheck, offering some tips and tricks along the way. Like and subscribe!

Efficiency %

Running Economy has been a trendy topic of discussion in the running world over the past few years as it is one of the fundamental pillars of endurance performance alongside VO2max, fractional utilization and durability. Running economy is commonly defined as the oxygen cost of running at a given speed. The general idea, is that since oxygen is needed to produce energy in the mitochondria, an athlete that requires less oxygen to power a given pace compared to another athlete is more economical or efficient with his energy use. VTCheck provides an analogous metric to running economy called the Efficiency %.

Drift Pt I – Drift Model, Ramp-Up Speed and Slow Component Start

As discussed in our first blog, endurance performance is largely a function of metabolism. If metabolism is stable, the effort can be sustained for some duration. The more unstable metabolism is, the more rapidly exhaustion tends to occur.

TymeWear VitalPro One Year Review (Video)

Here is my one year review of the TymeWear VitalPro where I discuss its advantages over lactate meters.

Ventilation: Metabolism's Gateway

One of the oldest methods to gauge exercise intensity, that many still swear by today, is the talk test. If you can have a conversation while exercising, you’re in Zone 2. If you can only get out a few words, you’re in Zone 4. In reality, the talk test is simply a low-tech way of measuring ventilation – that is, the volume of air flowing in and out of your lungs.

The talk test works because there is a strong correlation between ventilation and exercise intensity. When the work is light, so is ventilatory drive, which means you can easily get out full sentences in between breaths. As work increases, so does ventilation, making it harder to find spaces to speak. And at the highest intensities, it can become virtually impossible to control your breath long enough to utter a single word, as the neural drive to inhale and exhale dominates.

This is all due to ventilation’s role as the gateway to both the beginning and end of the metabolic cycle that produces the energy needed for exercise. You breathe in oxygen required by the muscles to produce ATP and you exhale carbon dioxide as a byproduct of the energy production process – if you stop either of these processes you cannot go on. Given this, ventilation has been used by researchers to assess exercise intensity since the mid 19th century. And since the main function of VTCheck is to automatically and objectively quantify and analyze ventilation, understanding the primary drivers of breathing during exercise can help users interpret the data they get from their training.

How To Tell if you are Actually Recovering from your “Recovery” Runs

If you’ve taken a peek at the Founder’s Dashboard, you may have noticed that the vast majority of my easy runs are at a very slow pace – to the point where if I went any slower, I would be going backwards. You may have also noticed that I don’t do any long runs (i.e. over 1 hr). This hasn’t always been the case. When I first started running, almost all my “easy” runs were near the top, and sometimes over, my “Zone 2” heart rate, and I would do weekly long runs up to 1.5 hrs in duration. However, now, I’ve dramatically decreased the pace on my easy runs and completely cut out long runs. This change was prompted in large part by the program I am currently following, commonly known as the Norwegian Singles Method.

Why I No Longer Use My Garmin

Me and my Forerunner 965 used to be the best of friends. We would run together, work together, play together - yes, even sleep together. But those good old days are long gone. Now I only use the Garmin to track my occasional outdoor runs. I’ve found someone new - her name is ventilation.

Your Heart Rate Monitor is LYING to You (Pt III)

In the last two training logs (here and here), we analyzed the impact of heat on heart rate during intervals and between warmups and cooldowns. Today we will demonstrate this same phenomenon in a longer easy run.

Your Heart Rate Monitor is LYING to You (Pt II)

In our last training log, we discussed how heart rate can be heavily impacted by core temperature causing it to decouple from an athlete’s metabolic state. Today’s session offers more evidence of this phenomenon.

Your Heart Rate Monitor is LYING to You

Welcome to the inaugural VTCheck training log, where I will highlight select workouts from my (and perhaps others’) training. This log is not intended to serve as a model for others to follow, as I am slower than an average middle school student. Rather, the purpose of this log is to show users how I, as the person who designed every feature of VTCheck based on an in-depth study of physiological research, use this app to optimize my own training.