Science. Underpins. Excellence
Gold Standard Testing
Every plan includes non invasive threshold testing appropriate to ability, sports discipline (swim bike or run) and race distance. We don't just go with the accepted basic tests, we use sophisticated but simple-to-execute protocols that take into consideration fatigue curves (real application in competition), training modality and athlete ability. For example for top end bikers we offer Critical Power, for Swimmers we offer Threshold Pace and Critical Swim Speed. We might swap out a 600m Threshold Pace test for a 30min endurance test more suitable for 70.3 and IM for example. For speed work we'll offer VO2 max tests. All tests come with full instructions, how to integrate into training and applicability into training zones. Unusually, we don't use pure swim bike and run globally accepted effort levels, but those slightly lower and appropriate for multisport. What's more all workouts synchronize to all smart devices for easy execution, monitoring and analysis
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TrainingPeaks®, our delivery platform offers something we call 'progression challenge'. It assigns a training stress score (TSS) to every workout so it can mathmatically calculate your CTL and ATL which go into your daily and weekly personal training load scores. It's a scientific way to ramp training load smartly, predict race performance and avoid training overload. Because our workouts are precisely engineered and based on your fitness levels you can be sure that as you grow in fitness and efficiency so your workouts will keep pace, ensuring the right level of training stress to prompt adaptation. Our longer distance plans for run and multisport also move gradually from higher percentages of easy effort to race effort to ensure specificity as you approach race day. All this happens in the background seamlessly, it feels effortless' and you're never 'unproductive'. Together, all of the above offer vast opportunities to analyse your data and offer infinite insight, or just trust the process and view your progress. Your choice!
Progression Challenge
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You select your plans ability level based on inherent and experiencial understanding of your ability and current / desired performance in your sport compared with your peers.
We provide a description of what that means generally in terms of swim, bike or run leg splits / pace over the distance of race in which you compete. This makes it very easy to pick the ability level that's just right for your current ability or aspirations for each of swim bike and run.
You can be assured that the suggested times and pacing for each ability level are aligned with the likely level of performance expected at your key events and target A races
Global Athlete Benchmarks
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For longer distance multisport events, but predominantly run plans we include benchmark run splits and overall times, and provide an age grading link (thank you Runners World) to see how your performance fits into the suggested guide times. So before you discount a plan, put your time into the calculator and you might be pleasantly suprised.
For 'hilly' versions of our marathon and Ultra plans, we also include links to work out what impact the gradient has on your times. the one AG world champs marathon plan we offer doesn't give age graded times as there are strict qualification times for inclusion