Where the HELLLL did the year go?!? Suffice to say the last couple months have been an exercise in patience / tolerance / sleep deprivation. So many things going on these days, I'm not even sure where to begin!
I'll be doing the Oliver Half-Iron triathlon this weekend in prep for the "big-one" (Ironman Canada) in August. Training has been rather sporadic lately due to ongoing projects at the office and trying to stay on top of the chaos with GymSkinZ! Big thanx to everyone from around the world who has visited GymSkinZ and left me comments, as well as picked up some gear. Nothing makes me happier to hear from someone who found me because they saw one of my shirts at a race in some foreign country! To date, there have been some notable GymSkinz sitings in Italy, Australia, the UK, Japan, France, all over the US and even a few right here in Canada ;) A couple pro-triathletes are even sporting some GymSkinZ designs so that's very exciting - you may even see my stuff in the next edition of Triathlete magazine! If you're really bored, come and hang out at the GymSkinZ "myspace" - http://www.myspace.com/gymskinz and join my "gymskinz nation" forum where various multisports athletes from around the world are starting to congregate.
In any case, would love to hear from ya'all to see how you're doin. I've been pretty much a prisoner of my own office and the Peak Center for Human performance the last little while, and will continue to be throughout the summer in prep for Ironman, but drop me a note and look forward to catching up. Stay tuned for my Oliver Race report next week!
cheers
Tav.
www.gymskinz.com
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
V02 Max / Lactate Threshold Training
VO2 Max
Some people have asked where to get V02 Max / Lactate Threshold tests done, how much it is and whether doing one is even worth it.
Well, typically you can ask your local university human kinetics department or physiology department if they offer them. Often grad students will recruit guinea pigs for projects and will test you for free as part of their curriculum. I did both of my run and bike tests at a place called the Peak Center for Human Performance who also offer coaching and personalized programs based on your goals / test results as well as the university of British Columbia Human Kinetics Lab. The cost can vary greatly I suppose, but you can expect it to be anywhere from $125 to $200 - remember you get what you pay for. As you can see in my video for the bike test, it's in a controlled lab environment and obviously requires some special equipment to do the test - think lab rat
Is it worth it? In my opinion, it's a resounding YES. It has helped me train "properly" for endurance sports and provides structure to why and when you need to train slow, and why and when you need to train fast. Most recreational triathletes train purely on RPE (or rate of perceived exertion). Basically, you train as hard as you can, or as long as you can keep up with your training buddies or run group without barfing a lung, you think everything is all good... not usually the case! I train with some of my best friends and as much as I love their company on those long rides or runs, since we're all at different levels, we all have our own specific heart rate zones we need to train at and have to do our own thing although we could probably all alter our mere "speed" to stick together as a group. As much fun as that is, what might be aerobic for one of us is anaerobic for another, or what is a comfortable pace for one, is near race pace for someone else. This is TOTALLY ineffective training if you have a specific goal in mind.
One of the numerous articles about lactate threshold training can be found here: http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/lactatethreshold.html
The most important thing you'll need when you train using these methods is of course a heart rate monitor, and access to a computrainer or power-tap for your bike (for power output in wattage). I ride with guys that can output 200 watts at around 100bpm for crying out loud whilst I'd be sucking wind so hard, a black-hole like vortex would envelop my riding space within 2 bike lenghts in all directions..... well, not really.. but you get the idea of typically every individual is at a different level. Just a few beats per minute either way can equate to a proper zone 1 aerobic workout vs. a zone 2 junk-mile workout - a very important line that you want to establish for yourself if you want your hard hours spent running / biking / swimming to bear fruit and make you quicker!
Hope this makes some sense!
drop me an email if this kinda stuff interest you in anyway, would love to share my data with ya!
cheers
Tav
Some people have asked where to get V02 Max / Lactate Threshold tests done, how much it is and whether doing one is even worth it.
Well, typically you can ask your local university human kinetics department or physiology department if they offer them. Often grad students will recruit guinea pigs for projects and will test you for free as part of their curriculum. I did both of my run and bike tests at a place called the Peak Center for Human Performance who also offer coaching and personalized programs based on your goals / test results as well as the university of British Columbia Human Kinetics Lab. The cost can vary greatly I suppose, but you can expect it to be anywhere from $125 to $200 - remember you get what you pay for. As you can see in my video for the bike test, it's in a controlled lab environment and obviously requires some special equipment to do the test - think lab rat
Is it worth it? In my opinion, it's a resounding YES. It has helped me train "properly" for endurance sports and provides structure to why and when you need to train slow, and why and when you need to train fast. Most recreational triathletes train purely on RPE (or rate of perceived exertion). Basically, you train as hard as you can, or as long as you can keep up with your training buddies or run group without barfing a lung, you think everything is all good... not usually the case! I train with some of my best friends and as much as I love their company on those long rides or runs, since we're all at different levels, we all have our own specific heart rate zones we need to train at and have to do our own thing although we could probably all alter our mere "speed" to stick together as a group. As much fun as that is, what might be aerobic for one of us is anaerobic for another, or what is a comfortable pace for one, is near race pace for someone else. This is TOTALLY ineffective training if you have a specific goal in mind.
One of the numerous articles about lactate threshold training can be found here: http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/lactatethreshold.html
The most important thing you'll need when you train using these methods is of course a heart rate monitor, and access to a computrainer or power-tap for your bike (for power output in wattage). I ride with guys that can output 200 watts at around 100bpm for crying out loud whilst I'd be sucking wind so hard, a black-hole like vortex would envelop my riding space within 2 bike lenghts in all directions..... well, not really.. but you get the idea of typically every individual is at a different level. Just a few beats per minute either way can equate to a proper zone 1 aerobic workout vs. a zone 2 junk-mile workout - a very important line that you want to establish for yourself if you want your hard hours spent running / biking / swimming to bear fruit and make you quicker!
Hope this makes some sense!
drop me an email if this kinda stuff interest you in anyway, would love to share my data with ya!
cheers
Tav
Saturday, May 20, 2006
GymSkinZ Closet Clearance
Hey Everyone!
Just received a bunch of my "Threesome Anyone?" shirts in various colors / styles as well as a bunch of others - gotta clear out some room for my next batch of stuff coming in so drop me a note if you're interested in picking one or three up ;) starting at $14.99 taxes and shipping - drop by www.gymskinz.com/news.html for what's currently available.
For a limited time, I'm also releasing a few more of my highly coveted (and controversial) "F*CK STRONG" shirt, in absolutely NO WAY was this design created to disrespect or dishonor the foundation bearing a similar name with the same number of syllables ;) email me for details!
I have some REALLY COOL tech-fiber stuff being produced right now using "Chitosante Interlock" fabric which feels like butta! Lots of things happening with my little "side project' so stay tuned! Oliver Half Iron is just a couple weeks away so I'm sure that will inspire at least a couple new shirt designs ;)
cheers!
Tav!
www.gymskinz.com
Just received a bunch of my "Threesome Anyone?" shirts in various colors / styles as well as a bunch of others - gotta clear out some room for my next batch of stuff coming in so drop me a note if you're interested in picking one or three up ;) starting at $14.99 taxes and shipping - drop by www.gymskinz.com/news.html for what's currently available.
For a limited time, I'm also releasing a few more of my highly coveted (and controversial) "F*CK STRONG" shirt, in absolutely NO WAY was this design created to disrespect or dishonor the foundation bearing a similar name with the same number of syllables ;) email me for details!
I have some REALLY COOL tech-fiber stuff being produced right now using "Chitosante Interlock" fabric which feels like butta! Lots of things happening with my little "side project' so stay tuned! Oliver Half Iron is just a couple weeks away so I'm sure that will inspire at least a couple new shirt designs ;)
cheers!
Tav!
www.gymskinz.com
Monday, May 08, 2006
If this doesn't inspire you, I don't know what will...
Part of the Ironman video series - AWESOME.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgS2y3Rkx2I&search=ironman%20addicted%20drug
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgS2y3Rkx2I&search=ironman%20addicted%20drug
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