Pacific Paddler magazine - June 2011 - (Page 31)

Exercise frequency, intensity, type, and time are all important factors in your training protocol. However, the most important variable is exercise intensity. How do you measure exercise intensity? How can you make sure you are working out intensely enough? Should you work out at the same intensity every day? Before we get too intense, let’s review a few important concepts. There are many ways to determine exercise intensity, but the easiest to monitor while training out on the water is your heart rate. You can either measure your heart rate by using a polar heart rate monitor, GPS system, or by taking your pulse immediately following a bout of exercise at the beginning of a rest break. Count the number of beats you feel in 15 seconds and multiply by 4. Now how high should your heart rate be in order to improve your fitness level? One of the most proven ways is to determine your lactate threshold (LT) and the heart rate that corresponds to this value. The LT is the point during all-out, exhaustive exercise where lactate accumulates in your blood faster than your body can remove it. Having a high LT means you will be able to continue at a high-intensity for a longer period of time before exhaustion. LT training is accomplished by increasing your exercise intensity so you train at or just Got lactate? Zone Name 1 reCovery 2 eAsy endurAnCe Heart Rate RPE <125 6-9 135-145 10-12 3 medium endurAnCe 145-155 13-15 4 Threshold 158-167 16-18 5 PoWer >167 19-20 Description: Very light effort=<50% of maximal exertion. Goal is to move blood without any big effort. Light effort=60-65% of maximal exertion. You can stay in this zone for extended periods without fatigue and can maintain conversation. Strong, hard effort=70-80% of maximal exertion. You can sustain this effort for extended periods without becoming breathless. You could run a half marathon in this zone. Very hard effort=Your maximal steady state. You can hold this effort for several minutes (up to an hour for elite athletes), it's not comfortable. Extremely hard effort=maximal effort that you can maintain only for a few seconds up to a minute. above your LT heart rate a few times a week. LT is easy to measure in the clinic by measuring blood lactate during an exhaustive, graded exercise test. These tests are typically performed on a treadmill, but can be adapted for outrigger canoe paddlers by using a simulated paddling ergometer. The table is an example of lactate threshold data collected for an endurance athlete in the Jaco Rehab clinic. An example of a weekly training schedule based off of the data is: 3 days between Zones 2 and 3. These are longer/endurance work-outs. 2 days a week at Zone 4. These are interval training or longer sprint workouts. 1 day a week at Zone 5. This is an allout sprint. And of course, recovery is just as important as high intensity training, so make sure at least one day of the week is dedicated to Zone 1 to avoid burnout. It is important to train in these high intensity zones to increase your body’s use and removal of lactate at higher levels of physical activity. This will pay off on race day when your body has been trained to push through those last seconds and cross the finish line one-step ahead of your competitors. Good luck, and hope to see you in the water. Looking to find out your own personalized lactate threshold/heart rate values? Lactate Threshold Testing is coming soon to Jaco Rehab, (808) 381-8947. By Catherine Cullison, DPT at Jaco Rehab pacificpaddler.com June 2011 31 http://www.jacorehab.com http://http:// http://www.pacificpaddler.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Paddler magazine - June 2011

Contents
Kauai World Challenge
Molo Solo
Molokai Relay
Q&A with Kai Bartlett
Kala'iomalulani
OluKai Ho’olaule’a
Battle of the Paddle
SCORA's safety net
Primo Boys wild adventure
Suncare and UV Protection
Got lactate?
Maui to Molokai
Eono Hoe
Calendar
Tavaru Sailing Canoe voyage

Pacific Paddler magazine - June 2011