So you're going to be lazy and not look at the scientific research?
Consider the possibility that some of these unusual training methods are just a distraction from the real secrets of PED use. Athletes say all kinds of things.
So what are you claiming me to research? That Webb used peds? Also Parker valby swims
I'm just saying, don't take everything at face value. A grain of salt is wise.
Also consider percentage of training volume. A runner may say they "swim" when it's really just 2 to 5% of their time and basically just a warm up like the "Kenyan shuffle" to begin a progressive workout that builds to steady and finishes at tempo. The warmup itself may offer little training benefit but prevents injury.
You can search PubMed for "swimming running crosstraining" to find studies. A good predictor of performance that won't be affected much by placebo is running pace at LT2 (usually 4mmol) or maximum lactate steady state. A time trial is useful too.
Also I've read that VT2 predicts 11-minute race pace. 2nd ventilatory threshold. LT2 = 2nd lactate threshold which used to be "lactate threshold" in older studies.
To make it easier on achilles you can shift foot forward on pedal, use higher cadence, and avoid getting out of the saddle. Outdoors, don't hard crank to accelerate fast from a stop. Indoors this is easily avoided.
I think a manual treadmill (magnetic) is a cheap, easy, effective way to cross train by power walking to reduce impact.
There’s other athletes in Blacksburg doing the workouts that you can see and find if you want to check. Just use the Strava map.
So I did some digging in the segments around the campus and didn't find much. The best I found was an active member of the women's team and going through her recent weeks I still couldn't find what I would call a cohesive "training plan." Even in the comments I saw it mentioned that Ben wouldn't tell the workout before it began and often I see things listed with a mix of cruise intervals and hills.
Also for the athlete I saw recently the only cross training were pool sessions in the mornings before one of the workouts. But I also felt a little strange peering into a random strangers strava simply to get an idea of Ben Thomas's training so I did not linger much longer.
There’s other athletes in Blacksburg doing the workouts that you can see and find if you want to check. Just use the Strava map.
So I did some digging in the segments around the campus and didn't find much. The best I found was an active member of the women's team and going through her recent weeks I still couldn't find what I would call a cohesive "training plan." Even in the comments I saw it mentioned that Ben wouldn't tell the workout before it began and often I see things listed with a mix of cruise intervals and hills.
Also for the athlete I saw recently the only cross training were pool sessions in the mornings before one of the workouts. But I also felt a little strange peering into a random strangers strava simply to get an idea of Ben Thomas's training so I did not linger much longer.
factor in that they might be in a down period, between indoor and outdoor.
So what are you claiming me to research? That Webb used peds? Also Parker valby swims
I'm just saying, don't take everything at face value. A grain of salt is wise.
Also consider percentage of training volume. A runner may say they "swim" when it's really just 2 to 5% of their time and basically just a warm up like the "Kenyan shuffle" to begin a progressive workout that builds to steady and finishes at tempo. The warmup itself may offer little training benefit but prevents injury.
If you dont go hard in the pool you sink. Do you even swim bro? Lots of olympic triathletes swim for 1 hour 4-5000m in an hour and are able to run sub 30 10k,on 50km per week
fwiw, I've looked at quite a bit of his training, and it just doesn't interest me enough to look into it more. It's very unique, and obviously works for some.
I prefer consistent, repeatable workouts, where it's easy to analyze progression over time. And if you're doing radically different stuff all the time, even when you repeat workouts, the difference from one time to the next might just be good day vs bad day type dynamics.
if you look at something like what Jakob does, there is a ton of data to analyze that will tell you if you are improving over a period of time.
Just how my brain works. No critique. Ben is obviously great.
This post was edited 5 minutes after it was posted.
fwiw, I've looked at quite a bit of his training, and it just doesn't interest me enough to look into it more. It's very unique, and obviously works for some.
I prefer consistent, repeatable workouts, where it's easy to analyze progression over time. And if you're doing radically different stuff all the time, even when you repeat workouts, the difference from one time to the next might just be good day vs bad day type dynamics.
if you look at something like what Jakob does, there is a ton of data to analyze that will tell you if you are improving over a period of time.
Just how my brain works. No critique. Ben is obviously great.
Good point. I am mainly interested in this as a curiosity. It's almost like the more I look in, the less clear it becomes. I would love to have Ben on some kind of podcast just to discuss the ideas or thinking about training in general. I really enjoyed hearing Coach Gibby talk in this way on the Letsrun podcast about his own unique training aspects. It didn't make the training anymore applicable to others but it gave me the reasoning behind the training and also the thought process when considering what kind of system to go with. The biggest problem I have looking in an Ben Thomas training is even if I get what the athletes are doing, I have never heard any explanation of the why, which I am much more curious about.
fwiw, I've looked at quite a bit of his training, and it just doesn't interest me enough to look into it more. It's very unique, and obviously works for some.
I prefer consistent, repeatable workouts, where it's easy to analyze progression over time. And if you're doing radically different stuff all the time, even when you repeat workouts, the difference from one time to the next might just be good day vs bad day type dynamics.
if you look at something like what Jakob does, there is a ton of data to analyze that will tell you if you are improving over a period of time.
Just how my brain works. No critique. Ben is obviously great.
Good point. I am mainly interested in this as a curiosity. It's almost like the more I look in, the less clear it becomes. I would love to have Ben on some kind of podcast just to discuss the ideas or thinking about training in general. I really enjoyed hearing Coach Gibby talk in this way on the Letsrun podcast about his own unique training aspects. It didn't make the training anymore applicable to others but it gave me the reasoning behind the training and also the thought process when considering what kind of system to go with. The biggest problem I have looking in an Ben Thomas training is even if I get what the athletes are doing, I have never heard any explanation of the why, which I am much more curious about.
I agree, that would be a great podcast. I guess I shouldn't say im not interested in learning about his training theory. Just not interested in putting it into place.
Though I'm sure in really learning the nuts and bolts of it, there would likely be something to take away.