We’ve got a great series of topics coming up on the Athlete’s Compass. What questions do you have for us?
Here are the topics:
- Periodization of Training
- Insulin Resistance/Sensitivity and what that means for our nutrition
- Race Day Anxiety
- Training Plateaus and how to overcome and work through them
- Why you might need a coach
- Why we do 30/30s instead of long VO2max intervals
Post your questions about these topics in the comments. Got a topic or question you want us to discuss? Post that in the comments as well!
Thank you!
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I would love a podcast on Race Day Anxiety! Also I would love if you guys could talk more about lc nutrition and how to structure nutrition during races (maybe also with varying intensities e.g. ultratrail running?). I loved (!) the episode with Mat Carpenter and wanted to add that I personally found that “carbing up” with 200g only makes my run the next day feel worse. (Which goes against the “recommendation” of Zach Bitter for example…). But I found when eating keto macros / staying very low card in every day life I can very well time my carb intake during training in that I can “feel” when I need it if that makes sense? I have tried to take carbs at regular intervals, more carbs (I am very low with 30g per 2h sometimes), but I either get jiitery, or ride a blood sugar rollercoster that I don’t like… ) . So long story short I would love to hear more about this topic because it is hardly covered in any endurance podcasts. Also I would love another discussion on salt/electrolytes and their potential role in “bonking” during endurance exercise, as I feel when I take too little I also run out of gas quickly.
The Race Day Anxiety episode won’t be until November, though, since Prof is going to be traveling. Do you think the fueling should be a different episode? Thanks for the suggestion!
re: Periodization of Training
I’m very curious about the direction Athletica is going in regards to the “off season” period. I joined last year in the middle of my off, or base/strength, season and didn’t find Athletica to be much assistance. I was able to get the base workouts scheduled for running but that was about it.
I like to focus on full body strength/mobility and reduce impact load (run less, bike more) during this period. To achieve this I had to make quite a few adjustments to the provided plan myself. I had to add my own strength sessions. I had to use the workout wizard to change runs to bikes (I did experiment with duathlon plans and ended up feeling that the pure running plans were better aligned with my goals). All of my tweaks and manual adjustments led me to feel very much like I was missing out on the ‘AI’ portion of Athletica. I eventually jumped into the build phase for my running period a few weeks early just to get a better look at what Athletica had to offer. And I am generally pleased with how things have gone since then.
A lot has changed in the last 8 months (access to the global library, better time constraints / availability, hyrox plans, etc.) and I do expect that when my base/strength period begins again in a few months that it will be a better experience. Since I’ve heard other folks mention a similar full body strength/mobility focus as part of their periodization, I am curious to know if Athletica is doing anything specific to better support this period.
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Hi! I’d be curious to know the differences, pros and cons, of a periodization program like ATHLETICA, where a mix of stimuli (VO2, Strength, Aerobics) is used in a week, rather than a block periodization where Aerobics Season, Strength VO2, and Race Pace are stimulated individually. Thanks! 
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Good question! I’ll add it to the list.
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I’ve been thinking about that as well, Giuseppe! I’ll add it to the list.
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