This book is the result of many months of hard work from my part and that of the more than 50 international experts who have contributed to write its 29 chapters. Endurance Training contains the most complete and up to date information on this topic, its scientific bases and practical applications. This book will help you improve your knowledge on endurance training, but more importantly, it will help you improve your performance and/or the performance of your athletes.
Enjoy the read!
Sunset in Sierra Nevada (Photo: Inigo Mujika)
I just returned from an altitude swim camp with the Spanish team at the Sierra Nevada High Performance Center. It is a perfect setting for this type of training camp: a place where athletes and coaches can focus on the task at hand and work without interference in their quest for an Olympic goal that is getting closer and closer.
These camps are often characterized by long training days including several dryland and pool sessions. Here is an example of a typical day for an elite swimmer:
Eneko Llanos, Triatlón Ican Mallorca 2011. (Foto: Iñigo Mujika)
In the second part of the article published in the magazine Trisense I describe the main characteristics of block periodization and polarized training. You can read the first part of the article here.
Read and comment Block periodization and polarized training: a new challenge for coaches (II)
Swim leg, ICan Mallorca 2011 Triathlon. (Photo: Inigo Mujika)
A few months ago I wrote an article for issue number 5 of the triathlon magazine Trisense. Here you can read the first part, which represents an introduction about the need to look for alternatives to the traditional models of training program design:
Read and comment Block periodization and polarized training: a new challenge for coaches (I)
World record holder Rafa Munoz, training in South Africa. (Photo: Inigo Mujika)
2012. Olympic Year. Like every four years the dreams of millions of athletes from all over the world will come true or vanish in less than 200 days. I have my own Olympic dreams and aspirations too: that the athletes I work with make it to the Olympic Games, and that they perform at their best once they get there.
I have started this Olympic year at a training camp with the Spanish swimmers in South Africa. It has been a very intense camp, both in terms of training and also emotionally. During one of the team-building activities in the program, I have shared with the group that for years I have had a passion for films and travelling. This is nothing new for those of you who know me personally, but it may come as a bit of a surprise for those who thought that sport is my only passion. In reality, and no matter how different these three passions of mine may seem, there are common aspects to the three of them. Like most travelers I usually get on the way to reach a destination, but I have learnt over the years to also enjoy the journey. As a spectator, I like to see the end of a film, but watching and enjoying the whole story is necessary to understand and appreciate the end of it.
Feast. (Photo: user Sillydog in Flickr)
Christmas time is here, and for those of us living in the wealthier parts of the world, these days are characterised by a lot of eating, most often way too much eating. Here is what can be read about that in Hitchcock & Hitchcock’ 1860 book Elementary Anatomy and Physiology for Colleges, Academies and Other Schools.
“334. Danger of eating too much.-2. We see that there is a great danger of eating too much. Large quantities of food distend the coats of the stomach, and give too much labor for them to perform. As a natural consequence the gastric glands are weakened from excessive action, and then indigestión or some other diseased action is sure to follow. And in how much better health would multitudes in the higher clases of society be kept, if some of the numerous dishes they use were omitted! And in this country the remark applies to nearly all classes.”
"Elementary Anatomy and Physiology", by Hitchcock & Hitchcock (Photo: Iñigo Mujika).
A few years ago my dear friend Heather from Hemet, California was working at an antique bookshop. When the shop closed down, the owner told her she could grab some books in compensation for the salary he owed her. Heather found an 1860 textbook on anatomy and physiology and sent it to me as a gift, thinking that I could be interested in comparing what was known back then with today’s knowledge. What a wonderful present you sent me, Heather!
Recently, I grabbed the book again and found some extremely interesting material that I would like to share with you. There is plenty of good material in the book, and I intend to reproduce it in several posts. Some of the contents I agree with, some I don’t, but the latter are interesting nonetheless.
Conference "Analyse des exigences physiques au football" in Poitiers (France)
Conference "Tapering and Peaking for Optimal Performance" in Ottawa (Canada)
Performing skinfold measurements on Soccer Aces TV contest
Conference: "Performance modelling and tapering" in Manchester (United Kingdom)
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