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01Chapter 1 · The engine and the erg

Easy is a skill.

  1. Slide 1: Easy is a skill.. Every row should hurt.

    Slide 1 of 6

    • Easy is a skill.
    • Every row should hurt.
  2. Slide 2: Rule 01. Most of your week should be easy.. Easy enough to talk in full sentences.

    Slide 2 of 6

    • Rule 01
    • Most of your week should be easy.
    • Easy enough to talk in full sentences.
    • Easy is a skill. Train it.

    SourceStöggl & Sperlich 2014, Front Physiol

  3. Slide 3: Full sentences: easy. A few words at a time: you've left easy. It tracks your first breathing threshold.. Myth: You need a watch to know easy.. Rule: Say a full sentence.

    Slide 3 of 6

    • Full sentences: easy. A few words at a time: you've left easy. It tracks your first breathing threshold.
    • Myth: You need a watch to know easy.
    • Rule: Say a full sentence.

    SourcePersinger, Foster et al. 2004, Med Sci Sports Exerc

  4. Slide 4: A chart from the internet isn't your chart. The talk test moves with you.. Myth: Any heart-rate chart fits you.. Rule: Zones differ person to person.

    Slide 4 of 6

    • A chart from the internet isn't your chart. The talk test moves with you.
    • Myth: Any heart-rate chart fits you.
    • Rule: Zones differ person to person.

    SourceOur coaching line

  5. Slide 5: The grey middle. Every day feels medium.. Harder than easy, easier than hard.

    Slide 5 of 6

    • The grey middle
    • Every day feels medium.
    • Harder than easy, easier than hard.
    • Live there and nothing is really easy or hard.
    • Keep easy easy, so hard can be hard.

    SourceStöggl & Sperlich 2014, Front Physiol

  6. Slide 6: The feel. What easy feels like on the erg. Breathing you could talk over.

    Slide 6 of 6

    • The feel
    • What easy feels like on the erg
    • Breathing you could talk over.
    • A split you could hold all session.
    • You finish feeling you could go again.

    SourcePersinger, Foster et al. 2004 (breathing); our coaching line

In short

Easy is a skill. Most of your erg week should be easy enough to talk in full sentences.

The check: say a full sentence out loud.

A few words at a time means you've left easy.

Heart-rate zones differ from person to person, so a chart off the internet may not fit you.

How to run and pace each test, and how to read the result.

See the four engine tests

Or start in Telegram.

Sources

  • Paper

    Persinger, Foster et al. 2004, Med Sci Sports Exerc (talk test tracks first ventilatory threshold)

  • Ours

    Our coaching line, not a paper: 'Zones differ person to person' (slide 4); the talk test moving with you is Persinger, Foster et al. 2004

  • Paper

    Stöggl T, Sperlich B (2014) Front Physiol 5:33, doi 10.3389/fphys.2014.00033, PMID 24550842 (9 weeks, 48 well-trained endurance athletes: the polarised group trained 68% of the time at low intensity, 6% at threshold, 26% high, and improved most; the intro cites elite athletes doing ~75% of training below the lactate threshold. Polarised: keep easy easy, hard hard; slides 1, 2, 5: most of the week easy, the grey middle)

    doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2014.00033

Nothing here is medical advice. The tests are maximal efforts: if you have a health condition or any doubt about training this hard, check with a doctor first, and stop if you feel unwell.