The importance of stretching:
Stretching is essential to prevent injury and to help in recovering from key (high volume and intensity) workouts!! Our Cadence coaches recommend different stretches for each sport. It is then up to the athlete to make sure that he or she stretches well so as to reap the desired benefits. Stretching is an important component of training but it requires a certain amount of discipline, and is often a step that athletes will tend to want to skip!!

Happy training to all!! Have a great season!!
Your Cadence coaches

The importance of a strong core:
A strong core (made up principally of abdominal and dorsal muscles) is particularly important in endurance sport. It helps the athlete maintain better posture during sporting activity as well as in everyday life, reduce the risk of injury, and improve mechanical and technical efficiency… Throughout the year, Cadence team members perform different floor and Swiss ball exercises to develop and maintain good core tone.

Progressive loading:
For athletes to progress, they must be subjected to loads that are gradually increased to levels beyond which they have already adapted, by working with different training variables (training zones). The table (to the right) shows an athlete’s progress over a three-month period during which the athlete trains in four-week cycles: three weeks during which the load is increased, followed by a fourth, recovery week. Failure to incorporate recovery in the training plan will inevitably result in overtraining, a reduction in fitness and possibly injury. In endurance sports, it is therefore important to plan recovery periods throughout the season!!

A good coach knows when to push an athlete and when to recommend the rest that is necessary to enable that athlete to train harder on another day…

Our Cadence coaches advocate quality of training above everything else. Each workout is therefore designed around a specific goal and, with the detailed feedback provided the athletes, the coaches adjust individual training plans accordingly.

Supercompensation:
The process of supercompensation operates in parallel to that of progressive loading. The principle of supercompensation is simple: the athlete is subjected to high volume and/or high intensity training so as to accumulate fatigue, and a regeneration period is scheduled to follow. During this regeneration period, the athlete recovers both physically and mentally from the earlier heavy training loads, leading to improved performance.

Many athletes make the mistake of not incorporating any recovery periods within their training plans and fall prey to overextending themselves and to overtraining. As a result, their performance levels deteriorate instead of improving!!

The purpose of this page is to provide you with training tips on a variety of topics. We will be adding to these tips from time to time, so keep posted!!

Some tips regarding training periodization:
In endurance sports such as triathlon, duathlon, cycling, running and cross-country skiing, periodization is important. It will allow you to progress without injuring yourself, and to reach your peak condition on the very day on which you had planned to peak!!