Three weeks of a home-based “sleep low-train low” intervention improves functional threshold power in trained cyclists: A feasibility study

Background “Sleep Low-Train Low” is a training-nutrition strategy intended to purposefully reduce muscle glycogen availability around specific exercise sessions, potentially amplifying the training stimulus via augmented cell signalling. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of a 3-week home-based “sleep low-train low” programme and its effects on cycling performance in trained athletes. Methods Fifty-five trained athletes (Functional Threshold Power [FTP]: 258 ± 52W) completed a home-based cycling training program consisting of evening high-intensity training (6 × 5 min at 105% FTP), followed by low-intensity training (1 hr at 75% FTP) the next morning, three times weekly for three consecutive weeks. Participant’s daily carbohydrate (CHO) intake (6 g·kg-1·d-1) was matched but timed differently to manipulate CHO availability around exercise: no CHO consumption post- HIT until post-LIT sessions [Sleep Low (SL), n = 28] or CHO consumption evenly distributed throughout the day [Control (CON), n = 27]. Sessions were monitored remotely via power data uploaded to an online training platform, with performance tests conducted pre-, post-intervention. Results LIT exercise intensity reduced by 3% across week 1, 3 and 2% in week 2 (P < 0.01) with elevated RPE in SL vs. CON (P < 0.01). SL enhanced FTP by +5.5% vs. +1.2% in CON (P < 0.01). Comparable increases in 5-min peak power output (PPO) were observed between groups (P < 0.01) with +2.3% and +2.7% in SL and CON, respectively (P = 0.77). SL 1-min PPO was unchanged (+0.8%) whilst CON improved by +3.9% (P = 0.0144). Conclusion Despite reduced relative training intensity, our data demonstrate short-term “sleep low-train low” intervention improves FTP compared with typically “normal” CHO availability during exercise. Importantly, training was completed unsupervised at home (during the COVID-19 pandemic), thus demonstrating the feasibility of completing a “sleep low-train low” protocol under non-laboratory conditions.

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Using Profile of Mood States (POMS) to Monitor High-Intensity Training in Cyclists: Group versus Case Studies

The Sport Psychologist ◽

10.1123/tsp.14.2.138 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 138-156 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

David T. Martin ◽

Mark B. Andersen ◽

Ward Gates

Keyword(s):

High Intensity ◽

Group Versus ◽

Interval Training ◽

Cycling Performance ◽

Mood States ◽

Profile Of Mood States ◽

High Intensity Training ◽

High Intensity Interval ◽

The One ◽

Intensity Training

This study examined whether the Profile of Mood States questionnaire (POMS) is a useful tool for monitoring training stress in cycling athletes. Participants (n = 11) completed the POMS weekly during six weeks of high-intensity interval cycling and a one-week taper. Cycling performance improved over the first three weeks of training, plateaued during Weeks 4 and 5, decreased slightly following Week 6, and then significantly increased during the one-week taper. Neither the high-intensity interval training nor the one-week taper significantly affected total mood or specific mood states. POMS data from two cyclists who did not show improved performance capabilities during the taper (overtraining) were not distinctly unique when compared to cyclists who did improve. Also, one cyclist, who on some days had the highest total mood disturbance, responded well to the taper and produced his best personal effort during this time period. These findings raise questions about the usefulness of POMS to distinguish, at an individual level, between periods of productive and counterproductive high-intensity training.

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Effects of 4 weeks high-intensity training on running and cycling performance in well-trained triathletes

Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport ◽

10.1016/j.jsams.2016.12.043 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 20 ◽

pp. e18 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

M. Mallol Soler ◽

G. Mejuto ◽

D. Bentley ◽

L. Norton ◽

J. Torres-Unda ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Intensity ◽

Cycling Performance ◽

High Intensity Training ◽

Intensity Training

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Does Warm-up Type Matter? A Comparison between Traditional and Functional Inertial Warm-up in Young Soccer Players

Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology ◽

10.3390/jfmk5040084 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 84

Author(s):

Giovanni Fiorilli ◽

Federico Quinzi ◽

Andrea Buonsenso ◽

Giulia Di Martino ◽

Marco Centorbi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soccer Players ◽

Post Intervention ◽

Squat Jump ◽

Warm Up ◽

Functional Changes ◽

High Intensity Training ◽

Control Power ◽

Jump Test ◽

Level Of Significance ◽

Intensity Training

Functional inertial training, a popular high-intensity training mode, provides high neuromuscular activation, developing proprioception, postural control, power, and sprint time. Aim of the study was to assess the acute effects of two types of warm-up (WU), inertial warm-up (IWU) vs. traditional warm-up (TWU), on explosive and reactive strength, sprint, and Change of Directions (COD) in young soccer players. In a randomized cross-over design study, twelve soccer players (aged 13.3 ± 0.7) performed 16 min of IWU and 16 min of TWU. IWU and TWU were spaced two weeks apart. Pre and post intervention tests, aimed at assessing explosive and reactive strength, sprint, and COD ability included: Squat Jump test (SJ), Countermovement Jump test (CMJ), Drop Jump test (DJ), Seven Repetition Hopping test (7R-HOP), 40 m-sprint test (40 m), and Illinois Agility Test (IAT). RM-ANOVA, used to compare differences between IWU and TWU effects (the level of significance set at ρ ≤ 0.05), showed enhanced performance after the IWU compared to the TWU. In addition, the effects of the IWU on performance lasted longer after the IWU than after the TWU. For IAT, the enhanced effects of IWU on performance lasted up to ten minutes after the administration of the IWU. Our results suggest that IWU affects functional changes displaying earlier adaptation in explosive and reactive strength with longer lasting effects compared to TWU and it could be recommended in young soccer athletes as a WU procedure.

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Standardized Versus Customized High-Intensity Training: Effects on Cycling Performance

International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance ◽

10.1123/ijspp.2012-0389 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 292-301 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Benoit Capostagno ◽

Michael I. Lambert ◽

Robert P. Lamberts

Keyword(s):

High Intensity ◽

Heart Rate Recovery ◽

Time Trial ◽

Interval Training ◽

Training Group ◽

Cycling Performance ◽

High Intensity Interval Training ◽

High Intensity Training ◽

High Intensity Interval ◽

Intensity Training

Purpose:To determine whether a submaximal cycling test could be used to monitor and prescribe high-intensity interval training (HIT).Methods:Two groups of male cyclists completed 4 HIT sessions over a 2-wk period. The structured-training group (SG; n = 8, VO2max = 58.4 ± 4.2 mL · min−1 · kg−1) followed a predetermined training program while the flexible-training group (FG; n = 7, VO2max = 53.9 ± 5.0 mL · min−1 · kg−1) had the timing of their HIT sessions prescribed based on the data of the Lamberts and Lambert Submaximal Cycle Test (LSCT).Results:Effect-size calculations showed large differences in the improvements in 40-km time-trial performance after the HIT training between SG (8 ± 45 s) and FG (48 ± 42 s). Heart-rate recovery, monitored during the study, tended to increase in FG and remain unchanged in SG.Conclusions:The results of the current study suggest that the LSCT may be a useful tool for coaches to monitor and prescribe HIT.

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Physiological and Psychological Adaptations of Trained Cyclists to Spring Cycling Camps

Journal of Human Kinetics ◽

10.1515/hukin-2017-0188 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 64 (1) ◽

pp. 137-146

Author(s):

Jean-François Dionne ◽

Claude Lajoie ◽

Philippe Gendron ◽

Eduardo Freiberger ◽

François Trudeau

Keyword(s):

Power Output ◽

Lactate Threshold ◽

Peak Power ◽

Mechanical Efficiency ◽

Peak Power Output ◽

Threshold Power ◽

Training Camp ◽

Physiological Adaptations ◽

Gross Mechanical Efficiency ◽

Cycling Training

Abstract The purpose of our study was to assess physiological adaptations and measure mood outcomes following a cycling training camp in competitive athletes. Fourteen competitive athletes (8 males, 6 females) performed 2 incremental tests to exhaustion before and after a training camp. Volume and intensity (load) of the training regimen were recorded. Submaximal and maximal metabolic data were analysed, as well as economy variables (gross mechanical efficiency and cycling economy). Skeletal muscle adaptations were assessed using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). For both genders (n = 14), peak power output, peak power output-W/kg ratio and peak power output-B[La] were significantly increased (p < 0.05) after the cycling training camp (p < 0.05). Significant increases occurred for gross mechanical efficiency measured at the lactate threshold (+4.9%) and at the same precamp lactate threshold power output (+2.9%). At the lactate threshold and Post Camp Lactate Threshold Power, cycling economy increased by 5.2 and 2.9%, respectively (p < 0.05). These power measurements were significantly correlated with individual fluctuations in deoxyhaemoglobin in the vastus lateralis for male cyclists only. Profile of Mood State questionnaire results showed that subcategories “Tension-Anxiety”, “Confusion”, “Fatigue” and “Total Global Score” significantly decreased after the training camp. Cycling training camps were associated with positive adaptations (increased cycling economy, gross mechanical efficiency and power output) as well as some mental benefits. This indicates that despite some significant physiological adaptations participants probably did not overreach during their CTC.

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