January always tends to be a busy time of year when it comes to training and exercise. For some people the motivation comes from a New Year’s resolution, for others it may be the reality that the London Marathon is now only 3 months away!
To give yourself the best chance of reaching your goals and succeeding in your events, a suitable training program is of utmost importance.
The basis of any good training program is understanding where you are now, what timeframe you have to carry out your training and ultimately where you want to be at the end of the program. Having these 3 pieces of information will assist in producing a realistic and progressive training regime to guide you towards your goals.
At the Drummond Clinic we are able to utilise specialist sports medicine equipment to carry out VO2 max and lactate threshold examinations.
The information that we gain following these tests is not only valuable in determining a benchmark for your training, but also heart rate zones and intensities for use within your training regime.
Training zones and intensities will differ depending on your long-term goals, whether you are training for a specific event (10km, marathon, triathlon), to improve your general cardiovascular fitness, or for weight-loss. Outlining these zones will ensure you train efficiently and maximise your results.
There is also the opportunity to repeat the tests at a later date, allowing us to monitor the physiological changes that will have occurred as a result of training. We can then adapt your training zones accordingly, maintaining progression through your training and reducing the risk of a performance plateau.
If you would like any more information on how sports medicine testing could aid your training, please contact one of the team at the Drummond Clinic on 0871 221 9394.