Interesting piece about endurance training.
Heās been at it again? That Patch is soooooo physical. 
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Been looking at HRV remembering that either @NAM or @Pan had mentioned it and I initially completely misunderstood what they meant.
Iāve been reading around and am particularly interested in relation to readiness for intense exercise and also the effects of meditation on HRV.
Iāve downloaded EliteHRV and already have an Under Armour heart monitor and have been taking baseline morning readiness readings. Not ideal as Iām still unwell and my sleep pattern is way off its norm which both have an affect.
Will report back on how useful I think it is.
NAM. Post 225 has a link.
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Hoping that if I can shake off this bloody awful lurgy then Iāll be able to start gently getting back into running and add back in some more intense weights and use swimming as recovery. Yoga is everyday whether itās 10 mins or 40 mins.
HRV tracking will in the first instance warn me of overtraining.
I had a week off this week, totally unplanned.
Last week I did 112kg for 4 and the last rep was really hard. I think Iāll do a week of squatting everyday this next week, with lighter weight (with various upper body on different days), then go for 5 reps at 112 the week after (Iām increasing the weight after Iāve hit 5 reps).
Compared with when I was feeling burnt out last year my HRV was much, much better when I tested it earlier in the year after having rested for a few months and trained with an emphasis on recovery
ā¦but I havenāt been able to get into the habit of testing it every morning. If Iām honest itās probably in large part because I would generally ignore it since I already have to be flexible in adjusting my training around work and familyā¦
I found a paper a while back that from memory showed a small benefit of HRV guided training over proscriptive training, but my criticism was that it compared it to a rigid routine, rather than someone who (themselves or guided by a coach) adjusts their training on feel. There have been times over the last couple of months where Iām pretty sure that the outcome would have been worse if Iād blindly stuck to my plan rather than easing off or going a bit harder than planned.
My legs feel like lactic husks after chucking in a few hill repeats after 70 miles yesterday. I enjoyed it thoughā¦After this rest week, Iām going to drop the volume and go hill hunting for the next 3 weeks 
Iām trying to improve my hill climbing, any tips?
Iām probably not the person to ask haha. I usually go off too hard, blow up half way and end up slogging it to the top. @spacehopper does way more hills than me. Iād read last week that hill repeats were done at lactate threshold which is probably 80-90% maximum heart rate so on Sunday I just found a reasonably challenging hill, found a gear that got my heart rate up to 175-180bpm at ~90rpm cadence and a good steady burn in my legs and kept going till the top
Tbh Iām not the best person to ask either Ben.
I donāt have any structure to my rides in the same manner as Neil does it just happens that where I live most of my routes do include a bit of climbing so Iāve just had to get used to it 
The one thing I did decide to do a while ago is change my cassettes to a 11-32 with a 50/34 crank and a medium cage rear mech. I prefer to spin a higher gear on climbs rather than trying to kill my legs as I know I donāt have the leg strength over longer rides.
It sounds like a huge ratio but itās essentially an 11-28 with an extra get out of jail gear - Iāve not used the 32 yet but itās nice to know I have it in case I blow on a climb which Iāve done many a time. 
thanks chaps - as I suspected the bottom line is ride more hills, more often 
- I think the hill repeats is a good idea and one that I should pick up again as itās pretty quick to get done and now Iāve worked out my FTP I can ride to the top end of the threshold each time - I started watt bike classes recently and their āmountain goatā sessions work on the same principle.
Iām not overweight but half a stone off would also help. Interesting about the gearing change Allan - I tend to ride most hills now in the small ring, preferring to spin rather than force my way up, so Iāll look into that too.
When I tried a FTP test, it was before I used a heart rate monitor so I have no idea what heart rate it corresponds to!
Decent start to the day, 15 mins of yoga and quick mile in the pool.
Iāve felt weak as fuck for some reason this weekā¦tried and failed to hit the number of push up reps that I managed last weekā¦Iād manage 2 x 15 and then fail miserably on the 3rd set manage 5 or so. Then today I managed 15,15 and 16ā¦why?
An easy/recovery week from cycling this week but Iāve been a bit all over the placeā¦although Iāve ridden less Iāve not taken it as easy as I perhaps should have. Forgot my clothes for work yesterday and thrashed it home on the single speed at ~90% of my maximum heart rateā¦fun, but not sure it was the best idea- especially as I feel like Iām fighting off a cold.
Was going to spend the week catching up on stretching/flexibility butā¦I havenātā¦and feeling a bit tight.
Also, absolutely zero willpower to even slightly restrict calories. Iāve not eaten ridiculously but I have indulged at points Planning on doing more intense midweek rides for the next 3 weeks so should probably eat a couple of weetabix beforehand, which means the weight/fat loss will probably slow down.
Youāre a shambles 
It might sound like it, but Iām not beating myself up over any of it. I donāt think itās necessarily a bad thing. Reducing the volume but keeping some intensity is what people do when tapering, and Iām leading the easy ride on Sunday so sure Iāll still recover enough this week.
I was only pulling your leg as you know 
The shambles is me at the moment - knee seems fixed but now Iāve gone and fucked up the calf on my other leg 
. It was tight after my first tentative run so I waited and waited before heading out for a light run yesterday evening. Everything fine up to 2 miles and then suddenly a searing pain which stopped me in my tracks. Hobbled home for a mile and a half.
Thatās put running back for another week or two fucks sakes. Really frustrating.
On the plus side but in no way making up for it, my RHR was back to 42 bpm this morning. Great 
Day 104 - Diet update. I have now lost 19kg thatās a smidge under three stone. My RHR is down at 51/52
I am keeping fit by housework, DIY and walking.
Today I am making some more plywood boxes. I snapped up enough material to make 40 for Ā£50 - Itās a chore but we may end up renting if our house sells.
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Phenomenal.