A continuous lactate monitor (CLM) enables athletes to get real time information about key performance metabolites during training. This article covers practical examples of how a CLM can be used to optimise performance. We also talk about all (soon to be available) continuous lactate monitors on the market. Lactate measurements are commonly used during performance […]
If you want to learn the facts and practical tips about running cadence, then you’ll love this up-to-date article. I’ve read over 37 scientific papers and share these insights with you. Prepare yourself for some myth busting. Continue reading or jump straight to the ideal running cadence calculator. Content menu: What is running cadence Running […]
I assume you’ve opened this article because you heard about velocity based training before, and are now ready to put it into practice. Before we go from theory to application, allow me to quickly refresh your memory: Short summary: what is velocity based training? Before VBT training existed most training programs would say something like: […]
Endurance athletes of all kind of levels track their GPS data to analyze it and share it with their friends. However, when we look at team sports like football, only the elite teams use GPS data. In this article, we are going to discuss why GPS tracking is also important in amateur team sports for […]
Many of us train at home these days. Therefore, the demand for easy to use and affordable equipment increased rapidly. Resistance bands or elastic bands seem to be the perfect solution for every home workout. Is that indeed the case? Read it here! Let’s start with saying almost every kind of workout is better than […]
Becoming a better swimmer with so called “on land” exercise like weight training is not that easy. In many cases, on land performance improvements do not translate into better swimming performance. This study looked at the effect of swim specific flywheel exercises (instead of regular weight training) on strength, power and swim performance. They found […]
This video is for those of you who want to perform at an endurance event longer than say, 1,5 hour. This could be running, cycling, swimming, but also things like team sports. If you want to produce a lot of power or speed during these kind of events, you need carbohydrates. The only problem is […]
Where VO2max tells you something about your endurance, VLamax is about your sprint. But there is more! Recently, there has been a lot of talk about VLamax and tests that allow you to measure it. Although the concept is actually not that difficult, most people do not know what VLamax is or how they can […]
Some claim a dehydration of 1-2% already lowers sport performance by tens of percent. But is this a scientific fact or a marketing campaign of sport drinks? In this article I will summarize some interesting quotes of Professor Ross Tucker and Mike Finch, who recently had a chat about the simple truth about exercise and […]
What is my FatMax and at what intensity do I burn as much Carbohydrates as I can eat? Those are the questions professional triathlete Michiel de Wilde wanted to be answered. Today we dived into these questions by performing the INSCYD Power-Performance Decoder. Check the video and enjoy! Want to know your own values? Do […]
Do you want to know your FatMax because you want to lose weight or because you are an endurance athlete? Then read this article! Here’s how to get to know your personal FatMax training intensity (via this calculator). Don’t forget to continue reading, and learn why your FatMax could be interesting. FatMax calculator What is […]
Eccentric training can be more effective than traditional training, when your goal is to gain muscle mass, strength, speed and power. In a previous article we already wrote that eccentric training and eccentric overload is often misunderstood. Once you understand that it is important to lower more weight than you can lift, you immediately understand […]
The HR2VP app upgrades your heart rate monitor to a power meter by using an algorithm. You can now use Zwift without having a power meter, or use it when exercising (running) with only your heart rate monitor. But does it work properly and does it add value? Read it in this review! Why convert […]
In a previous article we’ve discussed how heart rate variability (HRV) can measure your recovery. We mainly looked at the effect of a workout on HRV. In general we concluded that a hard workout lowers your HRV and recovery increases HRV. But training stress is not the only thing that has an impact on your […]
Why visit an expensive lab, when you can get the same results – and more – with your own smart trainer or power meter? With that question in mind, INSCYD recently launched their virtual lab: Power-Performance Decoder (PPD). Multiple professional teams like Jumbo Visma, CCC Team (Greg van Avermaet), Alpecin-Fenix (Mathieu van der Poel) already […]
Manipulate the intensity, volume and frequency to your personal needs and you can easily create your own training plan. In this article you will read how to do this and what the biggest mistakes are people make. The most straightforward training plan tells you something about the intensity, volume and frequency of your workouts. Let’s […]
Once you are strong, you will stay strong. Even if you stop exercising, you’ll only lose 1% strength per month, regardless of age. In this article we are looking at what the minimal effort is to maintain strength in times you don’t exercise (a lot). We also look at whether it matters if you are […]
A placebo effect can have large effects on sports performance and can even activate similar processes in the body as the active ingredient. A placebo can be a pill or treatment without an active ingredient. It is therefore used in research in a control group. The effect of a placebo depends on how you use […]
Do sports massages improve strength-, sprint- or endurance performance? And what is the effect on flexibility, fatigue and recovery? Every professional athlete uses sports massages, but is there any evidence to back this up? Let’s find out! Let’s be honest. We all love a massage. If you can get one, any excuse is good. But […]
The results of Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) training during exercise are overwhelming, but how does it work? And is it safe? Read all about it in this new article! If you haven’t heard about it BFR yet, I’m sure this will change in the near future. Every week new studies are published talking about the […]
A triathlon is harder than the sum of swimming, cycling and running. But how much does a 2-km swim effect your cycling performance? Can you still use your cycling power meter values and functional threshold power? Or should you throw them overboard? Let’s find out what science tells us! You might think your threshold intensity […]
Breathing fast or hyperventilation is a strategy to improve recovery after exercise. But does this also improve performance? Let’s find out! When exercising at a high intensity, muscles acidify and pH decreases. You probably heard of athletes calling this a buildup of lactic acid. If you want to keep performing at a high intensity, whether […]
Seeing your personal fitness progress is very rewarding and motivating. In this article I will explain to you a simple objective way to easily track your progress during your warming-up. You don’t need to do an all-out effort and you definitely don’t need to wait until your yearly V02max test in the lab. Let’s get […]
Nothing is as frustrating as a bad day at the day of your sport event. You carried out your training plan in detail and you gave up every bad habit for this moment. But then during your run-, bike- or rowing race all of a sudden you experience stomach ache. There is no way you […]
The acute effect of a high intensity interval, strength set or total workout is a decline in fitness. We become fatigued. Key to making progress is therefore at least partly in recovery. Although recovery sounds very passive, it requires an active approach. Let’s have a look at what the best recovery strategy is: relaxing on […]
When it comes to sports, we would all love to be strong and fast and still be a good endurance athlete. At the same time, even the best athletes are often happy when they excel in one of both. You never see a weightlifter running a fast marathon. You don’t even see a top cyclist […]
If you want to use training intensity to build your workout, training zones are the way to go. We used to think that my training zone 2 is as intense to me as your training zone 2 is to you. But what if this is not the case? Are training effects different too? You can […]
Get rid of your dumbbells and kettlebells, flywheel training is the next thing! Flywheel training (or inertia training) uses flywheel technology instead of weights. It is used by NASA in weightlessness space, where gravity – and therefore weight – does not work like us humans on earth would expect. That is when the yo-yo effect […]
Roughly said, there are only two things we can add to our body. Air and nutrition. So if you wish to change anything about your body, say your body composition, strength or endurance, you would expect we think of adapting those two things first. Air and nutrition. Now I’m not saying (fresh) air is not important, but there are less choices to make. You consume the air that is nearby. With nutrition that is totally different […]
Velocity based training (VBT) is a game changer in strength training. It can have all kind of benefits relative to old-fashioned set and rep counting. Ideally, we would talk about the bigger picture of velocity-based training in this article. But today we will immediately dive into a practical example which you can understand without any […]
You might not want to hear it, but alcohol has a negative effect on your training progress. No big news. But to what extend does alcohol effect your training progress? Good news: the take home message will not be “never drink again”. After reading this article, you will know exactly what the effect of alcohol […]
No matter how much you would like to see yourself as a fit athlete, you are also and foremost a human being. For most of us, that means exercising is not the only thing we do. Every now and then a busy work project, a rich social life or just feeling a little bit down […]
Review Measuring power is nothing new in the world of cycling and running, but in swimming it’s still relatively new. Only recently I read more about Smartpaddle: a new piece of technology that (finally) makes it possible to measure power in swimming. Awesome! But wait.. Does swim power matter? Does it actually make sense to […]
If you want to grow muscles and get stronger, you need to understand the basics. About 80% of a muscle is composed of protein (water excluded). If you want to increase muscles growth and get stronger you need to somehow create extra muscle protein. Exercise alone will not do the trick. Build muscle mass with […]
After every training session, your fitness declines. It sounds cruel but it’s true. Key is to recover from this workout and get fitter. But how much recovery is enough and how much recovery is too much? Heart Rate Variability can measure whether you are training too much, or not enough! Imagine you just did a […]
Even the best coaches and athletes often make a mistake when doing eccentric training. Eccentric training is not the same as “focusing on the eccentric phase” or “increasing the time of the eccentric phase by slow movements”. Let’s start with the basics. Concentric vs Isometric vs Eccentric Concentric muscle movement Maybe you’ve heard about the […]
Who doesn’t like a nice beat during his or her workout?! Music can get you fired up, ready to give that extra push during exercise. Music can also help you cool down by getting relaxed and recovered again. Unfortunately too loud music during your workout can also cause irreparable hearing loss. According to the World […]
In fitness we often hear about technology, data and artificial intelligence as a possible disrupter in the market. Although these terms sound interesting, it is not always easy to imagine how they look like in practice. Recently Les Mills Media CEO Jean-Michel Fournier talked about the fit-tech of the future. A fitness survey shows that […]