“There are no shortcuts,” announces Harald Zumpt matter-of-factly. He smiles benignly. “Damn,” we all think in unison. Perhaps we should all file out of this lecture room right now. Most of us have come to this Polar workshop on “Training for Performance” because we’re looking for ways to get better quicker. Things are not looking positive.

But all is not lost. Over the next two nights, as Harald shows us graphs, talks us through all kinds of sports science, tells us his own coaching anecdotes and puts us through our paces in practical running and biking sessions, he dispenses good cheer and loads of encouragement. Rather than telling us we need to work a whole lot harder, much of his focus is on getting us to take it a bit easier – but in a most strategic way:

1. Take it easy.
“Ideally start each workout fully compensated,” he exhorts. A graph illustrates the balance between training load and recovery: ideally we should be overloading in training, then allowing the body to repair itself so that it is stronger than when we started. But when we don’t allow the full recovery to take place, we start the new training session below the level of the previous one. Instead of strength levels shooting ever higher, the arrow on Coach Zumpt’s bad-case-scenario graph drops off the right of the screen in most depressing fashion. When in doubt, it seems, make it an easy training day.

2. Every little bit helps.
You know those days when life is overwhelming and there are simply too many things to squeeze into one little day? On those occasions I often feel that the one measly hour I can make available for exercise is just pointless and that somehow I should just work twice as long and hard the next day. Harald reckons otherwise – that just getting out there and doing a little is a big thing: “Research shows frequency is the critical factor. It is not so much what you do, but how often.”

3. Rest more.
Good training programmes are designed in blocks, with four-week cycles a popular model: you build up for three weeks and then have one easier week, before going onto the next cycle. Harald prefers the smaller blocks, which means more frequent rest weeks: “I found athletes achieve goals more easily on three-week rather than four-week cycles.”

4. Don’t red-line in training.
Harald questions the benefit of training at maximum intensity, especially if yours is an endurance sport. Yes, you’ll push yourself to the max during your race, but this might well do more harm than good in training. The objective in training, he says, is to minimise fatigue and maximise benefits, and work in the aerobic endurance zone of 50-70% of maximum intensity lays the foundation for all the other training, so we need to spend the bulk of our training time at this ‘easy’ intensity. If your training is based on heart rates, you’ll be familiar with the zones: plan to spend 75% of training time at aerobic endurance, 15% at aerobic stamina (70-80%), and 10% at lactate tolerance (80-90%). No need to go above that.

5. Don’t judge your maxes.
So your best mate and all the best athletes you know of have lower maximum heart rates than you do? No big deal. Harald points out that fitness levels will not bring the maximum down - as our muscles get stronger, so do our hearts, so this is not an accurate indication of our fitness levels or abilities. Rather than comparing our maxes – or even our resting heart rates – to those of others, he suggests we put our own checks in place to measure our personal progress. For example, he says, run the same six-kay route at a specific heart rate every few weeks or months, and we should see a decrease in the time this takes.

We all leave the workshop with less trepidation than we arrived. Harald has by no means insinuated that training is easy or that reaching our sporting goals does not require massive amounts of work and commitment, but he has reminded us that it should be fun. We walk out believing that with some simple strategies in place, we can lead real lives and still achieve really great sporting results.

* Harald Zumpt is a representative for Polar Heart Rate Monitors in South Africa and coaches masters swimmers and triathletes.

The next Polar Performance Workshop will be in Johannesburg on the evenings of 16 & 17 May. Please note that there is no cost involved and places will be limited. Please reserve your place by email hzumpt@mweb.co.za providing your name, age, gender, maximum heart rate (if known), resting heart rate (if known) and contact details. Places can only be confirmed once all details have been received. Please indicate in which city you will be attending, as we run workshops in most major centres.

<<back to index of articles