[abarro81]

I finally got around to uploading a document I wrote on this stuff:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-40C59n2E_4aVRyYjY5U1Rtc2c/edit?usp=sharing should take you to a downloadable pdf. Hope some people find it interesting/useful!

[Luke Owens]

Alex, this is great thanks! Really clear explanations of the energy systems. It's helped me understand Aero Pow and An Pow better. I used to struggle with these and knowing when best to train them. I'll definitely be using this a lot as a reference!

Cheers

[andybfreeman]

Thanks for putting the time into putting this together! First read has helped clarify my understanding and has gopt me psyched to plan a structured approach leading up to my next trip to the Bluies at easter

The plan is to build a slightly constricted version of your 13 week plan with a 3/3/3/2 split between base, peak 1, peak 2 and tapering. I've never been very structured in my approach so it will be interesting to see how it pays off

[slackline]

Linked it on the wiki.

[IS2]

Good summary thanks Alex. Shall tweak my Kaly prep for April with a stronger AeroPow focus and a proper taper.  Links in nicely with Tudor Bompa's book " Periodization training for Sports " which is more general, so nice to see some of the ideas translated into climbing related activity.

[Wood FT]

why oh why didn't you publish this under a pseudonym Barros? All I can hear when reading it now is your flappin' jaw.


p.s good work, one day I'll do it!

[shark]

one day I'll do it!

As if

[Wood FT]

I know I know, too far

[Andy F]

Barrows didn't write this. How do I know? Not one knee bar in sight  Good work otherwise 

[Dexter]

Barrows didn't write this. How do I know? Not one knee bar in sight  Good work otherwise 

so new definitions are
Aerocap: Increasing the length you can climb before the next kneebar/ improved recovery on kneebars
AnCap: get more pumped before next kneebar/ require more recovery on kneebar
AeroPow: keep going when pumped to get the next kneebar
AnPow; do harder moves to get to the next kneebar
Strength: How well you boulder 

[marcpontin]

Hi there, don't post much so apologies for intruding!
Found this article really interesting but have a question for Alex.

you don't seem to define the definition of 'capacity' and 'power' and i don't understand why you need these two concepts to describe things.

Is it not simply the case that an energy system has the 'ability' (capacity/power) to fuel a certain number of repitions (y) of a muscle contracting at x% of its 1Rep max. strength.


I'm sure I'm misunderstanding your terminology!!

Thanks again

[mindfull]

Thnx Alex. Before I read this, I was on a Strength/Power, Power Endurance, Endurance scheme. But the Aero/An Cap/Power makes it easier for me to make some more detailled distinctions in how I can train these different energy systems. I used these in my athletics training, but it's good to see it translated to the more local muscle based/coordination climbling system.
Good to see we have short and long resistance. Didn't work that yet. I'm also interested how this will translate in short and long endurance. Will experiment with these things.

[abarro81]

Good question Marc. I had a good conversation with Stu tonight at the wall which both helped me clarify things in my head (I think) and which ended with us coming up with an analogy for capacity and power. I've added a new part to section 2 and changed some of the other wording to hopefully make things more clear. (You may need to hit f5 to force refresh to get to the updated version, I did. If 2.1. is not now the analogy then you're still on the old doc.)

It's probably worth noting at this point that I think the exact definitions and interactions of the capacities and powers are not always trivial, and when we get down to the nitty gritty of the science we're getting outside my comfort zone.

[marcpontin]

Thats a great analogy that you've added, makes things a lot clearer. I think I'd always been struck by how Micheal Johnson always just refers to strength and strength endurance to cover all bases. I can see now though why capacity and power are important concepts, especially when talking about more local muscle performance  as in climbing.

Cheers!

[Bencil]

Found this really useful, thanks for putting it together!

[Sasquatch]

This was great Alex!  Thanks!

[Tommy]

Hey Alex - good writing skills :-)

For anyone wanting AnCap, AeroCap explanations I hope the following might clarify a little?

Anaerobic capacity is the maximum amount of pyruvate that can be produced per unit of time - the pyruvate is interchangeable with "lactate" though as it's an almost instantaneous conversion. It's useful to increase this maximum rate as its used in the Cori cycle to produce energy and thus power those beautiful things we love called forearms.

There are a number of different definitions of AnCap out there, so try and understand what the definition is that any particular writer is using before trying to interpret their methodology - as you'll find with many bits of boring sports science!

The training that you do is aiming to improve the capacity to break down carbohydrates anaerobically - i.e. an increase in lactate production rate.

Aerobic capacity is the max amount of o2 that you can consume per unit of time. The higher that you can get your aerobic capacity, potentially the better that you can be later down the line during your competition phase. It is possible that your max AeroCap is genetically determined.

The aerobic power or anaerobic power is the % of the capacity that you can used during your exercise set - so  you may develop a very good aerobic power, but if your aerobic capacity was shit in the first place, then you're never going to be that great! Likewise with AnCap. This is why I bang on to people so much about putting adequate time in over the years to work on their AeroCap. It's madness not to in my opinion.

 

[TMR]

All the above makes excellent sense to me. However, there seem to be differing views (as always) on these topics. The above seems to me to be taken from the spanish school of endurance training. The american trainer Steve Bechtel takes an opposing view to ARC training, claiming aerobic capacity should be developed as a by-product of anaerobic training. Below is a direct quote from his book "Power Endurance"

"Arc training is probably not a good way to improve top-end performance. Too much low-intensity training forces a fundamental compromise at a cellular level. ARC training may very well increase blood flow to muscles and will undoubtedly facilitate faster recovery. But are we enhancing the recovery ability of an athlete we've made weaker?"

However (sorry if this is really boring), he then goes on to suggest roped 4by4s and other such exercises. So my thoughts are; There is potential for debate on the value of very low intensity forearm exercise, as there is an argument that the gains seen from this exercise (ARC) will be comparable to those you get as a by product from higher intensity exercise(4by4s). 

Thoughts?
Tom

[Bencil]

Hey, sorry I don't really know a whole lot about sports science but I'm a bit confused about the capacities now. From the definitions the capacities are production of pyruvate or use of O2 per unit time, but that's energy/time which is power. 

[IS2]

Hey, sorry I don't really know a whole lot about sports science but I'm a bit confused about the capacities now. From the definitions the capacities are production of pyruvate or use of O2 per unit time, but that's energy/time which is power. 

It does seem odd to define capacity in terms of rates as Alex's analogy is good in that, "capacity" is a measure / indicator of amount i.e. how much work can be done and " Power" is the rate at which work can be done.

[Tommy]

TMR:

Yup you have a point there. There's bits and pieces out there that are for and against extremely low intensity for aerobic capacity training. From my reading and understanding of the subject I've decided to drop extremely low intensity climbing (like the ARC stuff that people do) in favour on mid-low + higher intensity. If I look at most of my clients that follow this advice then I have no reason to think this is affecting them adversely when I look at their performance. On the other hand, someone like Alex does lots of it and he suffers no adverse affects, so take from that what you will!

Bencil / IS2:

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Whether you think it's weird that capacity takes in a unit of time is neither here nor there - it won't affect you next set of training goals too much :-). Just because something has a factor of time in it doesn't mean it has to be called power.

[abarro81]

Also, the analogy does have a rate aspect in the capacity terms of the input pipe. Not that that really matters.

[thekettle]

Great article. Thanks Alex 

[IS2]

Bencil / IS2:

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Whether you think it's weird that capacity takes in a unit of time is neither here nor there - it won't affect you next set of training goals too much :-). Just because something has a factor of time in it doesn't mean it has to be called power.
[/quote]

Didn't think it was weird that capacity has a unit of time in it, I was clarifying that capacity is about how much work you can do and power is about how fast work can be done, which is what Alex's analogy describes.

The real strength in the article is not so much the clarification of these basic ideas as the way in which they are linked to training strategies. 

[Tommy]

In which case, no it isn't about how much work can be done versus how fast you can do it.