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Our Perspective on Human Performance

VMLM 2019

VMLM 2019

A last ditch attempt...   It’s been epic…and the 2019 London Marathon hasn’t even started. Winter and spring have been rammed with client programmes and events, including CPS In-Motion’s Mike Urbans tremendous 3hr pb at the Seville marathon on a very condensed programme, after suffering illness and a serious accidental acute injury the previous year. [...]
Nutrition on a plate

Nutrition on a plate

As part of the Winter series from the recent Training Peaks Endurance Coaching Summit I want to highlight some of the content Dr. Asker Jeukendrup presented in Manchester….it was also great to hear such candid words from the legendary Dr. Seiler (which I have previously posted) and the prioritised training needs of athletes. Asker, with […]

Endurance Training Science 101

Endurance Training Science 101

Following on from the Training Peaks University I attended, I wrote up a synopsis of the Endurance Coaching Summit where real-world practitioners, i.e ‘coaches’ working with sub-elite receational athletes, get to learn some of the evidence of research and schools of thought from professionals and experts in both commercial and academics setting working with elite […]

Pushing it hard, Achilles injury

Pushing it hard, Achilles injury

Out of the blue?   So my VLM is over before it started......bugger! As anyone who has suffered an acute injury knows, the body can be a delicate system...and as a physiologist and athlete, I tested those boundaries through self-experimentation...ultimately with negative consequences.  As a practitioner who 'does' know better about recovery and low volume adaptation I [...]
Virgin London Marathon Meet The Experts

Virgin London Marathon Meet The Experts

Last Saturday was the official VLM meet the experts event at the fabulous Westminster City Hall, just a stone’s throw from the finish line in Pall Mall. The event covered a wide spectrum of running aspects for any one attempting to finish in one piece. 15 minute sessions on nutrition, injuries, training and pacing among [...]
LVRC Toachim Vets Series

LVRC Toachim Vets Series

Simon Collins has been supported by CPS In-Motion for 3 full seasons now, each year having quite a different competitive focus and event schedule, rather than the same races, ranging from TT, to road-racing and occasional sportive. Even though each year, alone, has presented it’s own set of challenges for preparation, carefully navigating around injury, illness, work […]

FORM and function: Ronan Descy

FORM and function: Ronan Descy

Understanding fit methodology   CPS In-Motion has spent some time talking to Ronan Descy of FORM in south-west London. Ronan has developed an extensive reputation and experience in bike fitting over the last decade. Here are some of the points he made during our recent chat……   Thoughts on the commercial bike-fit market…. “The different […]

SAD ? Nutrition can motivate you!

SAD ? Nutrition can motivate you!

Now that the festivities have finished for another year, hopefully the sight of a mince pie will make you wince in disgust! As all those new years resolutions are being considered with ‘good’ intentions, I thought this would be a prime opportunity to fuel your motivation for taking control of your nutrition once again. You […]

Biomechanics and injury prevention

Biomechanics and injury prevention

Optimal biomechanical functioning is a key component of physical fitness for all sports, particularly in running and cycling where strength and power are important elements of sustainable endurance. Discrepancies in balance and asymmetries in movement can lead to poor performance and result in muscle strain or joint issues. Similarly, injury prevention allows a cyclist or […]

Over Training Syndrome (OTS)

Over Training Syndrome (OTS)

The end of the competitive cycling season (north of the equator) is nearly upon us, with the exception of a few nasty hill climbs and some World Champs excitement, hopefully. At this time of year you are probably assessing how well your events have worked out or not, whether you’ve noticeably improved in performance (hopefully […]

Smash the Ball Buster!

Smash the Ball Buster!

Intro and workshop Being located in SW London/ Surrey, I have often been asked about the Ball-Buster, a seriously challenging duathlon which can test the mettle of even the most robust athletes. This is an event I frequently recommend to clients to demonstrate their end of summer fitness, on terrain many people commonly train, using ‘The Box’ or […]

Performance coaching

Performance coaching

Philosophy In-Motion:   Becoming a good coach isn’t as simple as attending a few courses or reading a few chapters in a book…as I have learnt over the last few years! I hope to share what are considered the general principles of coaching with my unique perspective from experience with numerous and very different athletes. I […]

Elite Sports Performance – Expo 2016

Elite Sports Performance – Expo 2016

The performance sport industry has seen massive expansion over the last few years, most definitely derived from the wealth of evidence-based research and data from advanced applications, technology and physical and cognitive training interventions. Exercise physiology has been successfully applied in many different sports, from dance, to gymnastics and rugby…not just cycling. The Elite Sports […]

Perfect Pacing

Perfect Pacing

My previous post on Terrain’ing briefly explores the use of available terrain for effective physiological performance training, ideal for mountainous events on the continent. Exposure to intensities for durations long enough to stress that part of the physiological spectrum is key for improving and becoming ‘better’ and faster over the course. Essentially, frequency and sequence […]

Terrain’ing

Terrain’ing

The 2016 road-racing and event season is well under way, and some great spectacles have already passed with extremely exciting and closely contested monument pro-races Strade Bianchi, Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Nice, Milan-San Remo, Tirrenho-Adriatico and Tour of the Basque, while Amstel Gold and Leige-Bastogne-Liege imminently under way. Winter preparation of strength and endurance should now be starting […]

Master Class: The Science of Ageing

Master Class: The Science of Ageing

Chronological vs Physiological time None of us are getting younger??…….This could be more commonly regarded as a false statement now. Even as chronological time ticks by, huge advances in the practice of exercise physiology and application of strength and endurance interventions are now ‘demonstrably’ able to reverse diseased or declining physiological states; obesity, type II diabetes, […]

The Science of Protein

The Science of Protein

Why take protein? Protein is required for anabolic activity; repair and replacement of damaged proteins (caused by oxidative stress of high energy turnover and mechanical disruption) after intense resistance or endurance based exercise. Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS) and muscle protein degradation are opposing processes present during and after exercise that acutely fatigues muscles to the […]

The Secrets of Peak Performance V: Recovery & Adaptation

The Secrets of Peak Performance V: Recovery & Adaptation

Recovery and Adaptation In the previous post I discussed the interaction effect which occurs between strength and endurance training, and how strength gains are restricted at the molecular level in the muscle due to intense aerobic exercise. Optimal strategies exist to maximise strength gains, practically with appropriately scheduled training and nutritionally with ‘windows of opportunity’ […]

Elite vs rest of the world

Elite vs rest of the world

Since my first experiences as a youthful spectator of professional cycling watching Gianni Bugno win the 1990 Wincanton Classic in Brighton, I have been fascinated by what it takes for performance cycling passionistas like us to achieve elite status and I am still learning how the process can be accelerated for all of us, with precious little time […]

Best practice

Best practice

As a member of BASES looking to gain accreditation as a Chartered Scientist in Sports and Exercise Science I am obliged to follow the code of conduct which is formed around World Medical Association guidelines for conducting scientific experimentation on human volunteers and subjects enrolled into novel investigation for the purposes of scientific progression. Even […]

Compliance and Success

Compliance and Success

Scientists can tend to over think things. Analysing results and being as objective as possible is part of the culture, as to differentiate white from black in a world of grey. Scientific processes [hopefully] use techniques to answer yes / no questions regarding uncertain hypotheses and concepts which may never be understood properly. Using a […]

Perfect Pacing

Perfect Pacing

The club 10 or an odd half-marathon now and again don’t seem to satisfy us endurance athletes anymore, as we seek bigger and bigger challenges the fitter we get. The number of sport science publications have also rocketed in the last few years, on hydration, fuelling and general long distance performance. Ultra-distance events are definitely […]

Hi’s and Lo’s of cycling

Hi’s and Lo’s of cycling

As the last of the Northern classics are finished, and the Giro is looming, now is the time that many of you who are in store for some Continental cycling, or a late Spring training camp further afield will be anticipating some long awaited back-to-back days of ascending and descending some legendary pro-tour climbs! As many of my […]

Reasons to profile your lactate kinetics

Reasons to profile your lactate kinetics

One day I believe we will have real-time lactate and glucose measurements, with feed back biometrics from biosensors and our power-meters, displayed to us through ‘Reality Glasses’ or something ridiculous like that. But until that day, the best way of understanding these biochemical processes during our simulated performance is through a good physiologist or sports scientist who appreciates […]

Supercompensation- is not just a big word.

Supercompensation- is not just a big word.

If I had to choose what I felt was the most important aspect behind any of the principles of applied exercise physiology, then without doubt I would pick Supercompensation above the rest. Supercompensation explains the mechanism behind how we, as organisms, adapt and respond to any physical stimulus, and is therefore fundamental to performance progression. […]

Investigating Super Starch (Generation UCAN)

Investigating Super Starch (Generation UCAN)

I believe in serendipity. The process of stumbling across a significant finding purely by chance, totally unaware of its potential application. Many great discoveries have been made this way (Viagra, Penicillin and even the microwave oven), as opposed to systematically being teased out, fabricated and ultimately commercialised, with many not standing the true test of […]

The shape of things to come

The shape of things to come

VO2max testing has long been regarded as the ‘Gold Standard’ and ultimate physiological measurement in many types of endurance sport. Even though this performance parameter is seen as the holy grail in sports performance, the numbers are unreliable and have very little value for helping an athlete wishing to progress in training. This might sound […]

Training Peaks Endurance Coaching Summit, Manchester 2018

Training Peaks Endurance Coaching Summit, Manchester 2018

Even though the TPU started off with a bang, the fireworks had started to fizzle out in Manchester as the Endurance Coaching Summit welcome party kicked off at the National Cycling Centre. This was a great chance to mingle with the coaches and TP staff on hand for the next 2 days plus another 100 […]

Success at the London Duathlon!

Success at the London Duathlon!

This coming weekend, the London Duathlon will be raced for another year in the Royal Richmond park. The course is surprisingly far from flat and should not be under-estimated. So your preparation better have been top notch! However, good performance doesn’t stop at training alone. Avoiding physical crises such as glycogen shortage or ‘bonking’, cramps and […]

Power your training!

Power your training!

To make your endurance training even more convenient and effective on the bike we would like to introduce our new Critical Power interval session generator for a limited trial period. This cutting-edge app provides the most physiologically effective workout unique to your current ability. Simply by entering your critical power and lactate threshold values, interval [...]
Virgin London Marathon Deferred

Virgin London Marathon Deferred

Disappointment The most sensible decision is often the hardest to make. Realising extensive training over the last few months will not be fruitful is difficult to accept. But the reality is the inflammation hadn’t subsided enough and more damage may be done which risks a long term debilitating condition. Even though I felt that I would be able to […]