194: Q&A with Adam Saint Pierre

Q&A on Nordic Skiing, Recovery, and Mixing Training Modalities, with Adam St. Pierre Adam St. Pierre, the head coach of the Nordic ski team at Montana St. University, and a former physiologist and jack-of-all-trades at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, joins Fast Talk to discuss nordic skiing and how it fits into endurance training, oxygen debt versus deficit, muscle recovery, and mixing running and cycling training modalities effectively. Nordic ski training This first question comes from Ashley Masen in California: “Since cross country skiing is full-body and pushes higher stroke volume than cycling can, could there be a really beneficial way to do VO2max training in the early season, then focus on extending threshold and adding specificity on the bike as you get closer to your race?” Oxygen debt versus deficit This question comes from Rodney Simpson in North Carolina. He writes: “What is your explanation of oxygen debt and oxygen deficit? Is the latency heart rate at the beginning of applying power for a zone 3 interval due to O2 debt or O2 deficit? Also, the duration to return to pre zone 3 interval heart rate due to fitness or fatigue?” Muscle recovery This question comes from Kjeld Bontenbal in the Netherlands. He writes: “Where resting HR and HRV seem to be proper guidelines for cardiovascular recovery, how about muscle recovery? As a speed skater I often find my rest HR and HRV ‘at rest’, while my legs still feel sore. The soreness translates itself into lower power output in both the aerobic and anaerobic area. It makes me wonder: What is a good measure to determine the recovery state of the muscles? When the legs feel sore, should I give them more rest for optimal super-compensation?” References Chazaud, B. (2016). Inflammation during skeletal muscle regeneration and tissue remodeling: application to exercise‐induced muscle damage management. Immunology and Cell Biology, 94(2), 140–145. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1038/icb.2015.97 Demarle, A. P., Slawinski, J. J., Laffite, L. P., Bocquet, V. G., Koralsztein, J. P., & Billat, V. L. (2001). Decrease of O2 deficit is a potential factor in increased time to exhaustion after specific endurance training. Journal of Applied Physiology, 90(3), 947–953. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1152/jappl.2001.90.3.947 Howatson, G., & Someren, K. A. van. (2008). The Prevention and Treatment of Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage. Sports Medicine, 38(6), 483–503. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200838060-00004 Minett, G. M., & Duffield, R. (2014). Is recovery driven by central or peripheral factors? A role for the brain in recovery following intermittent-sprint exercise. Frontiers in Physiology, 5, 24. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2014.00024 Mizumura, K., & Taguchi, T. (2016). Delayed onset muscle soreness: Involvement of neurotrophic factors. The Journal of Physiological Sciences, 66(1), 43–52. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/s12576-015-0397-0 Peake, J. M., Neubauer, O., Gatta, P. A. D., & Nosaka, K. (2017). Muscle damage and inflammation during recovery from exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 122(3), 559–570. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00971.2016 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices