 |
[RC] Interval Training Question - DreamWeaver1. Can you do IT "wrong" to the point of receiving little to no benefit? I'm more on the conservative side so am more likely to under-work my horse than overwork. You can if you do too much too soon, or don't recognize signs of too much stress and back off in time. 2. Any standard guidelines for frequency of IT work (seems weekly or bi-weekly is common)? Do you mean this winter in particular, or....? <BG> (are you actually getting to ride in all that snow?????) I'm actually looking forward to having mud when the snow melts and things thaw out! 3. Is there a minimum time you want to have the HR peaked? From what I understand, IT is higher HR training for intervals, with an occassional push to a max HR for that individual. Can someone expand on this a little better? I always had a hard time with that. By the time the HRM would read the spiked rate, they were dropping already. 4. Any recommended reading on IT? Seems Tom Ivers was a BIG poster back "when" about IT training.... I don't know much about him but have heard some conflicting opinions. I have his book The Fit Racehorse if you would like to borrow it. The best training aids I've used, besides a regular HRM are the Suunto watch, which is also a HRM but with some additional features. (you can borrow it too, it'll work with your existing HRM stuff) The best feature that I found helped me out a lot, is that you could set a target range for your HR, and it would time you for the period of time you spend in that range. So you'd know how long you achieved the results you wanted on each workout. That helped me a lot because I realized when and where I needed to concentrate more on being consistent about keeping that rate up in my target range. When you start out, don't shoot for the stars, just begin with trying to keep the HR at say 120 for 5 or 8 minutes. Then if that is easy try for 10. I worked my horses up to 40+ minutes at a time over the course of many months, and we covered a lot of ground because to get their HR up to 120 they have to be moving out pretty fast (Weaver can trot in the 90's range on flat, and Rocky can canter pretty fast at 110 or less). Or shoot for higher rates, lower rates (depends on the horse), etc. to see what you can do and what you have to do to get them. Remember Julie Suhr's advice, that you should always walk at least 10 minutes of every hour! :-) The next best training aid, was a GPS. Because that allowed me to gradually increase my workouts in a more precise manner. Also gave me a better sense of accurate mileage in various terrain, and actual speed that my horses travel. Always remember to increase one thing at a time, but not both -- so if you increase your mileage don't also increase your speed, or if you do -- be gradual about it. Remember that there is no big hurry, you want to build your horse so he'll last a long time. Taking the time it takes to do it right will get you there a lot faster than if you push forward too quickly. Also, remember to pay more attention to your horse than your gadgets. They (gadgets) aren't always right. But then, your horse isn't always honest with how things are really going either so sometimes the gadgets may tell you something that the horse isn't. I have found tho, that my horse is a lot more accurate than my gadgets have been. P.S. Back in Nov 96 I ran across posts from Karen Chaton asking questions about if multi-days were good for horses or not. =) Also a post she received her first 250 mileage patch! That's so cool! I just got mine at the end of this season. =) How far you all have come huh? lol, yeah I guess now I know that multidays are great for horses! Just today Chief's 2000 mile medallion came in the mail. I'm waiting for Weaver's 6000 mile one to show up, and just got Rocky's 7000 mile one this year too. So we have come a long way :-) Chief will hopefully get his 3000 mile medal this coming year. I'm sure someday if you want it, Sinatra will get his too! Karen in NV =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|