Science
The research the BLOCKS assistant answers from: 1,118 studies and 81 guides, each graded for how strong the evidence is and who it was measured on, with a link to the original paper.
81 entries
B-Static-dynamic (slow, no-relaxation) for endurance?Untested in trained endurance athletes; no significant 3000 m gain vs controls in 4 weeks; mitochondria unmeasured. Grows muscle in the untrained; no heavy-lifting substitute.Guide · 34 sourcesB-Isometric trainingPick it for a named goal, as an add-on to heavy dynamic lifting, not a replacement: wall squats or handgrip lower resting blood pressure (the best evidence, in non-athletes), near-maximal holds…Guide · 45 sourcesB-Calories on the label vs what the body getsA label or app number is an Atwater estimate, a workable starting point for a mixed diet (practice, not measured) and wrong in a known direction for some foods (whole nuts, very fibre-rich whole-food…Guide · 17 sourcesBFoot strikeLeave a pain-free runner's landing alone: most distance runners, elite marathoners included, land on the heel; neither habitual pattern is more economical, an imposed forefoot strike costs economy…Guide · 24 sourcesB-Fuelling for tomorrowWhen the next hard session is close (a same-day double, back-to-back hard days, a stage race or a camp): fuel the first session at the top of its rehearsed row, eat fast carbohydrate with some…Guide · 22 sourcesB-The long sessionWhen it is needed and when the week can be spread instead: for events up to about two hours it is optional, for 2-5 h events a few rehearsals before the race, beyond 5 h a regular part of the…Guide · 24 sourcesB-Popular training claims the base does not supportWhat to say instead: most magazine staples are untested here or were tested and did not deliver, so every element of a session needs a reason from the base or a practice labelGuide · 57 sourcesB-Low-cadence ("torque", "strength-endurance") ridingIt does not build strength: lift for that, or with no gym ride all-out efforts against very high resistance; as an optional accent inside threshold or VO2max reps about 20% under preferred cadence it…Guide · 30 sourcesC+The teenage cyclist (about 12-18)Varied riding, organised hours a week no more than the rider's age, supervised technique-first strength, few structured intervals (optional at 12-14, a second weekly session only for the older…Guide · 44 sourcesB-Long reps or short reps at the same intensity and total timeAt threshold, splitting the work makes it easier at the same watts (no study shows a different adaptation); at VO2max, short-short beats long reps only with short active recovery; total quality time…Guide · 13 sourcesB-Dressing for cool conditions (+5 to +18 °C)Dress for the heat the session will produce: little at race effort, more for easy and slow work, a shell when it is wet, and warm layers kept on until the startGuide · 7 sourcesBEstimating VO2max from cycling powerGive a range with its error (at least ±10 mL/kg/min), never a single number, and steer training by the power itselfGuide · 3 sourcesBAlcohol and trainingOne or two drinks cost REM sleep and next-morning HRV and nothing else that has been shown; a heavy night after damaging work is the case to plan aroundGuide · 5 sourcesB-Planning the seasonNo periodisation model wins, so count back from one to three A-races, keep a short off-season that never drops intensity to zero, move from general to specific as the race nears, and between two…Guide · 52 sourcesB-The first 12 weeksBuild the habit before the session: frequency first, then duration, then one short interval session; a beginner improves on almost anything, so the plan is limited by tissues and adherence, not by…Guide · 42 sourcesC+Swim training for triathletes and fitness swimmersAnchor every pace to a tested CSS, swim often and short rather than rarely and long, put technique before the main set, and do not expect the bike or run to keep the swim fit (one n=4 model); the…Guide · 33 sourcesC+Pain and overuse injury in runners and cyclistsRed flags go to a clinician, load-related Achilles tendon pain can be trained under a pain-monitoring rule (one trial; any other site is transfer), the load that hurts is swapped rather than dropped…Guide · 47 sourcesB-A missed session or a broken weekDrop the easy one, move a key one only into a clean slot, never stack to catch up, and restart from the calendar instead of repaying the debt; the base measures no cost for a few missed days, and a…Guide · 34 sourcesB-Preparing for HYROXBuild the running engine first, add heavy strength short of failure, rehearse running off the stations, and start the first kilometre slower than feels right; HYROX evidence is race-result analyses…Guide · 36 sourcesB-Cool-down and recovery between hard sessionsA short easy spin, food and sleep, a genuinely easy day next, and a gap set by what the session damaged; the gaps in hours and days are practice, and cold water after lifting costs gainsGuide · 61 sourcesBEating around trainingSet carbohydrate by what the day holds, keep protein near 1.8 g/kg spread through the day (not lower on rest days), fuel every key session, and use "train low" only on easy sessions inside an…Guide · 39 sourcesBDrinking and sodiumDrink to thirst by default, plan drinking only in the heat when the effort is hard or over ~60 min, and never beyond your measured sweat loss, treat finishing heavier as the warning, and fit sodium…Guide · 37 sourcesB+Supplements for endurance athletesFix the diet first, use caffeine for almost any race once a training trial shows it works for you, add a buffer or nitrate only when the event's duration matches what the evidence shows, keep…Guide · 47 sourcesB-The warm-upA progressive block that ends warm but not tired, one below-threshold priming bout before short hard work, a few sub-maximal openers, never a set of all-out sprints, and a short gap to the start; the…Guide · 47 sourcesB-Preparing for a road ultra (50 km, 100 km, 24 hours)Start slower than feels right, fuel at a rehearsed rate, drink to thirst, and treat volume as the injury risk it is; the training structure is practice, not evidenceGuide · 41 sourcesB-Preparing for a marathon (and a half)Grow the easy layer and the long run, keep the hard work roughly constant, load without depleting, fuel early, drink to thirst and start at or below goal pace; loading dose, long-run length and…Guide · 54 sourcesB-Ultra-distance cycling (over ~6 h, 12/24-h time trials, multi-day and bikepacking)Ride far below fresh thresholds and let the ceiling fall with the hours, eat by the clock because appetite fails in the back half, protect sleep in multi-day races, and cut stopped time before riding…Guide · 48 sourcesBThe 40 km to 50-mile time trialRide below CP by an amount the base cannot fix, so set the target from rehearsal in the race position, hold it evenly on flat roads, lean only modestly into climbs and headwinds, and fuel and cool…Guide · 52 sourcesBTrail and mountain racesQuadriceps fatigue resistance sits beside VO2max, so train uphill and downhill as separate skills, precondition the quads for descents weeks out, and pace a mountain ultra by effort and stops, not by…Guide · 41 sourcesB-Training for 800 m to 3000 mProfile speed vs endurance type first; the aerobic base carries most of the energy even at 800 m, work above threshold and in the gym shrinks toward 3000, the 3000 m is treated as a VO2max event…Guide · 52 sourcesB-Training for 100 m, 200 m and 400 mGive every session one purpose, train speed fresh, feed it with heavy strength and jumps, keep the Nordic in the week, and add 400 m special endurance on top of speed rather than instead of it; the…Guide · 37 sourcesB-Road races are decided late, by the power a rider still has in the duration the course asks forBuild the engine, train that duration on top of fatigue, let the races be the intensity in season; criterium rows are transfer, not dataGuide · 45 sourcesB-Preparing for a 70.3 or IronmanKeep most hours easy, grow one long ride and one long run, ride the bike for the run, and train the gut for the carbohydrate the race needs; the training evidence is 9 and 4 triathletes, so the hours…Guide · 43 sourcesC+ERG mode or notERG is a compliance tool for submaximal reps, not a better stimulus; ride sprints, maximal tests, shaped VO2max reps and race rehearsal in resistance or slope mode, and no trial in the base shows…Guide · 32 sourcesBCadenceLet the rider choose it, expect it to fall on climbs and late in long rides, use low-cadence work only as a hard-session accent, and never promise efficiency from pedalling drillsGuide · 34 sourcesBLosing weight as an endurance athleteScreen for low energy availability first, then lose it slowly, in the off-season, with the key sessions fuelled, protein high and the lifting kept; a deficit inside a build block puts the training it…Guide · 33 sourcesBTesting thresholdsChoose the test by what the number will anchor, run it fresh and warmed up the same way every time, write the protocol next to the number, and between tests read the training data instead of retestingGuide · 52 sourcesB-Preparing for a sprint or Olympic-distance triathlonOne key session per sport, the hours split by where the minutes are lost, the run rehearsed off the bike, and the bike paced for the run; the base holds no short-course triathlete training-volume…Guide · 45 sourcesBThe aerobic base ("Zone 2")Keep easy work comfortably below the first threshold rather than pinned to it, buy the adaptation with hours, frequency and one long session, and stop adding easy time when the week is too short for…Guide · 58 sourcesBGran fondo, sportive, gravel or marathon MTB (3-6 h, mass start, climbing)Build the rider who still has watts at hour three: a long ride that grows with hard work late in it, two quality sessions, heavy lifting, a gut trained to the race dose, and pacing below fresh…Guide · 55 sources