Share this page!

Alan Couzens Profile picture
Twitter logo
Jul 21 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Inspired by @DrSianAllen to visualize my personal loading v recovery decision as a Decision Tree for this morning's #FunWithData

Explanation of how to interpret in the thread below..
The decision tree is trained on my morning metrics coupled with how I felt on loading v recovery sessions.

1. Is my energy rating <5.5 (out of 10)
- If yes, head towards recovery
- If no, head towards loading
2. If I head towards loading...
- Is my current TSB lower than -6?

If no (i.e. if higher), keep heading towards loading.
If yes, I'm ~50/50 on loading & move onto the next qu...

Is my HRV<75?
If yes = Recovery Day
If no = Loading Day
In practice, I actually use a neural network that takes longer term data into consideration rather than a decision tree for my athletes.

But, as you can see, Decision Trees are kind of awesome when it comes to visualizing the process in a practical way! 🤓
Today's stats:
Energy: 3
RHR: 49
HRV: 80.8
TSB: +3
Stress: 4

Energy is low (🐶 kept me up last night😊) but TSB is high, HRV is good & stress is average.

Following the tree, what type of day will it be - Loading or Recovery?

Spoiler: Answer below

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Alan Couzens

Alan Couzens Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @Alan_Couzens

Alan Couzens Profile picture
Jun 26
"Smart training works, guaranteed, if it's not working then dig deeper..." 👏

Your *response* to the training that you do is limited by the below.

If it's not working, don't keep banging your head against the proverbial brick wall. Fix the real problem.
Would add the linchpin to pretty much all of the above...

Life stress.

There's only so much that I (or any coach) can do for you if you've decided to live an over-packed, over-stressed life.
Looking at how an over-stressed life affects each:

- Consistency:

Does "stuff pop up" within your day that affects training?

Can you get your training done first thing without getting up at a ridiculous hour?
Read 9 tweets
Alan Couzens Profile picture
Jun 20
Received a qu...

"So if I'm not using a % of FTP, how do I set the correct zone for Z2 training?"

A brief thread 👇
1. When you have a standard aerobic session planned, take a baseline lactate *before* the workout.

Depending on fitness, nutrition, stress, this may range anywhere from 1-3 mmol/L
2. Warm up for 30-60 min at what you perceive as a very easy intensity. Take lactate. It should go *down* from first reading to <1.5mmol/L. If so, congrats, you've found Z1.

Note: If you recently ate, or are stressed, or don't have the strips to waste, opt for a longer warm up
Read 7 tweets
Alan Couzens Profile picture
Jun 3
My latest:

Some thoughts on just how long it's going to take to go from beginner/"out of shape" to truly competitive.

And some thoughts on the best way to reward yourself during the journey along the way...

alancouzens.com/TP/templates/l…
Received a qu:

"Are you saying I shouldn't race an Ironman if I'm not training 15-20hrs/wk?"

Yes!

A *weekly* volume ~= your race duration is no way to properly prepare!

Back in the day, the distance was properly respected e.g. Tinley's Lvl 7 "Probably training for Ironman" Image
And, for those curious about what lies beyond lvl 7, described in only the way Tinley can... 😊 Image
Read 4 tweets
Alan Couzens Profile picture
May 12
I've been thinking about this of late.

As a swim coach of kids in some very competitive programs, I've seen the worst of parenting.

However..

Something I left off my thread on the differences between the kids from my own squad who "made it" vs myself-more demanding parents 🧵
It's a nice idea to let kids do what kids want to do. However, the reality of elite swimming is that 5 years of consistent 2-a-days precede high performance.

And a rule of being a teenager

5 years of unwavering commitment to anything is exceedingly rare!
If I'm honest, many of the kids who reach high performance had more of a parental push.

However, the kids who reach the highest of high performance had a different kind of push than the kids who are burned out at 20.

So, what are the key differences?
Read 9 tweets
Alan Couzens Profile picture
May 3
I grew up swimming with some swimmers who made the Australian team for major events like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games. I did not. So what was the difference between us?

A brief thread 👇
1/ Genetics?

There was nothing inherently physically special about these swimmers as kids/youths. As a gangly kid with size 15 feet, if anything, I was the one with the inherent advantage & was initially as fast or faster.
2/ Consistency

2 a days were mandatory for our 'A Squad' in the Summer but optional in the winter. I trained once a day in the winter. The kids who "made it", trained twice through the whole year.
Read 6 tweets
Alan Couzens Profile picture
Apr 24
Spending this morning doing something I've wanted to do for a while:

Diving into the database to explore the relationship between lactate and fat oxidation

Conclusions:
For high levels of #FatBurning- you want:
* Low lactate at AeT
* High AnT relative to max
* Low max lactate Image
By throwing max power into the mix, I'm starting to get a nice little model together.

With most of the fat oxidation predictions on the test set within half a kcal/min of actual! e.g. ImageImage
And, if you're interested in "normal" lactate numbers, here are the averages from the dataset (mean VO2max of 52ml/kg/min, 75kg bodyweight)

AeT - 170W @ 1.4 mmol/L
AnT - 238W @ 3.2 mmol/L
Max - 287W @ 7.8 mmol/L Image
Read 5 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(