Merry Christmas

 

Merry Christmas Epic Sports Performance Athletes!

Coach Schiller

Amazing Road Bike Skills

Bronze @ U23 Provincial Championships

Congrats to Matt Degiacomo on his Bronze medal at the Ontario Provincial TT championships. Keep working hard Matt.

Sleep and Performance

With the completion of the olympics we are left to ask the questions of athlete performance. How do they do it? We hear the stories of exasperated daily training regements, ravenous nutrition protocols, 10,000 hours vs. genetics, and well the not so nice topic of drug use and abuse. 

I would like to take the time to discuss one performance enhancing method that is often not discussed. Sleep. When we talk about improving performance we often forget that sleep is probably the single best way to improve athletic performance. Most of our physiological and psychological recovery/regeneration occurs while we are sleep. Research has shown that athletes observe an improvement in athletic performance with an improvement and regulation in their sleep hygiene. Have a look at the image below:

"How much sleep Professional Athletes Get". 

Image: from www.zeo.com

Some intersting observations can be made here. I think we can agree that most high level athletes accumulate more sleep than the average person. 

My intention here is to have you reflect about how long you sleep and how well you sleep. The key here is that each individual has their own sleep threshold. It is important to remember that a good majority of our recovery (both physiological and psychological) comes from a good nights rest. 

Things to consider for optimal sleep hygiene: 

1. Quality of sleep

2. Quantity of sleep

3. Feeling of restfulness

4. Times woken during night

Things to modify for optimal sleep:

1. Environment - I.E. Room temperature, Ambient lighting, and external noises (cool, quietand dark is ideal)

2. Pillows, Blankets, and Mattresses (are you a stomach, side, back sleeper, neck and back support? Temperature control with blankets, etc) 

3. Ear Plugs, Eye Mask 

4. Extra Disruptions (loud noises, animals, partners - we may never be able to change but, discussion would be key)

Cheri Mah (2008), a researcher at Sleep Disorders and Research Clinic at Stanford University, makes the following suggestion to help improve sleep hygiene:

• Make sleep a part of your regular training regimen.
• Extend nightly sleep for several weeks to reduce your sleep debt before competition.
• Maintain a low sleep debt by obtaining a sufficient amount of nightly sleep (seven to eight hours for adults, nine or more hours for teens and young adults).
• Keep a regular sleep-wake schedule, going to bed and waking up at the same times every day.
• Take brief naps to obtain additional sleep during the day, especially if drowsy.

I would suggest that each of us observe our sleep hygeine and work toward improving our quality and quantity of restfull sleep. A great way to track this would be make a section in your daily training log to observe specific trends associated with your sleep. We spend close to 1/3 of our life sleeping. It would be valuable for each of us to improve our restfull time and improve our performance both on and off the bike.

Supporting Articles:

1. Extra Sleep Boosts Basketball Players Prowess

http://www.technologyreview.com/view/424608/extra-sleep-boosts-basketball-players-prowess/

2. Science Daily: Extra Sleep Improves Performance 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080609071106.htm

Cheers, 

Jeff Schiller

IN HARD WORK I TRUST - AFRAID TO LOSE

Exercise and Learning

I had an opportunity to travel to Harvard University in Boston, MA to attend a professional development session regarding exercise and learning. Dr. Alex Thorton lead our professional development session. He is a neuro-scientist working with Dr. John Ratey to look at how exercise affects learning. I am sure we all understand the benefits of regular exercise. We hear about the benefits every day. However, after two days of lectures I am more aware of the cognitive and developmental benefits that exercise has on the brain and body. Further more I am convinced that exercise was the key to my success in life (increased attention, focus, improved learning, not to mention the health benefits). I suggest that everyone take a look at how exercise and physical activity influences their daily lifestyle.  I have included Dr. John Ratey's interview that appeared on The Agenda. Here he speaks about the importance of Exercise and the affect it has on learning.
As an athlete, coach, personal trainer, and teacher I feel it is important to promote and advocate for a regular exercise regiment to maintain a Healthy Active Lifestyle (not to mention the benefits to learning). Exercise often. Exercise well. Enjoy Life. 

Southwest Challenge Tour

Epic Sports Performance is a proud sponsor and supporter of the Southwest Challenge Cycling Tour. Check out the link above and sign up for this epic cycling event. All proceeds go to support Childrens Hospital Foundation of London.

The Future of Cycling

This is Daniel. Garneau's # 1 Fan. He wanted his cycling magazine signed by our whole team. This is how the dream starts. We wish you a bright cycling future Daniel. Ride hard!

Wins at Bronte and Springbank for Coach Schiller

This has been a fantastic week. First a win last weekend at the Tour of Bronte and again this weekend at the annual Springbank Road Race. I can not say enough about the effort the Garneau boys put in for these two races. They sacrificed everything and we came out with two good early season wins. Congrats Team Garneau.

Garneau Ontario at Redlands Classic

MATT AND JEFF SIGNING IN

Forest City Velodrome Vitesse Challenge

Congrats to Marco Li on his first win of the season. Marco lapped the field at the 100 lap endurance event and took home first prize in the Vitesse Challenge. Special thanks goes out to Vitesse who graciously donated prizes for the event and to the Staff at Forest City Velodrome for organizing a fantastic evening of racing. If you have not experienced the Forest City Velodrome go to www.forestcityvelodrome.ca for more information. The experience is waiting for you.

WORDS OF GREATNESS FROM TEAM SKY

"This is the line, The line between winning and losing, Between failure and success, Between good and great, Between dreaming and believing, Between convention and innovation, Between head and heart, It’s a fine line, It challenges everything we do, And we ride it every day. " - Team Sky

Matt Degiacomo on Sweat Magazine Cover

Congrats to Matt Degiacomo who is featured in the January edition of Sweat Magazine. Sweat Magazine is the official magazine for the Ontario College Athletics Association. Matt is a second year student in the fitness and health promotion program at Fanshawe College in London.

Meal Of The Moment: Paleo Recovery Meal

This meal of the moment was brought to you by Matt Degiacomo. This a an example of a paleo type of meal (lean cuts of meat and veggies).

1 lean backed t-bone steak - fat trimmed
1 whole green pepper
1 cup baby carrots
1/2 cup spinach
All veggies sauteed in extra virgin olive oil.

Enjoy your training and the reward of a healthy meal post workout! Train hard.

Schiller

Better Health in 2012

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo&w=560&h=315]

Compass Coaching Model

Quote "A compass is only good to a lost person who trusts that it is sending them in the right direction" - unknown

Why do people who have a compass get lost? Rational thinking would suggest that these people have prepared themselves by invoking the knowledge of how to use a compass yet fail to believe that the information it is providing them is actually true.

As athletes, we often find it very hard to trust the training that our coaches provide for us. We forget about all the factors that affect our overall performance. We lose sight of SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely) long and short term goals. We stray from the structure and organized plan and begin to do to much. We listen to others talk about how hard they are working, how many kilometers they are doing, and what power outputs they are achieving. We forget that each of us have a variety of different goals we are working toward.

The compass coaching model:

I like to think of a coach as a compass type device (still a person no less). A compass helps you find your current position and the direction you would like to go in and consequently keep you true to it. However, you still need to decide to use the compass and trust that it will get you safely to your destination.

Think about how you might use a compass. You stop find true north, take a bearing, and move in the direction you want to go in. Would you continue without checking those bearings? Probably not. You would have a direction. You would probably check moving in the right direction multiple times. You would also need to trust that the compass is providing you with the right information. The later of these being the most important.

This is also true for athletes. It is not only important for the athlete to understand how to use the coach to better guide their training. But also trust that the direction the training is moving will help him/her to reach the desired destination. Constant feedback is so important in maintaining a true direction and help move the athlete in the right direction.

So that goes without saying. If your lost in your training and need direction. Hire a professional who can help guide you toward your goals. Be inspired and motivated that you have the tools to help move you in the right direction. Finally, trust that your coaches training program will help you reach your long and short term goals.


Happy Training,

Coach Schiller