Training Guides
Alp Fitness Training Guides
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Strength Training
How Can Runners Maximize Benefits from Minimalist Strength Training?
For runners, strength training is valuable for performance and injury prevention, but it often gets sidelined due to time constraints. However, research shows that a minimalist approach can deliver significant benefits without requiring a substantial time commitment. So, what’s the minimum effective dose needed, and how can you integrate it into your busy schedule?
Mental Skills Training
How Do You Integrate Mental Skills into Your Training?
Mental skills training isn’t just for elite athletes. It’s for anyone interested in optimizing performance. If you’re an endurance athlete looking to perform at your best — regardless of experience or competitive level — mental skills training is just as important as the physical training you do. But how do you get started?
How Do You Use Self-Talk to Improve Performance?
Self-talk has been widely examined in sport psychology. Self-talk can be positive or negative, spoken aloud/externally or silently/internally, and be instructional or motivational. But does the grammatical form of self-talk influence its effectiveness?
Can Self-Compassion Make You a Better Athlete?
A growing body of research in psychology has demonstrated that self-compassion — not self-criticism — is the key to developing resilience and improving athletic performance while also enhancing your overall well-being. So what is self-compassion and how can you develop this skill to positively impact your own athletic performance and overall well-being?
Fueling & Hydration
How Much Caffeine is Safe to Ingest During an Ultramarathon?
When developing your fueling and hydration plan for an ultramarathon, you also need to take into account how much caffeine you’re ingesting — and in what stages of the race. So how much caffeine is the right amount?
How Much Should You Be Eating and Drinking During an Ultramarathon?
Ultramarathons have sometimes been called an eating contest while running, given the need for consistent fueling throughout the events. So how can you optimize your fueling and hydration strategy during ultramarathon events?
Do Ultrarunners Benefit from Fasted or Glycogen-Depletion Runs?
Endurance training in and of itself results in an increased ability to better metabolize fat and spare glycogen as a long duration energy source. But can training in a fasted or glycogen-depleted state lead to further beneficial adaptations and performance gains in trained ultrarunners?
Training Tools
Why Is Logging Post-Workout Comments Important and What Should You Include?
Leaving post-workout comments in your training log may feel unnecessary when your training device auto-uploads your workout directly into TrainingPeaks. Isn’t the data from your training device enough for you and your coach to work with?
Although your training device data is crucial, it only tells part of your training story. Data from your workout device outlines the plot and supplies important details and facts. But your post-workout comments help set the scene, establish the context, and provide personal details that bring the full training story to life.
How Do You Create a Custom Training Plan?
To excel in your athletic goals, you need to train with a purpose. Training with a purpose means knowing why you are doing a particular workout and how that workout fits into your overall progression toward your goals. But to train with a purpose, you need a plan.
How Do You Set Your Training Zones?
A key element of any training plan is the use of training zones to help you achieve the right training effects as you progress through your program. But how do you set your training zones?