[ Training Science ]
Heart rate zones, periodization, and adaptive plans explained. The why behind training structure, grounded in research, not gym folklore.
authors · MR_COACH_KB ·· status · PUBLISHED
2K Erg Pacing: How to Execute Without Blowing Up at 1500m
How to pace a 2000m rowing ergometer test: energy systems, pacing phases, split calculations, and the mental strategy to crush your time.
2k Erg Training Plan: Eight Weeks to a Faster Piece
An eight-week 2k erg training plan: the week-by-week structure, the four session types and why each is there, how volume and intensity shift, the taper, and the test-day protocol.
Adaptive Training Plans: How the Plan Adjusts to You
Adaptive training is real science with honest limitations. What peer-reviewed research says about autoregulation and HRV-guided plans, and how Movement Rebels applies it. 7-day free trial.
Aerobic vs Anaerobic Training: What They Are and When to Use Each
The difference between aerobic and anaerobic training, how your body adapts to each, and how to structure both for faster performance.
Building Your Aerobic Base: The Long, Slow Training Phase Everyone Skips
Why elite athletes spend 80-85% of training at low intensity, how long base building takes, and why skipping this phase costs you every race after.
Cardio and Strength Training Together: What the Interference Effect Means
The interference effect is real but smaller than old research showed. How to minimize it: sequencing, frequency, and recovery matter more than total volume.
Cross Training for Endurance Athletes: What Works, What Doesn't
Why variety in your training reduces injury risk, maintains aerobic fitness, and keeps you racing for decades. Running, cycling, swimming cross-training benefits explained.
Erg Splits Explained: What /500m Means and How to Hold One
What a rowing split is, how /500m turns into watts and a finish time, why the number jumps stroke to stroke, what splits look like by body size and level, and how to hold one.
Erg Training Zones: UT2, UT1, AT and How to Set Them From a 2k
What UT2, UT1, AT, TR and AN mean on the erg, how to set each split from a 2k result, the stroke rate per zone, and how much of the week belongs in each band.
Heat Acclimation When You Train in a Cold Climate
Preparing for a hot race when you live somewhere cold. Sauna protocols, hot baths, overdressing, and the plasma-volume adaptation explained honestly, with the studies to back it up.
How to Taper: Arrive Fresh Without Losing Fitness
Cut volume 40-60%, keep intensity, and you peak. The evidence is clear. Most athletes get it wrong by resting too much, not too little. Here is the honest science and a practical execution guide.
Indoor Rowing Technique: The Drive, the Recovery, and What Costs You Watts
Legs, back, arms on the drive and the reverse on the recovery. Damper versus drag factor, shooting the slide, the early arm break, and why a tired lower back rounds on the erg.
Periodization for Recreational Athletes: Which Model, and How Much You Need
Linear, block, undulating: the honest evidence on which periodization model recreational athletes actually need, and what the research says about adherence, minimum dose, and adapting on the fly.
Training Stress Score (TSS): Useful Number, Wrong Anchor
TSS quantifies session load well. The mistake is treating it as a recovery metric. Here's what it measures, where it breaks, and how to actually use it alongside the signals it ignores.
VO2 Max Intervals: The Sessions That Raise Your Ceiling
3-5 minute reps near 90-95% HRmax with near-full recovery are what the evidence actually supports for raising VO2max. Dose, work:rest, weekly frequency, and why most people run them wrong.
Zone 2 Heart Rate: Find Your Real Z2
Your watch zone is probably wrong. 220-age misses individual max HR by 10-15 bpm. Here's how to find your actual LT1 ceiling with the talk test, drift method, ramp protocol, or a lab.
Zone 2 Training: When It Works, When It's a Waste
Zone 2 is real, old, and oversold. Here's the honest version: when low-intensity volume is your highest-leverage work, when it isn't, and how to execute it without wasting easy days on junk tempo.