There’s a training pattern that eats away your improvements. Suunto partner PerfectPace explains the black hole and how to avoid it. Many of us know this scenario: your training plan has you scheduled for an easy recovery run that mysteriously becomes faster and faster. Maybe it’s because you are motivated and feel good or because you don’t want to be overtaken by that runner just behind you. Sounds innocent enough, right? Thing is, running just a bit faster than you are supposed to can destroy your training program without you or your trainer even realizing it. You were just sucked into the training black hole.   For serious training blocks, don't fall into the middle of the black hole. What is the black hole? Stephen Seiler, an American sport scientist at the University of Adger in Kristianstad, Norway, researched this phenomenon in 2007 and gave it the name, “training in the black hole”. The black hole consists of an alluring, gratifying training intensity and sucks your training into it. Your easy runs become a bit faster and the hurtful high intensity intervals become a bit less intense. Instead you drift down the middle into the gaping maul of the black hole. You don’t train one or the other intensity you are supposed to. Training on recovery days becomes just a bit too intense to give your best on high intensity training days. For non professionals training in the black hole might be somewhat ok. You go for a 30-60 minute run and you run a bit faster than you should. Until your next training two days might pass which is enough time to fully recover. The intensity will be high enough for adaptations. For serious training, however, it’s essential to train in low and high intensity zones and not in the black hole. The black hole in elite sports The reason for Seiler researching the phenomenon of the black hole arose out of an experience with Olaf Tufte, an elite Norwegian rower. After winning third place at the world championships in 2002 Olaf had mediocre results in races the year after. The cause of the disappointing results was a mystery, especially given his training schedule did not change. Eventually he and his trainers discovered the cause: the cool new boat he got after the championships in 2002 gave him the extra motivation to go faster than normal on his recovery days. This additional intensity was enough to sabotage his regeneration and his results. He’s been pulled into the black hole.   Avoiding the back hole: know your intensity There is a simple way to avoid being pulled into the black hole; don’t train according to feeling and whim, but have a proper training plan and be mindful of which training zone you should be in on each workout and stay in it. To be precise about these training zones and the levels of intensity, you need to know your heart rate, pace or power zones. Click here to read more about understanding your training zones. And handily, Suunto watches display in real-time which training zone you are in on the watch face. They also show the duration you spent in each zone and allow you to set an intensity target for each workout.   PerfectPace is the endurance training platform for triathletes that takes you a step ahead. For a steady performance gain you had to know a lot about training methodology to plan your training sessions. Especially in a sport like triathlon where three sports need to be planned correctly. This is where PerfectPace steps in. It offers not only unique statistics that up to now were only available in expensive desktop applications but it also helps to create a plan that boosts your performance with the help of artificial intelligence, big data and the latest advances in training science. PerfectPace considers not only your training activities but also rest days, tapering, even injury and your personal strengths and weaknesses.   Lead images: © Graeme Murray/Red Bull Content Pool Read more articles Know your resting and max heart rates 10 reasons to enjoy open water swimming with Suunto The benefits of training to music and making your best playlist    

As a salute to all the frontline community heroes who have kept services running throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Adidas Running has launched a donation relay to support relief efforts. From May 29 - June 7, for every hour you exercise, regardless of sport, Adidas Running is giving $1USD to the WHO COVID-19 Solidarity Response fund. The goal of the #HomeTeamHero challenge is to inspire one million workout hours, raising one million US dollars! All you need to do is connect your Suunto app and Adidas Running accounts, join the challenge, record your next workout with your Suunto watch and, boom, your activity is automatically synced with your Adidas Running account and your time and sweat will support the WHO’s COVID-19 relief efforts. Who needs more motivation than that?   Join the #HomeTeamHero donation relay!     All the latest Suunto watches – the 3, 5, 7 and 9 – are now compatible with the Adidas Running app (formerly called Runtastic). Adidas Running is a passionate community, and offers regular challenges, tips on how to train and tools to follow your training and progress. There is both a free version of the app, and a premium membership with extra benefits. To sync with Adidas Running, go to your Profile in Suunto App and select Connect to other services. Select Adidas Running and connect your account. All your new workouts will then automatically flow to Adidas Running. To show the endurance power of Suunto users and to represent, you can also join the Suunto group in the Adidas Running app. Let’s show them how we do it!   All images: © Thomas Marzusch, Kreativ-Instinkt   Read more articles Blaze fresh routes with Suunto Heatmaps  The benefits of training to music and making your best playlist How to adapt your training when the unexpected strikes How to improve your walking technique

Rather than follow the herd, with Suunto Heatmaps you can find places where the crowd doesn't train. Then paint the town red and yellow with your own training glow. Whether you're looking for running, cycling, swimming or hiking routes, Heatmaps shows where the hotspots are, and where there's space for you to stay safe and keep your distance. View Heatmaps on Suunto app and offline with Suunto 7 Based on millions of workouts, Heatmaps show where the Suunto community loves to train across the planet. Discover new training routes in your own neighborhood, find the popular local spots when you are somewhere new or – to stay safe and keep your distance – avoid the much-travelled trails. To view activity specific Heatmaps and to plan routes go to the map view of your Suunto app and select the desired Heatmap layer. If you don’t have Suunto app yet, get it from the App Store or Google Play and start exploring. On a Suunto 7 you have easy, offline access to both Heatmaps and detailed terrain maps when you're exercising outdoors. You can see your track on the map, use Heatmaps to explore new routes, or follow your track back to where you started from.

DJs have an uncanny ability to sense the mood on the dancefloor and the perfect gem to drop to bring the crowd up or down. You can learn to do the same with your own workouts! We recently spoke to DJ act the Mambo Brothers about workout music and how to put together a playlist that makes you want to move – see below! The Mambo Brothers, Christian and Alan Anadon, have been living and breathing electronic music since they were kids. Their parents were founders of the legendary Cafe Mambo Ibiza where some of the world’s biggest name DJs have come to play. Now full time DJs themselves, they try to exercise everyday to stay in balance. In a new partnership with Suunto, the Mambo Brothers put together three playlists for Suunto users to enjoy on their next workout. The first playlist is ideal for recovery and chilling. The second playlist is more upbeat. And the third playlist is suited to an intense workout.   © Kevin Scott Batchelor Play your own favorite tunes from your wrist With the Suunto 7 smartwatch you can connect your headphones to your phone and control music and other audio – adjust volume, pause and skip tracks – straight from your wrist without taking your phone out of your pocket. You can also listen to music without your phone: Spotify has just released an update to their Wear OS app that enables offline use. Simply connect your bluetooth headphones with your watch and download the tracks that you want to take with you! With this new feature, Spotify Premium users will be able to download their favorite albums, playlists, and podcasts to listen offline. Free users will be able to stream their tunes in Shuffle Mode using a WiFi or cellular connection, as well as download any of their favorite podcasts directly to the watch. LEARN HOW TO USE SPOTIFY WITH YOUR SUUNTO 7   The right music can boost performance There are numerous studies that have shown the performance boosting potential of music. As always with scientific research, the findings are complex and contingent. To simplify things, the National Center for Health Research breaks down the benefits of listening to music while working out into two main categories: physical and psychological benefits. Boosting physical performance For you pop, rock and electronic music lovers, there’s good news; studies show that listening to music with between 120 and 140 beats per minute (BPM) can improve athletic performance. It can improve your pace, effort, overall distance or number of reps. Studies have shown cyclists can push harder when listening to faster tempo music. Another study discovered that our inbuilt rhythm response – the tendency to synchronise movement with music – helps runners to keep pace. Slower music, between 85 and 115 BPM, can also help to reduce your heart rate, suggesting it might be good to listen to during your warm down or recovery. Psychological benefits Listening to music has a massive impact on our perception and mood. One study found that listening to music you enjoy can elevate your mood and improve self awareness. It also distracts you from the sometimes unpleasant sensations of your workout, such as a thumping heart or tired and shaky muscles. And these two seem commonsense: music can kick you in the butt and get you out the door for a run, according to this study, while this study suggests it makes workouts more fun (we knew that!) Lastly, it also reduces your perceived level of exertion and can delay on the onset of fatigue! 5 tips to create an awesome workout playlist Get the mood right “Make it happy and uplifting so you can feel the good vibes and positive energy,” The Mambo Brothers advise. “It’s amazing what music can make us feel!” Try creating different playlists from different moods. For example, you might want a different playlist for a morning run compared to a run after work. One playlist might fit better for when you have tons of energy and another for when you’re feeling worn out. Pick the right BPM This handy tool tells you any song’s BPM. The recommended BPM for low to moderate workouts is between 120 and 140 BPM. For activities like yoga, pilates or mobility exercises, choose songs between 60 to 90 BPM. For slightly more intense exercise, the BPM can be around 150. For full on exercise, like cross fit or indoor cycling, the BPM can be up to 180. Consider creating different playlists for different activity intensities. Find the right rhythm Remember the “rhythm response” we mentioned above? To benefit from this natural tendency, try to find music with a BPM that matches your desired pace. For runners, match your stride rate to BPM, and cyclists match the number of RPM to BPM. If you’re doing lifting weights, be careful not to go with music with crazy fast BPM – or you might hurt yourself! Create a journey Every successful DJ knows how to take the crowd on a journey. If they only play one style, or one intensity, people get bored. Try to select music for your playlists that give a sense of a beginning, a middle and an end. You want to experience some big highs and some mellow moments during your workout. Perhaps you know you tend to struggle at around the three quarter mark of your long run, for example, so build in some bigger sound, faster tempo tunes for then in your playlist. Test it out No playlist is ever really finished. Feel free to make changes as you go so you get it just right. “Make a draft playlist, try it out while training, and if one tune doesn’t work delete it from the list,” the Mambo Brothers advise. “After three or four workouts, you should have a playlist that can really motivate you!”   Lead image: © Philipp Reiter   Read more articles Meet the Mambo Brothers, two health conscious DJs living the nightlife Ultra champ Courtney Dauwalter's 6 tips for mental strength How to adapt your training when the unexpected strikes Finding the right coach and Suunto compatible training service for you  

  They travel the world playing at festivals and parties that go until the sun rises. They return home to Ibiza and party some more at their own venues, including the famous Café Mambo Ibiza. But don’t be fooled, Mambo Brothers Christian and Alan Anadon prize health and fitness as much as an epic night out partying. They have been living and breathing electronic music since they were kids. EDM aristocrats, their parents were founders of the legendary Café Mambo Ibiza where some of the world’s biggest name DJs have come to play. Only boys, they watched and learned, fell in love with music and the ability of DJs to send a crowd wild. Now they run the cafe, play at events across the globe, and produce their own music. In a new partnership with Suunto, the Mambo Brothers put together three playlists for Suunto users to enjoy on their next workout. The first playlist is ideal for recovery and chilling. The second playlist offers more get up and go. And the third playlist consists of tracks suited to an intense workout. We caught up with two brothers and asked them about sports, fitness and the DJ lifestyle – read on below.         With a view like that we can see why Christian likes to work out at home. © Mambo Brothers Play your own favorite tunes from your wrist With the Suunto 7 smartwatch you can connect your headphones to your phone and control music and other audio – adjust volume, pause and skip tracks – straight from your wrist without taking your phone out of your pocket. You can also listen to music without your phone: Spotify has just released an update to their Wear OS app that enables offline use. Simply connect your bluetooth headphones with your watch and download the tracks that you want to take with you! With this new feature, Spotify Premium users will be able to download their favorite albums, playlists, and podcasts to listen offline. Free users will be able to stream their tunes in Shuffle Mode using a WiFi or cellular connection, as well as download any of their favorite podcasts directly to the watch.   LEARN HOW TO USE SPOTIFY WITH YOUR SUUNTO 7   Running, the gym, hiking, dancing all night – what’s your sport? As kids, we really enjoyed playing basketball on the weekends, but all that kind of thing got lost when we discovered the world’s best night clubs on Ibiza! Nowadays, we mostly go to the gym and work out there. We do 30 to 45 min runs on the treadmill and keep our heart rate over 140 to burn all that excess good life we have! Then we do compound exercises like deadlifts, squats with dumbbells, lumberjacks etc. Doing this helps us burn fat much faster. Any outdoor adventure sports? Sometimes we enjoy a good hike somewhere on the island, or while we are on tour we find a good track to walk. We also do a lot of deep sea diving. We love diving as it’s a gentle sport, and you have to be concentrated on your breathing and what you see in the water so it’s a very relaxing and a kind of therapy for us. It helps us to chill out. Being a DJ is a nocturnal life right? How do you stay balanced and in shape? For us it’s really difficult to find a routine because it’s so easily broken with all the travelling, playing at festivals, nightclubs, working at our venues in Ibiza. We have tried working with a personal trainer, which works very well during winter months, but when the night clubs in Ibiza open, and the summer tours start again, it’s a drastic change for us. We difficult to keep appointments because we never know what time we are going to call it a night. So this makes maintaining a routine difficult. It’s important for us to do some form of sport every day to get the positive vibes that exercise brings!   Alan overlooks Ibiza, an island famous for its electronic music. © Mambo Brothers Has the DJ scene got healthier these days or is it still pretty wild? It has got healthier for sure, and DJs are more conscious about wellbeing and feeling good in general. We are all very happy about that, but we are still playing with fire every night and try not to cross the line and break routines and good habits. For us, it’s very important to maintain good habits like training most days, plus sometimes adding a hike, a swim in the ocean, and eating healthy food! Keeping a balance and feeling fit is essential to handle our busy schedule. What do you love about producing music and DJing at dance parties? We love being DJs because it’s very social and we love making friends around the world that eventually visit us at Cafe Mambo during the summer. It makes us very happy being able to return their hospitality and have a few shots of good tequila with them! We have an amazing job; you get to travel, meet people, eat at great restaurants and of course dance! Producing our music is great – we get a buzz when a studio session goes well and we get a good track that you can play at a gig and see the crowd’s reaction. You can see how the track works and whether we are getting it right or if it needs some changes next time we’re in the studio! We feel blessed to be able to travel the world doing what we love most! Tell me about your playlists and why you chose these tracks? All the music has been tested on the treadmill and it works! We have never ran so much and enjoyed it so much! We have made a selection of classics, music that we love, and records that really motivate us! We hope you like it and enjoy as much as we do!   Lead image: Photo by Sebastian Coman Travel on Unsplash   Read more articles The benefits of training to music and making your best playlist 4 indoor training tips for endurance athletes How to adapt your training when the unexpected strikes 7 indoor training exercises to stay in shape

Michael Arend coaches ultra and marathon runners, as well as triathletes and ski mountaineers.   With much of the human population currently confined to their homes because of the coronavirus, our online connections have become vastly more important. Everything from meeting with friends and family, to yoga and exercise classes, and faith group meetings, all the way to dance parties have moved online. For runners, triathletes and cyclists meeting a coach face-to-face is no longer allowed or advisable. But working with a coach online and managing your training via one of the many digital platforms now available can keep your training on track. We talked to professional endurance coach Michael Arend, a former officer in the German Mountain Army, semi pro runner and host of Germany’s most popular running podcast, Fat Boys Run, and asked how to work with a coach online. We also did a stocktake of all the awesome online coaching services Suunto partners with and have provided a list below. And check out the Suunto Value Pack to see the additional benefits provided to Suunto watch owners by these partners.   Find a a coach now Michael says now is a good time to work with a coach because things are so uncertain and many of our plans are out the window. A good coach can help steady the ship and adapt your training so you still reach your goals. “Some athletes need help to stay optimistic and to prepare for the races in autumn,” he says. “Others need creative suggestions on how to arrange the training. Working with a coach online can help with long term planning, macro planning and how to rearrange the goals. In times of uncertainty a coach can provide a lot of experience and I think that’s the greatest demand in this time.” Here are his three tips for a successful coach-athlete relationship! Trust is a must It’s difficult to trust someone you’ve never met in person, right? Michael says this is the one con of working with a coach online. “Online coaching has a lot of pros, but one big con is establishing trust,” he says. “That’s the most important thing. Of course a coach has to know his or her physiology and science, and should have proven experience and the soft skills, but if the athlete is suspicious from the start on, it is hard to work together.” The upshot? Make sure you choose a coach you definitely trust. That way you can let him or her lead the way without doubting or questioning his or her suggestions. “Try to trust your coach at least for a fews months,” Michael says. “Even if you think you know better, that’s rarely the case.” Honesty first For a coach to help you he or she needs to know where you are really at with your training and how things are going for you. Don’t hide where you are at from you coach. You’ll only cheat yourself. “First of all, be honest,” Michael says. “Of course I cannot speak for every coach, but for my coaches I can definitely say that they all want to help the athlete inact in their dreams. There are a lot of topics which are not enjoyable to discuss, but your coach should know about your stress at home and about your digestion problems.” Eye level and informed You don’t want to have a coach who calls all the shots with little concern for your input, or a coach who gives into your whims and excuses. “It has to be a relationship at eye level,” Michael says. “Your coach should be able to tell you the meaning and goals of your training and of every workout, without using stock standard phrases. He should use your experience and let you participate in his or her decisions. In addition to our regular conversations, we send an analysis video to our clients once a month in which we explain the progress and justify our decisions. That is very important.”   Photo by Curtis MacNewton on Unsplash  Digital training services and apps You’re still looking for a coach and training service and now need to pick a service to help you hold and analyze your workouts? Read on – we’ve put together some options for you. There are various online apps and services that you can use with your Suunto watch. Many of these help to match you with a coach and allow your coach to monitor your workouts and keep you on track. The services have different pricing models, and different benefits because some are focused on different sports. The Suunto Value Pack offers Suunto watch owners additional benefits and special deals. Learn about the Suunto Value Pack benefits! TrainingPeaks TrainingPeaks is probably the most well known coaching platform for endurance training in the world, especially among the cyclists and triathletes. TrainingPeaks provides in-depth training analysis tools, the possibility to buy training programs and be connected with your coach via the platform. It gives you analysis and overview tools with parameters, such as training stress score (TSS). If you don’t have a coach, there is a coach matching service where you can try to get a coach that fits your needs. Coaches can monitor several athletes via Trainingpeaks and also sell their training programs for athletes who don’t need one to one coaching. Pricing: Limited free versionPremium account: 9.92€/monthCoach’s account: basic, $19USD/month; unlimited, $49USD/month Trainingpeaks here. Today’s Plan Today’s Plan is an online training and analytics platform suitable for coaches and athletes from beginners, self-trained enthusiasts or fully coached professional athletes. The platform has been gaining popularity in the cycling and triathlon communities. The system includes a range of powerful online training tools that allows athletes to enjoy the quantifiable benefits of structured training. You can also choose to use the training plans generated by the platform. Today’s Plan offers free tools for coaches. They can also create their own branded coaching site on the platform. Pricing: I train myself: 16.00€/monthI have a coach or structure my own training: 11.00€/month More about Today’s Plan here. PKRS.AI PKRS.AI provides 24/7 coaching for its members. Built by Olympic Gold medalists, world champions and their coaches, PKRS.AI is the perfect marriage of A.I. technology with a human touch. When you start using PKRS, you will be matched with a coaching team based on your preferences. PKRS then builds a personal training plan based on your goals and the time you have to train. There are real coaches that follow your training and your plan will adapt based on your actions. PRKS.AI also provides a video library for strength training as well daily stats from your lifestyle. Pricing: 90€/month More about PKRS.AI here. Staminity Staminity is a professional service for online training in cycling sports and most popular in Russia. It’s made for athletes, coaches and clubs. For athletes, Staminity helps to find a coach or get the best training plan to reach your goals. For coaches, Staminity provides the planning and analysis tools. For teams, Staminity provides coaching and athlete management. Staminity provides in-depth analysis tools, workouts summaries, training plans and templates, and the ability to manage other activities such as sickness or diet. Pricing: Athletes Basic: free. Premium: 5€/monthCoaches: 5€/monthClubs: 5€/month More about Staminity here. PWRlab PWRlab is designed for runners and provides insights into how much training load they are getting from their daily workouts. PRWlab provides coaches with the ability to monitor the runner’s resilience, and to identify if they are over or under training. This can be also used to determine if the athlete has a greater risk of injury. PWRlab uses easy to understand traffic lights to illustrate the risk of injury; this is based on training load and stride characteristics. Pricing: $15.99USD/month More about PWRlab here. SportTracks SportTracks is a complete solution for planning, tracking, analyzing, and sharing your workouts and other fitness performance data. It’s particularly popular among cyclists, runners and triathletes. Coaches can use it for free as long as their clients have the unlimited version of SportTracks. They also have the option to pay a monthly fee and switch this between athletes. For example, a coach subscription for five athletes would cost $39USD/month. Pricing: $59USD/year More about SportsTracks here. Coach4Pro Coach4Pro is a customizable platform for coaches and well-being professionals. It’s designed to help coaches run their business, and can also be used with corporate wellness programs and to manage a team of athletes. For coaches the platform has training planner tools, integrated messaging between the coach and athlete, and content libraries to share with clients. Pricing: The pricing is based on the number of athletes the coach is managing. Each athlete costs 0.33€/day+VAT so four athletes would cost 48€/month. More about Coach4Pro here. XHALE Xhale is a specialized triathlon coaching platform. It’s training diary simplifies tracking, planning and connecting the training to the overall plan. It helps athletes to plan their week, stay consistent and build motivation. With Xhale you and your coach analyse workouts, create new splits, overlay and compare laps and sessions as you progress towards your training goals. Pricing: The pricing is based on the number of athletes a coach has. For up to 10 athletes it costs 5.99€/ per athlete/month. More about Xhale here. RunningCoach RunningCoach is an online training platform designed for runners. The toolset provides runners with a dynamic training plan and various parameters to calculate and shape your personal training plan. The platform also offers coaches to support you. Pricing: Freemium versionBronze: 10€/month; Silver: 15€/month; Gold: 69€/month More about RunningCoach here.   Go-Heja Go-Heja provides a full club and athlete management service. For clubs, Go-Heja provides athlete management system with sports, communication, payments and your own club store. For coaches Go-Heja provides planning, athlete training analysis, monitoring and direct communication tools. And for athletes the Go-Heja platform can be used with or without a coach for training planning and analysis. Pricing: $1.5USD per athlete, per month. More about Go-Heja here.   To get connected with these services first register with the one below that fits your needs, and connect it with the Suunto app. Once you select Suunto, you will be asked to authorize the tool’s access to the data stored by your watch and Suunto App. Do this by giving the Suunto app your username and password. From then on all your workouts will automatically sync with your chosen coaching platform. You can connect to several tools and find your data in each one. Your data will also remain in Suunto App. Read more articles How to adapt your training when the unexpected strikes Ultra champ Courtney Dauwalter's 6 tips for mental strength 4 indoor workout tips for endurance athletes Adapting to life in a time of pandemic