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Get a detailed overview of your training in Suunto app’s new Training Zone! A progressive training load with adequate recovery and ways to follow progress will lead to a successful adventure or race. Suunto is your daily companion to enhance your performance. The new training toolset in Suunto app’s Training zone is vast. Read on and learn what’s available. We are sure you will find your new favorite dataset to analyze your training and follow your progress. To ensure you have the latest Suunto app version update your iOS app in App Store and Android app in Google Play.   Four new ways to look at your training Am I training smartly? Is my training load progressive? Do I have the right intensity mix? What type of impact do my workouts have?   Training load The training load theme in Suunto app’s Training zone gives you a good overview of this week’s training load compared to a six-week average. You will also see the daily training load split and the split by activity type. All of this will help you understand your overall physiological load and how much more you can – and should – still do this week. The value of following your physical load weekly with comparisons to your long-term baseline is that you can look at this as a goal for the week. To gain some fitness, you might want to slightly increase the load for the week. To ensure recovery, keep the load level lower than your average. Training intensity Are you really doing both easy base training and higher intensity? Or is your training piling up in a single intensity zone, like tempo work in zone 3? The new Training intensity theme in Suunto app will help you understand your training better as you will see both the weekly intensity distribution and the six-week averages. The workout intensity totals can be viewed as heart rate, pace, running power, and cycling power zones. You can set your sport-specific training zones in your Suunto watch based on heart rate, pace and power. Suunto is following a five-zone model where your anaerobic threshold is at zone 4 /5 limit. You can find your correct training zones with a lab or a field test. SuuntoPlus Sports apps like the Anaerobic threshold test and the Functional threshold power test will guide you through a field test session.     Learn more about intensity zones. Training volume The sports you have done during the week are shown with duration, distance, load, and ascent. Sports are also grouped to give an overview of each type of sport i.e. running includes running, treadmill, and trail running. Volume is compared with your six-week average. As you follow your training volume, you can now easily ensure that you meet the numbers for your key sports any given week: It might be that as a trail runner, you want to get 3000 meters of ascent each week, or as a cyclist, ride 200 kilometers weekly. Your six-week average will help you match your personal benchmark. Training impact Suunto app’s Training impact is a new tool that helps you understand your training model and the physiological systems you are targeting. This will help you understand if you are doing what you were planning to do – and if you are missing something in your training. Training impacts are defined as cardio and muscular impacts. Each workout gets assigned an impact such as “Aerobic” or “Speed & Agility”. Cardio impacts are based on workouts intensity, load, and duration. Muscle impacts are based on activity type. The training model is identified based on your workout intensity distribution such as Polarized (most activities on low and high intensities, less in the middle), Sweet spot (training mainly between aerobic and anaerobic thresholds), and Base training (most workouts are in zones 1&2).   In addition to the current week, you will see the six-week average for your training impact. As with other training insights, the impacts are illustrated with long-term reference. If your normal training week has two aerobic sessions, one VO2 max session and two strength sessions, and on Friday you are still missing those aerobic sessions, you know what to focus on during the weekend. This will help you check all the boxes. Training impact is currently available on Suunto app for Android. Coming soon to iOS as well!        Lead image by Roger Salanova   READ MORE Get feedback from the Suunto coach Test your fitness with Suunto Plan your interval workouts with Suunto app Unlock your interval training and watch your running improve

You can do this. That’s what Suunto multisport team athlete and coach Trista Francis wants you to know. She has prepared a 12 week training plan to get you to the start line in fighting form. “Stop waiting for the perfect moment,” she says. “Take the moment you have and make it perfect!” The plan is available for free as part of Suunto Value Pack via TrainingPeaks, one of Suunto’s key partners, and provides easy to understand, week-by-week, session-by-session, training guidance. Your end of the bargain is doing the work. Trista has a degree in sports medicine, is a long time triathlete, and has coached everyone from total beginners to Olympic hopefuls. She knows well what it takes to pull off a long distance tri. To inspire you to get going, Trista shares her favorite inspirational training quote: The masters in the art of living make little distinction between their work and their play, their labor and their leisure, their minds and their bodies, their information, their recreation, their love and their religion. They hardly know which is which; they simply pursue their vision of excellence at whatever they do, leaving others to decide whether they are working or playing. – James A. Michener Click here to access Trista’s 12 week triathlon training plan! Designed for those with a solid fitness base and who are looking for guidance on doing a long distance triathlon, the plan has a four week cycle: three weeks of a progressively heavier training load, followed by one week with a lighter load. There are three of these four week training blocks. “Fitness gains happen during recovery,” Trista says. “Work hard during the three weeks then repair and regenerate during recovery week to bring your fitness to a higher level. “A general rule of thumb is to get the training hours in,” she continues. “If you find the intervals are too much, drop the intervals and just complete the time so you are ready for the next day’s sessions.” On average, each week consists of eight training hours, with the heaviest weeks reaching 11 hours. You’ll be training the three disciplines every week. The swimming average is 1h30m per week, cycling is 3h50m and running is 2h40m. The longest run is two hours and longest bike ride is four hours. Throughout the 12 weeks, every Monday is a recovery day. Trista recommends sleeping more on Mondays, or getting massages to prepare you for the coming week’s training sessions. “These things that assist recovery are called the 1%,” she says. “Athletes that put an emphasis on this philosophy around recovery tend to stay injury free, and see greater gains compared to their peers.” To download Trista’s 12 week training plan, login or sign up to TrainingPeaks and find the plan here. LEARN MORE ABOUT SUUNTO VALUE PACK AND HOW TO GET THIS TRAINING PROGRAM FOR FREE

From how to balance his training load to his favourite post-workout meal, Swedish triathlete and Suunto athlete Patrik Nilsson shares his approach to training. At this year’s KMD Copenhagen Ironman, winning 25-year-old professional triathlete Patrik Nilsson achieved the seventh fastest time in the history of Ironman: 07h49m18s. This smashed his best personal time by 20 minutes. Last weekend Patrik was at it again and crossed the line in Ironman Barcelona in another amazing time of 07h55m28s. We caught up with Patrik just before Barcelona and quizzed him on his approach to training. You must have felt amazing at the Copenhagen race? When we reached the mid way point of the bike ride, I started to think about what time I could achieve. I thought for a moment I had been counting wrong or something. I realised if I kept up the pace I could go under eight hours. But then it was even faster! Under 7h50m is amazing. Way faster than I thought possible! You’re working with a new coach, right? Yes, and she’s also my girlfriend. Teresa noticed a lot of things in my training and in my mentality that wasn’t as it should be. To do well in races, you need to have fun. You need to really enjoy it, to say, “I really want to win this”, and that’s what I didn't have before. Has your training changed? I’ve been focusing more on long runs and long bike rides to develop endurance and to push my threshold higher. I’ve been trying to work on my fat percentage to get my weight down and at the same time keep my muscles strong. As I say, one of the biggest changes was around my attitude – to have fun and really enjoy it. How much are you training? I’m training a lot! On a hard training week, usually between 30 to 35 hours. At the moment I’m doing a lot of riding, around 15 to 20 hours a week, and about 100 km of running and the rest swimming and core work. How do you manage your training load? I have a close connection with my coach, which is easy when the coach is your girlfriend! It makes it really easy for her understand how I'm feeling. We use Training Peaks, which makes it easy to see how tired I am, the training stress load and how I’m developing over time. How long do you usually taper for? Tapering is usually for one or one and a half weeks. The day before a race, I do one and a half hours of training. Two days before is just an easy jog or a swim. Three or four days before I do a hard three-hour bike ride. ©KMD Ironman Copenhagen Do you follow any particular nutrition plan? I drink a lot of chocolate milk. Since I’m training a lot, I need the carbohydrates. Chocolate milk makes it easy to get a little more energy. After a hard session I can drink between three to six litres of it. Apart from that, I try to eat healthy. I’m writing down everything I’m eating so I can see how much I’ve got through in a day. What’s your usual recovery plan? In the week following an Ironman I don’t do any running. I know that it’s easy for me to injure my calf if I do. During the week after the race I do an hour or two of easy riding or easy swimming each day. Then one week after the race, it’s back to serious training. I need that week off to recover mentally as well. Images © Carles Iturbe Read more PATRIK NILSSON TRAINS FOR THE LOVE OF IT

When it comes to triathlon, there's one man who is supremely qualified to offer coaching – that's the Caveman – and after retiring from professional racing this year Conrad Stoltz is now, he says, "an open book" ready to give away his trade secrets. The four time Xterra World Champion and three time ITU Cross Triathlon World Champion has started his own coaching business, Stoltz Training, and is already being sought after by upcoming athletes. With the off season here, we asked him for some coaching tips on how to use the time wisely. Don't do too much After a long, hard season with lots of sacrifices, its very important to recharge physically and especially mentally. Taking time off serious and structured training is crucial for a long and sustainable sporting life. Triathletes tend to be hard driving, over achievers, so getting us to slow down and let go can be tough. But a good, relaxing off season of three to six weeks is key to climbing new heights the following season. Click for recovery wisdom from the Caveman © zooom.at/Markus Berger   "Climb a mountain. Paddle a river. Surf. Take the opportunity to have fun and play." Don't do too little Don’t let “Ice Cream and Beer Season” get out of hand, as after three weeks, it gets increasingly hard to come back and drop the weight. As one gets older (mid 30s and later) it takes longer to come back from excessive loss of fitness. So stay active by doing other fun sports. Climb a mountain. Paddle a river. Surf. Fatbike along the coast or in the desert. Try a team sport. Take the opportunity to have fun and play. But know your limits – you’re only a triathlete; we’re not used to over eager rugby tackling or direction changes. Get perspective After some time spent unwinding and the emotions have settled, one can look into the rearview mirror and learn from the year gone by. What did you do right? Pat yourself on the shoulder and enjoy your hard earned successes. Learn from mistakes. How will you avoid them? Dream about the upcoming year. What makes you tick? Do more of that. Click for Conrad's transitioning tips © zooom.at/Markus Berger Time for change Be it raising your saddle height, changing shoe brand, implementing weight training, or trying a new diet. The off season is the perfect time for change. Remember to rehab Now is the time to rehab unresolved injuries or correct imbalances and weaknesses. Consult with an expert and use the off season to heal the body and mind so you start the season motivated and ready to go. Enjoy, but in moderation I once gained a whopping 8kg (18lbs) in the off season, and in hindsight, the fun of putting it on was not worth the hassle of losing it. Come back slowly  Rookie mistake number one: Start training like a beast the first week! All that built up enthusiasm and energy will make you feel like Superman, but don’t do it! Don’t try to test your fitness or lose that holiday fat in the first week. Forget Strava and take three to four weeks to gently ease into training. You’ll avoid sore legs, injury and frustration. Enjoy a relaxed training vibe, because pretty soon, you’ll get into the sharp end of training for which you’ll need all your mental and physical energy. MAIN IMAGES: © zooom.at/Markus Berger

As you might expect from someone with the nickname of ‘caveman’, Conrad Stoltz is not into fads when it comes to recovery. Not for him ice baths and compression socks. He prefers to do what’s proven. Train right, eat right and rest properly. So why don’t you like ice baths? I've reverted back to old school! I used to do the ice bath thing or jumping in a cold river after training. But getting in a freezing river after training is not worth it to me! Science hasn't really proven that ice baths help.What about compression? There is a lot of evidence there...?I've done the compression socks thing but they don’t fit well and there's no real definite proof that compression socks make a big enough difference. Warning: don't refuel properly and you'll never recover. ©zooom.at/Markus Berger So what do you do? The things that are proven to make a difference – fueling and rehydrating properly. Within the first half an hour of training you need to have so many grams of carbs and so much protein to start the recovery. [Advice varies but many sports nutrionists recommend following the for 3:1 carbs to protein ratio.] From pancakes to paragliding. See how the rest of Suunto's athletes recover. Anything else?Massage is key. It’s not only for recovery, but also injury prevention. It’s crucial. The other big thing many athletes overlook is that they need to leave enough time between workouts to be able to complete those workouts at the required intensity. Take your off-season seriously and do other activities, like go fishing. ©Conrad StoltzYou mean rest? A lot of athletes just want to log as many hours as possible in the logbook and then tally the hours to feel like they did a good job. For me and my coach, what's more important is that when I do the big quality workouts, I hit the numbers. Did I do the right amount of watts? And to be able to do that you need to be able to get to the session fresh, which means the day or two or three before you need to train very little so when the big session comes you can go hard. Recovery between key sessions is important. What’s the key to your long career? It's the fact I'm able to keep it fresh by having hobbies and activities. If I had to ride on the road every single time like the Ironman guys do I would never be able to make it! Stay mentally fresh by changing the environment where you are. Mental freshness is key. Conrad Stoltz has been an elite pro athlete for over 20 years. He must be doing something right. ©Nils Nilsen What about off season? It's key. Don't think about triathlon, you're not going to lose all your fitness. Go surfing, go jogging, or go hiking or even ride a motorbike, just keep active! By the time you start training again you're eager to train because you really want to do it not because you feel you have to. When you wake up in the morning and you're not looking forward to training it's one of the first pointers towards over-training. So training should be fun? Training is not always fun. Sometimes you have to hurt yourself. But in terms of the big picture, it needs to be enjoyable, rather than seeing how much you can punish yourself. Take your recovery more seriously and improve your performance. Find out how the Suunto Ambit3 can help. Main image: ©zooom.at/Markus Berger