A SHARED LANGUAGE

There are lots of different phrases and definitions used in the literature, so here I am defining how I’m using each of these training-related terms as a coach. Aside from this document, there are a few other places you can access explanations and content: 

YouTube: I upload strength, core, stretching, mobility, warmup demos, and more to YouTube. The channel is Coach Serena @coach_serena326. At some point I might also add a podcast!

Newsletters: These are emailed newsletters every Tuesday evening. You can sign up to get them directly or view the archived ones on the website.

Instagram: My Instagram is @coach_serena326. It’s currently mostly a personal Instagram with notes about my own racing, but I hope to post more coaching things in the future.

Website: You’re here! Occasionally I make blog posts on certain training concepts.

Training Theory and Related Language

1. Training Plans and Intensity

• Stress-Adaptation Cycle: The body breaks down in response to training and then builds back stronger during recovery. Balancing stress and recovery is very individual and key to improvement.
• Training Zones: Specific intensity ranges used in training to target different energy systems, typically based on heart rate, power, or perceived effort.
  • Zone 1: Very easy, effort 1/5, should be able to talk in full sentences, can breathe easily, could be sustained for 14+ hours.
  • Zone 2: Easy, effort 2/5, should be able to talk in long phrases, breathing still comfortable, could be sustained for 4-12+ hours.
  • Zone 3: Moderate, effort 3/5, can talk in medium phrases, breathing is more effort than Zone 2, muscles feel like they’re working hard, could be sustained for 1-4 hours.
  • Zone 4: Moderately hard to hard, effort 4/5, can talk with 2-5 words but likely don’t feel like talking, breathing is hard, muscles are burning a bit, could be sustained for 30-60 minutes.
  • Zone 5: Very hard, effort 5/5, do not want to talk, breathing very hard, muscles are burning, heart rate is high.
  • Zone X: Very fast but might not be “hard” because they are short and have a lot of recovery; muscles may burn or not depending on the length; heart rate will not necessarily be high; e.g. strides (see below).
• Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE): A subjective measure of effort/training intensity, defined on a scale from 1 to 5 aligning with the Training Zones.
• Periodization: A systematic approach to training that varies intensity, race specificity, and volume across phases to optimize performance and recovery.
• Over-reaching: A short-term state of excessive training stress, which can lead to performance improvements if followed by adequate recovery.
• Over-training: A long-term state of excessive training stress, which leads to declines in health and performance and requires weeks-months of recovery.
• Taper: A reduction in training volume and intensity before a race to optimize performance. See this newsletter.
• Race-Pace: The specific pace or effort an athlete plans to maintain during a race, depending on race conditions like elevation gain and environment.
• Strides: Short, fast accelerations used to improve speed, economy, and power. All within a 10-30″ interval, ease into sub-maximal or maximal quick, relaxed, smooth running (or other sport) speed, sustain it for a couple seconds, then decelerate. These should not leave you tired, and you should take full recovery (up to 3 minutes) between repeats.
• Float: A relaxed, steady pace between harder intervals to enhance endurance during workouts.
• Intentional Downhills: Fast, purposeful training on downhills to develop musculoskeletal resilience and technique. See this newsletter for more on downhill running, and this newsletter for more on uphill running.
• Active Recovery: Low-intensity activities like walking, easy cycling, or yoga performed to promote blood flow and recovery without adding fatigue.

2. Metabolism and Physiology

• Aerobic: Exercise that relies on oxygen to generate energy, sustaining activities for longer periods (e.g. over 2 minutes). Relies primarily on fatigue-resistant, “oxidative” muscle fibers.
• Anaerobic: High-intensity efforts where the body produces energy rapidly, in the absence of oxygen, for a short duration (e.g. up to 2 minutes). Relies primarily on fatiguable, “glycolytic” muscle fibers. See this newsletter for further information on muscle fiber typology.
• Lactate: A molecular byproduct of breaking down glucose (from carbohydrates) into energy. Lactate can also be used as a source of energy.
• Aerobic Threshold (AeT): The intensity at which lactate just begins to accumulate in blood. An intensity at AeT or lower generally relies more on fat than carbs for fuel. An intensity above AeT relies more on carbs. Heart rate approximately at or below 80-88% of anaerobic threshold heart rate (see below). Approximately the top of Zone 2.
• Anaerobic Threshold (AT): The intensity at which lactate begins to accumulate in the blood faster than it can be used/cleared. The associated “burning” feeling in muscles may be related to the corresponding accumulation of hydrogen ions. Corresponds approximately to the steady-state heart rate reached during a 30-minute time trial. (See this newsletter, and here’s a good Trail Runner Magazine article about setting heart rates if you’re further interested.) Approximately Zone 4.
• VO2 max: The maximum rate of oxygen the body can use during intense exercise, a function of delivery (e.g., heart pumping, hemoglobin levels) and uptake (e.g., capillarization). Approximately Zone 5.
• Hormones: Molecules in the body that regulate physiological processes, including metabolism, recovery, and mood (e.g., cortisol, testosterone, estrogen, thyroid hormone).
• Relative Energy Deficiency (RED-S): A condition where energy intake is insufficient to support health, affecting hormonal balance, sport performance, and overall well-being.
• Endurance: The ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort.
• Fatigue Resistance/Durability: The capacity to maintain performance and resist decline over extended durations of exercise or repeated bouts.
• Economy: A state in which the least energy is required to maintain a certain output. See this newsletter.
• Cardiovascular: Involving the heart, blood, and blood vessels.
• Musculoskeletal: Involving the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones.
• Biomechanical: Involving the mechanics of movement.
• Neuromuscular: Involving coordination and recruitment of muscles based on signals from the central (i.e. brain and spine) and peripheral (i.e. sensory and autonomic) nervous system.

3. Nutrition and Environmental Factors

• Fueling: The strategic intake of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins to support training, racing, and recovery.
• Hydration: Maintaining optimal fluid balance for performance and recovery, sometimes including electrolyte replenishment. See this newsletter.
• Gut Training: Practicing fueling and hydration techniques to improve the ability of the gut to manage intake during exercise. See this newsletter.
• Heat Training: Training in hot environments to improve heat tolerance, blood plasma volume, hemoglobin mass, and performance in hot and temperate environments. See this newsletter.
• Cooling: Strategies to reduce skin or body temperature during or after exercise, such as ice baths, ice bandanas, cold towels, or cooling vests. See this newsletter.
• Ergogenic Aids: Substances or techniques used to enhance performance, such as caffeine (see this newsletter), heat training, cooling, and altitude training.
• Travel: Managing the challenges of time zone changes, altered routines, and recovery while competing or training away from home.

4. Mental Training

• Goal: “A desired future state coupled with a set of antecedent acts that promote the attainment of that end state (means).” [Reference] The ingredients for a goal are 1. a will; and 2. a way. See this newsletter.
• Motivation: The internal or external factors that drive the pursuit of goals.
• Process: The steps executed to get closer to an outcome.
• Core Values: The beliefs and principles that guide behavior, decisions, and motivation.
• Affirmations: Statements repeated to enhance performance, usually related to core values. For example, “I am strong and capable.”
• Self-talk: The internal dialogue one has with oneself. Positive or instructional self-talk can improve focus, confidence, and emotional control. See this newsletter.
• Focus: The ability to stay present and concentrate on executing the task at hand.
• Visualization: Vivid mental rehearsal. There are 7 things to consider: physical being, environment around you and setup, the task, timing (e.g. in real time, slow-motion, sped up), learning/updating the imagery script, emotions and bodily sensations, and perspective (e.g. 1st or 3rd person).
• Emotional Regulation: The ability to acknowledge, manage, and respond to emotions effectively. Some techniques include mindfulness, breathing, distancing, acceptance, and cognitive restructuring.
• Identity: How an athlete perceives themselves in relation to their sport and broader life.
• Resilience: The ability to recover from or respond to setbacks or adversity.
• Routine: Task-relevant and engaging (not superstitious) behaviors to prepare for training or racing performance that can help with arousal regulation, focus, and self-efficacy. See this newsletter.
• Flow State: Feeling fully immersed in the experience.
• Reflection: Intentional and structured thought looking back on an experience, usually answering questions like “what went well,” “what didn’t go well,” “what will be improved for next time.” See this newsletter.

Technical Language

1. Common Form Cues

• Running: Tall through the hips (don’t sink down upon foot strike). Slight forward lean from the ankles, like you’re trying to aim the hips forwards and up as the body part leading the charge. Let the hips drive you forward as you pick up the feet, quick and light, heels coming up under the butt rather than extending behind you. Elbows are pendulums from the shoulders, hands/arms should be loose and roughly stay parallel facing the body.
• Biking: Big focus on downward pedal stroke, scrape midsole along the bottom of the pedal stroke. Relaxed shoulders. Engage glutes and quads equally.
• Swimming (freestyle): Kick should be just enough to keep the hips up and take the least energy possible (no splash, kick is underwater). Rotate around the central axis of your body from head to toe. Keep one ear and half the face and mouth in the water when you rotate to breathe. Elbow should be above the wrist on the recovery. Hand should enter just to the side of center, but not too wide. When pulling through, arm is bent around 90-120 degrees and hand does not cross over midline.
• Elliptical: Maintain the slight forward lean like running, tall through the hips. Can rest hands on the small stationary handles rather than the large swinging ones. Aim for running cadence, ok to keep resistance and incline low!

2. Strength and Related Exercises

• Concentric: A movement in which a muscle is shortening under load (e.g. the quad when you stand up from a squat or are running uphill).
• Isometric: A movement in which a muscle is not changing length under load (e.g. the core when you hold a plank).
• Eccentric: A movement in which a muscle is lengthening under load (e.g. the quad when you are lowering into a squat position or running downhill). These contractions are usually the cause of delayed-onset muscle soreness.
• Plyometric: A movement that contains an eccentric movement followed as quickly as possible by a concentric movement (e.g. stepping off a box then quickly jumping off the ground; pogo hops). The time between the landing and concentric movement is called the “amortization phase”. See this newsletter.
• Core: The muscles in the abdomen, back, and pelvis that provide stability and power transfer for overall athletic movements.
• Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS): Muscle pain and heaviness occurring 24-72 hours after intense, eccentric, or unfamiliar exercises, likely due to microtears and inflammation of muscle fibers.
• Physical Therapy (PT)/Rehab: Guided recovery and strengthening exercises to address injuries or imbalances, often involving professional support.
• Mobility: The ability to move joints freely through their full range of motion, for efficient movement and injury prevention.
• Flexibility: The ability of muscles to lengthen, often improved through stretching, distinct but complementary to mobility.

Make sure to check out the YouTube channel for demos!

Reminders!

• What’s right for others is not necessarily what’s right for you.
• No one workout is a magic bullet. Consistency is key. Balance short-term and long-term goals with consistent, sustainable training.
• Fueling, sleep, and mental preparation are necessary and performance-enhancing components of training. Treat them with the same respect you do your sport.
• There is no failure. There are only different steps towards goals.