Aya Sinay has raced as a triathlete in IRONMAN Kona twice and coached for over 10 years. She shares 3 tips every triathlete coach should use to boost athlete performance and grow their coaching business.
Aya Sinay has raced as a triathlete in IRONMAN Kona (Hawaii) twice and has been a successful triathlete coach for over 10 years. In this article, she shares 3 important tips that all triathlete coaches should read. Get ready to boost your athletes’ performance and your coaching business.
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We’ve all coached that athlete who initially made the classic mistake of training too hard on easy days. They plan to go easy, join a group ride and end up being exhausted after 3 hours. But how do you convince them to train differently?
In my experience, the most important solution is to explain to the athlete why they should do what you prescribe. Explain for instance, why they should also train at low intensities and why they should stay below anaerobic threshold in a certain training.
To do so, I always share a bit of basic physiology and science.
Nowadays, athletes expect their coaches to work based on sports science. Relying on outdated training methods is no longer good enough. But how do you turn complex data and science into actionable training strategies?
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Especially when you want your athlete to train at a lower intensity, explaining why this is important makes them more patient and willing to do so. For one of my athletes, that meant he had to seriously change his endurance pace. He used to run 5:15 min/km, “because that’s what everyone uses as an endurance pace”. With INSCYD I showed him that he should actually be running 6:30 min/km.
If that hurts your ego, putting your Strava on private for 6 weeks can help. Usually your endurance pace increased significantly after those 6 weeks. And you eventually get to much faster pace while keeping your heart rate low enough.
When you work with INSCYD performance software, you have the advantage of being able to show the athlete what they need to work on, why they need to work on that and how they progress over time. This also takes the guesswork out of coaching.
INSCYD enables you to show exactly what to work on, and how this will benefit the athlete.
Due to a slower endurance pace, my triathlete became better at burning fat and had more energy left for the harder session. Knowing that this is the reason why you need to run slower, gets athletes on board.
Some coaches are known for their genuine interest in the athlete’s life, and ability to create a training program around it.
Other coaches are praised for their expertise in exercise physiology, science and their data driven approach.
I believe both aspects – lifestyle and physiology and own experience as an athlete – are important when coaching an athlete.
For instance, a 57 year old athlete I coach achieved an incredible performance improvement. From a metabolic profile standpoint:
But this would not have been possible if we didn’t look at both his metabolic profile and his busy lifestyle.
First I used the remote INSCYD test to get a better idea of what type of athlete he is. The metabolic report gave me a clear overview of what to work on: improve VO2max and anaerobic threshold.
Aya Sinay (left) uses both INSCYD lactate tests and INSCYD remote power-only tests.
Then I needed to take into account his life outside of sports. He’s a businessman and a family man, which means he is a time-crunched athlete and time is limited and (mental) fatigue can impact training.
We’ve discovered that a successful approach involves maintaining flexibility during normal weeks, while adding dedicated training camps periodically.
During those training camps he can really focus. It’s my job to make the most out of these camps. For instance by:
Calculating the amount of carbohydrates he burns during each training session, using the INSCYD carb combustion graph. This enables me to make a nutrition plan to fuel the body. Knowing the amount of carbs burned, also ensures that the training load is realistic over the course of several days.
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Calculating the precise VO2max interval intensity and recovery, using the INSCYD lactate accumulation and recovery graph. This graph shows how long he needs to recover between intervals to clear the lactate, to make sure the quality of the intervals remains high.
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Having this actionable data enables my athlete to train more effectively and as a result, improve performance while having a busy lifestyle.
A post shared by Alena Sinay (Stevens) (@ayasinay)
You’ve just read how a holistic approach to coaching—one that combines cutting-edge science with an understanding of an athlete’s lifestyle—can yield incredible results. Now, imagine what you could achieve with the power of INSCYD at your fingertips.
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Athletes why train with generic plans when you can have a program tailored to your unique physiology? INSCYD is the key to unlocking your full potential. Find your dedicated INSCYD coach or lab here.
Already have a coach? Experience INSCYD in action with your coach and redefine your training approach.
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Many coaches either send their triathletes to a lab for metabolic performance testing, or test their athletes themselves with FTP tests. I don’t like either of them.
When I was racing IRONMAN’s myself, I already noticed that Functional Threshold Power (FTP) was an oversimplification. Two athletes with the same FTP can perform very differently during a race. As a coach, I knew I needed to look beyond FTP.
Why You Should or Shouldn’t Base Training Intensities on Anaerobic Threshold / FTP
Wondering about the limitations of using FTP as the sole performance benchmark? Dive deeper into the science with our exclusive webinar hosted by Sebastian Weber, a renowned coach who has worked with world-class athletes.
An easy solution is to send your athletes to a lab, but I’ve had bad experiences with those. I once sent my youth athletes to a lab, only to find out that the facemask was not properly used during the test. This is not the result you want after a 2+ hour ride to the lab.
I also noticed that the power meter on the ergometer and the power meter on my bike pedals differed by 40 watts. This makes it impossible to transfer lab data to actionable training recommendations.
I now solve this problem by doing metabolic field tests on my own. I started using INSCYD’s Power Performance Decoder, a power-only (cycling) or GPS-only (running) test that gives you lab-level accuracy. Soon I added lactate tests as well. I don’t rely on other labs anymore and still have all the data and more.
Download PPD cycling protocolDownload PPD running protocol
Request the lactate test protocol here:
With these INSCYD tests I’m able to create my own test protocol, depending on the athlete. For instance, age-group athletes often prefer a sub-maximal test. I then use lactate samples. However, I also do a lot of remote coaching. For those athletes I use the power-only metabolic tests.
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A metabolic test is like a look under the hood of an athlete’s engine. It doesn’t only look at power numbers, but also at how power is composed. By doing so, you have detailed insights of how the body works during sub-maximal and maximal efforts.
Every metabolic test should at least give you data about the aerobic engine (VO2max), anaerobic engine (VLamax), anaerobic threshold and substrate utilization (fat combustion and carb combustion).
INSCYD goes beyond this data, by giving you the tools to put this data (and more) into practice. For instance by giving you access to training zones that are based on athlete’s unique metabolic data, e.g.: a training zone based on FatMax.
Since performing an INSCYD metabolic test is so easy – you can even test remotely using a sports watch only – every coach and athlete should use metabolic tests.
The INSCYD testing itself is also attracting new customers to my coaching business. Athletes who are being coached by other coaches now come to me for testing. The same is true with self-coached athletes. I recently tested an IRONMAN athlete, 3 weeks before his race. I created a pacing and fueling plan for him. Afterwards he said:
“I never felt so much energy and power during a race. For the first time I knew what I was doing: how many watts I needed to push and how many carbohydrates I needed to consume.”
He won the half IRONMAN race and soon he will revisit to do the running test.
With INSCYD, you can tailor training programs with unparalleled precision, ensuring your athletes achieve their peak performance faster and more efficiently.
Don’t let your athletes settle for anything less than their absolute best. Book a Free Demo with INSCYD today and experience firsthand how you can elevate your coaching game.
Athletes why train with generic plans when you can have a program tailored to your unique physiology? INSCYD is the key to unlocking your full potential. Find your dedicated INSCYD coach or lab here.
Already have a coach? Experience INSCYD in action with your coach and redefine your training approach.
Find Your INSCYD Coach or LabSee INSCYD In Action With Coach
Learn more from INSCYD’s triathlete coaches. For instance how Jean-Christophe was able to make 8 athletes qualify for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
Aya Sinay is the head coach of TRI Tatry Triathlon Team. As an ex professional triathlete, she raced IRONMAN Kona twice. She is also AG Long distance World Champion (World Triathlon). Aya is the IRONMAN distance record holder in Slovakia and has over 10 years of triathlon coaching experience.
VO₂max, VLamax, FatMax, thresholds, fuel use and training zones, from a single test in the lab, in the field or fully remote.
