Athlete Centric Coaching Simplified

In the picture above, we have a muscle oxygen saturation trend from a hybrid athlete performing 8x 400m repeats at their two-mile PR pace with 30 seconds rest between sets. These two trends were taken three weeks apart, and in the interim period, this athlete trained to improve their oxygen delivery to the locomotor muscles.

In addition to displaying muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2), we also have the rate of change of muscle oxygen saturation (ΔSmO2) displayed, reflecting the balance of oxygen supply and demand in the working muscle. The more negative ΔSmO2 gets, the more oxygen utilization is outstripping oxygen supply and vice versa.

Note that from week 1 to week 4 this athlete is not desaturating the working muscles as much during their work bouts. When we calculate the average ΔSmO2 from week 1 to week 4 it goes from -0.4 %/s to -0.1 %/s, indicating that this athlete’s oxygen supply capabilities have improved relative to their utilization. Given that this athlete maintained their speed across these two sessions, the physiological changes observed above qualify as improvements in efficiency and running economy.

In the absence of performance data we can’t make sense of NIRS measurements, but when we contextualize this physiologic data with measurements of power, speed, or endurance we can start to get a more complete picture of how an athlete is adapting to training over time. Furthermore, it can help us decide what the next step is for making additional performance improvements. Had we decided to prioritize improving this athletes oxygen extraction after week 1, we would have quickly hit a wall since the margin for improvement was so small (they were already desaturating down to ~3–5% SmO2. How much lower can we go?). But, now after week 4 there are more paths to improvement, and we can look for some combination of improving oxygen supply and demand.

NIRS takes the guesswork out of the equation and simplifies lofty concepts like athlete centric coaching and dynamic periodization. When we capture both physiology and performance measurements on a day to day basis every training session becomes an assessment, which allows for more strategic decision making.

If you want to learn more about how NIRS measurement technology can be used I recommend you check out “The Science & Practice of Performance Enhancement with NIRS”

The Science & Practice of Performance Enhancement with NIRs was originally developed for professional team sport and military trainers. It was presented to small groups or even one-on-one over several days. Now it has been adapted to an online training format. It is the most advanced material that is currently publicly available for using muscle oxygen monitoring to train acyclic sport athletes more effectively.

NSCA Certification for CEU’s

This course has been approved by NSCA for 0.6 Continuing Education Units in category D. To receive your completion certificate, you must complete all videos and quizzes. Then email info@moxymonitor.com and we will send your certificate that can be submitted to the NSCA