Champion Triathlete Magnus Lönnqvist On Individualization Of Training

We are joined by a Finnish triathlon legend, Magnus Lönnqvist, for a quick interview. He shares his personal experiences about individualization of training and how to incorporate Omegawave in it.

Omegawave: What does individualization of training mean for triathletes?

Magnus:
Back in the old days your training was built on a maxi-perspective where you had your primary goal for the season far in the future. This maxi-perspective was cut into smaller cycles where you could find different eras like base preparation with focus on endurance, power preparation for adding power to your training and speed preparation for better speed. This all culminated in the competition season where you hoped to get it all out. Those were the days and now I am talking about the golden 1980’s.

Omegawave has brought a whole new way to optimize my performance. I still work towards my goals like in the old days but the way there differs. For an old timer like me it took a whole new way of planning and performing my training. In the old days you made a plan that gave you your training regimen for each day no matter if you felt like training or not. Tiredness was easily translated into laziness, hence a committed triathlete always went out training instead of listening to the body and choosing rest instead.

For me it took several months before I started to trust the Omegawave assessment. I still compare my own internal feeling with the information given by the assessment. By the day I am getting more and more confident that Omegawave really mirrors my body´s ability to operate under different stress levels.

The biggest difference is that you do not follow a daily routine planned on beforehand but you have a pool of different workouts, and you choose a suitable workout for the day based on the assessment information. This individualization optimizes your daily training for the optimal result when you need to perform.

O: Why is it important?

M: Individualization becomes important as time has become so precious. Even if training is fun you try to spend only the minimum time training in order to be able to fulfill all the other obligations you have in life like work and family etc. After more than 40 years of more or less serious and goal oriented training I have slided into a phase where I want to get the most of each workout. I have become confident with Omegawave and I feel that my training has made me better. This is a nice feeling having more than 50 years on your neck.

O: Practical examples from your training?

M: Being an old athlete I must confess that I am stuck with my old habits. This means that perform the same kind on seasonal activities in my training. In the winter time I do cross-country skiing, swimming and weight training and as the snow is gone the bike is pulled out as also running comes into the regimen. Throughout the summer swim, bike and run rules my training and as the season is gone weight training again comes into play as biking and running fades in hope for snow and skiing again.

Omegawave has added value to my training by teaching me to really listen to my system, and based on the assessment feedback I have added power or speed depending on my systems ability to adopt.

O: What is the value of technology like Omegawave in individualization of training programs?

M: The more success I experience in my training the more I value Omegawave. Suspicion is turning into trust. Being a gadget freak, Omegawave positions well in my collection of sports enhancements, and to be honest, in addition to my HR/GPS-monitors Omegawave adds a very special value. Omegawave tells me how I should do my training, and the rest of the gadgets help me to maintain the right balance between endurance, power and speed.

Magnus Lönnqvist is the original triathlon entrepreneur in Finland. He is the first Finn to do the Hawaiian Ironman in 1983, European Champion in Ironman distance in 1986 and has several national championships. Nowadays he is a lifestyle triathlete and a coach for future triathletes.