Paracyclist Uses Marc Pro to Overcome Training Challenges
Herbalife p/b Marc Pro Strava team member, Will Lauchenaeur, describes how Marc Pro has helped him overcome training challenges associated with being a paracyclist as well as chronic overuse that comes with using a wheelchair every day.
As a paracyclist using my arms to power a bike, the biggest training challenge faced is the simple fact we use a much smaller muscle group. Less muscle mass=Less glycogen stores and faster fatigue making for a unique set of challenges. It also means shorter workouts with high intensity and frequency have proven to yield the best results. The Marc Pro unit is the single best means of speeding recovery, allowing me to get more frequent and effective training sessions in. I can see where I have been able to hold higher wattage numbers on the tail end of a second interval workout. Two- a-days have been way more effective for me once I incorporated the Marc Pro sessions into my routine.
Chronic overuse is the norm with athletes and is also something that everyday wheelchair users deal with throughout their lives without any additional athletic training. The small, portable size (of the Marc Pro) and simple use makes for more frequent use and is therefore more likely to yield better results. I read that it has not been approved for use with areas of the body effected by paralysis either from neuropathy or an SCI like I have but I can tell you I used it traveling on a plane and it is effective at reducing edema in the lower legs and feet. I look like a hobbit when I get off a plane after a long flight and spend the first day on my bike and trainer trying to re-hydrate and get the fluid flushed out of my legs with an elevated heart rate. This is way more time consuming then just spinning after a flight to flush the legs. It is significant, we are talking pounds of water weight in my legs after a flight. At best your watts/kg drops until you get the fluid out and at worst it can lead to clots forming which happens and has taken athletes out of competition before they even get on the bike when we head overseas to race.
To learn more about the team and Will visit marcpro-strava.com.