TOPS

Do you want to TRAIN and PERFORM OPTIMALLY?????

Two major factors that often limit the ability of athletes in endurance-based events to train and perform optimally are inadequate replenishment of skeletal muscle glycogen and total body water stores.

The features of the Training Optimization System (TOPS):

Provide precise, scientifically-based, and individualized plans communicated by device notifications to ensure that you replenish your carbohydrate and body water stores optimally following each and every training session and competitive event.

Until now the replenishment of both of these critical physiological stores has been complete GUESSWORK. This app takes the GUESSWORK out of both of these processes to ensure that you are in an optimal physiological state for your next training session or competitive event.

The 3 features in the Training Optimization System (TOPS) were developed by Jim Hagberg PhD, an internationally-recognized exercise physiologist at the University of Maryland College Park and one of the founders of Training Optimization System, LLC to allow athletes to maximize their ability to train and perform optimally. Dr. Hagberg and Training Optimization System, LLC are currently in the process of developing 15 – 20 additional features to expand this app to allow athletes to optimize their capacity to train and compete. iOS versions of all features in this app will be released shortly.

The first feature of TOPS allows distance runners, basketball, soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse athletes, and inactive or recreationally-active individuals of any age to estimate their maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max). There is no other app or means available to estimate your VO2max other than via assessment in a commercial or university exercise physiology laboratory. This information can be used in a number of critical ways by individuals to guide their training and performance and it is also used in the other features of this app.

The second feature of the Training Optimization System (TOPS) quantifies carbohydrate and fat utilization during your exercise. There is no other app or means available to quantify carbohydrate utilization during exercise. Knowing this critical information will then allow you to replace those carbohydrates, to ensure that your skeletal muscle glycogen stores are replenished so that you can train or compete in an optimal physiological state. Implementing this feature of the Training Optimization System (TOPS) requires the input of your average heart rate during your exercise session, either a training session or a competitive event, as generated by a heart rate monitor. Substrate utilization is then calculated based on your calculated exercise intensity, VO2max, the duration of exercise, and a number of metabolic relationships published in highly-respected scientific journals.

The third feature of the Training Optimization System (TOPS) quantifies the amount of water you lost via sweat during your exercise session and then generates a personalized rehydration plan by sending the necessary number of mobile phone text messages to optimize your rehydration and carbohydrate replenishment. To utilize this feature you must weigh yourself under standard conditions before and after your exercise session. The amount of substrates you utilized is then subtracted from your weight lost during the exercise to provide a more valid and accurate assessment of the precise amount of water you lost as sweat during your exercise session. You then can select from a list of appropriate options, the drinks that you will use to replenish your body water and carbohydrate stores. This feature then generates the required number of notifications to send to you every 30 minutes to ingest the appropriate drinks to replenish your body water and carbohydrate stores.