The winter training program is soon ready for download. I know it is a little late, but before I publish it, I would like you to consider the following aspects of your winter training. This will help you understand how important it is to customize the upcoming winter training program. It also explains why it
Before You Download The Winter Training Program Read More »
I often hear that cyclists skip strength training because they are afraid they will gain additional body weight. In this series I will try to explain how cyclists can strength train without gaining extra body weight.
1. Why additional body weight should be avoided
Larger muscle cells (that will say larger square diameter) can generate more power. That is the most commonly known way to increase power, though it is not desirable for cyclists. The problem is that a large muscle mass is heavy to carry and there is a dilution of mitochondrias. Additional body weight will slow you down when you climb or accelerate your bike. Notice that I include accelerations, because many riders forget that their body weight also matters when they accelerate their bike out of a corner. Enthusiasts riding with power meters may have introduced you to the term ”˜power to weight ratio’. That refers to how many watts you can push compared to your body weight. That ratio has a huge impact when you climb (or accelerate”¦)
Strength Training Without Additional Body Mass – 1 Read More »
A heart rate monitor is one of the most used tools for pacing strategy during intervals or competitions, analyzing of performance and detection of overtraining. Polar heart rate monitor watches make very precise measurement of the current pulse. This information can be very useful for an experienced user who understands the exercise physiology behind heart rate regulation.
Getting started
One of the best ways to learn to use a heart rate monitor is to use one during training. Don’t buy one of the top models from Polar (cs600, s725 etc.) – these watches are not made for beginners. Instead try one of the basic Polar monitors for a beginning. These watches are cheaper and easier to deal with. There are also several other manufacturers of monitors and some of them are probably cheaper. My point is that for a beginner who has never tried heart rate monitors before, it might be a clever idea to buy one of the cheaper models for a beginning and then buy a more advanced heart rate monitor when you know which kind of data you are interested in. A Polar cs600 is a great tool for experienced riders, but is very likely to be overkill for a beginner.
Notify how your heart rate reacts
When you have bought a heart rate monitor: Get out on the roads! Spend a month with your regular training program, just wearing the monitor, but notifying how the heart rate reacts to the efforts. It is very interesting to study the heart rate and very quickly you will discover that you start to use the monitor for pacing. At this point you are already getting paid back for your investment, since you train harder and are more motivated during the ride.
Watch your own heart rate monitor – not your training partner’s…
The fact is that you can only compare heart rate values with your own previous registrations. The reason for this is that we all have a different anatomy of our cardiovascular system. But these systems are all based on the same physiological mechanisms. Thus, we can learn from each others’ physiological experiences and adaptations, but we can’t compare individual heart rate values. E.g. your resting heart rate is 58bpm while your friend’s heart rate is 42bpm, still I can’t say which one of you are in the best shape nor have the highest VO2 max.
Your maximum heart rate is correlated to your age, but that does not mean that we all fit in to 220-age formula. There is a huge standard deviation because we all are anatomically different. Just like with the resting heart rates, maximum heart rates does not predict performance.
Be patient
It is not necessary to use a special heart rate focused training program when you start to use it. As I said, just wearing the monitor for the first month is a very good education. I remember when I started to use a heart rate monitor for the first time back in the mid 90’s. At that time I had read some literature about general exercise physiology and heart monitors, but I lacked practical experience with the monitor. The result was that I made some target intervals for my heart rate which triggered the alarm system to beep most of the time. After a few of these rides I started to ride without target zones until I knew more about how my heart rate reacted during cycling. The lesson I learned was that you have to be patient and wait a while before you start doing intervals based on heart rate target zones.
How To Use a Heart Rate Monitor for Cycling Read More »
Here is a list of 20 ways to increase your training intensity. Some tips are serious and others are included just for fun. There might be other ways to increase to intensity and if you feel that one of your favourite tips is not on the list and would like to inform us about it, please leave a comment. There is an ultra short description following each tip, but if you want to understand the full reasons behind you have to spend some more time here on Training4cyclists.com.
These tips can be useful when you train on your own, but they can also be useful when you train with a group where you are (a lot) stronger than the other riders. Intensity is an important parameter for you overall training load which makes these tips worth to consider.
1. Intervals
This is the best known and commonly used way to intensify training. There are many kinds of intervals such as sprint intervals, anaerobic endurance intervals, maximum oxygen consumption intervals (VO2 max intervals) and aerobic endurance intervals.
2. Racing
Races are an easy way to get several intervals with a very high and race specific intervals. It is very motivation to compete in races and is also a very common way to prepare for races among professionals.
3. Use an old bike
Your old bike is harder to ride and requires more watts to maintain the same speed. When you return to your favourite bike, you will experience that you feel light and your legs are doing extremely well.
4. Use heavy wheels
Additional weight also requires more watts, especially in a hilly terrain. Wheels are the most sensitive place for additional weight.
5. Low pressure in tyres
Low pressure makes your bike slower and makes you work harder to keep up with the pack.
6. Train on your own
You can´t hide yourself behind the wind breakers.
7. Be in front of group rides
It is harder to stay in front because of the winds. Don´t sit behind your friends just because it is more comfortable.
8. Wear loose clothes
Poor aerodynamics makes the trip harder for you.
9. Sit in upright position
Body position is the most important factor considering aerodynamics. Sit in a confortable position and try to brake the wind with your chest.
10. Climb mountains
Well, this is an obvious way to increase intensity. If you only got small hills then do them over and over again.
11. Train with stronger riders
Just like in races you are forced to work harder to stay in the group.
12. Train on windy days
Windy days are harder days, simple as that.
13. Train behind a scooter
The feeling of going fast motivates you to ride with a high intensity.
14. Even better: Train in front of scooter
Well, you can at least try to jump for a few hundred metres?
15. Go for a mtb ride
Riding cross country is fun and very intense.
16. Improve your personal best time
This is an old idea that I used a lot when I was a runner. Focusing on making personal bests is very intensifying way to train.
17. Improve your maximum velocity
I liked that challenge as a kid and it still is a challenge. Not only downhill, but also how fast can you go uphill?
18. Improve your maximum peak power output
If you are the lucky owner of a power meter, you can make a list with personal bests to improve. What is your highest power output ever?
19. Hit your maximum heart rate
Heart rate monitors are getting very cheap but they offer an easy way to measure training intensity. What is your highest maximum heart rate?
20. Avoid red lights when cycling in a city
If you train in the city, try to catch the green wave (and be aware of the traffic..!)
21. Join Power Meter Project 2008
Increase your threshold power in 31 days.
20+1 ways to increase training intensity Read More »
It wasn’t an easy decision to choose the winner, actually it was a very close race. One of the reasons it was so difficult was that it is different what kind of tips a beginner needs and most beginners can benefit from a majority of the tips participating in the competition. But I have announced that I will choose one winner and I decided the following comment from Ian, Australia to be the best comment (winning $25):
When someone starts cycling I usually suggest a few group rides that are good for beginners or get them to do one of the longer challenge rides.
Getting in a well paced bunch teaches them alot about cycling, gives them friends to ride with and makes the starting process alot more fun.
The challenge ride, like around the bay in a day, set them an achievable goal which encourages them to go beyond what they thought their limits were. I am currently trying to get my 60year old mother to register for a 100k ride with the offer of doing it with her.
But Ian wasn’t the only person to come up with great tips for beginners. Thus, I will highly recommend beginners to visit the thread with cycling tips for beginners.
Best Beginner Cycling Tips – The Winner Read More »