Contrary to popular believe going hard on the bike is NOT what makes you a stronger rider! Yes, it’s a required part of the “get faster” formula, but it’s actually the rest afterwards and what’s known as “super compensation”. Too many athletes get stuck in the mind set of going hard all the time, it’s likely you have even done this yourself. This type of training is of no benefit and serves only to grate away at your fitness. It soon becomes chronic, and if continued, inevitably leads to over training or illness and eventually a loss of fitness.

My saying has always been “rest as hard (or harder) as you train”. Give you muscles and body the chance to recover and super compensate, only then will you come back stronger the next time. A few tips for resting and recovery:

· Cool Down. At the end of your workout/race, spend 10-15 minutes in Z1 and medium cadence. This will allow the blood to begin clearing the muscles of waste and begin to facilitate recovery.

· Hydrate and refuel, good hydration is key, especially in the hot summer months. As is proper nutrition. After exercise there is an ideal window somewhere around 15-45 minutes after the workout that you should try to use to take in a recovery product. My favorite and recommendation is EnduroxR4, it is liquid and easily and quickly metabolized and more importantly it uses the ideal ratio of 4:1 carbohydrate to protein to speed muscle glycogen replenishment and rebuild muscle protein. After that you should continue to hydrate and take in a healthy balanced meal within 2-3 hours (more on this in the nutrition article).

· Never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lie down. Its pretty simple, try to stay off of your feet and take a nap if possible, avoid stairs if at all possible.

· Hot shower or bath. Immediately following the cool down and recovery drink take a hot shower or bath. Do not linger in the bathtub, as you will dehydrate even more.

· Massage. Other than sleep, most riders have found massage to be the most effective recovery method. A post race massage should employ long, flushing strokes to speed the removal of the waste producers of exercise. Deep massage at this time could increase muscle trauma and should be avoided. Due to the expense of massage, some athletes prefer self-massage. Following a hot shower/bath stroke the muscles for 20 to 30 minutes, working away from the extremities and toward the heart.

The rate at which athletes recover from hard training session varies greatly. Different recovery methods may work well for you as an individual athlete. It is even likely that the body will respond in a different way following various types of workouts. While there are many physiological similarities between athletes, we are all unique and will respond differently to different methods. Experimentation will help you discover the best methods for you. The important thing is to pay attention to your body and make sure you are recovering properly. If you ever think you are feeling over trained, contact me immediately and we will review your training.

Flexibility is a crucial component of any exercise or sports performance program and here are some of the reasons why.

First of all, a supple muscle will be able to tolerate physical stress much better than an inflexible one and will be much less prone to injury. Second, the increased range of motion allows for greater speed and force production as well as more freedom of movement. This will lead to greater comfort when performing any movement or while exercising and will also lead to improvements in athletic performance. Finally, stretching helps increase total and specific range of motion and enhances recovery from exercise by assisting in the flushing of metabolic waste from the muscles. Tight muscles also lead to muscle imbalances that can cause injury and lead to pain. This is especially common in the lower back of individuals who run, cycle, or just sit at a desk all day whose hamstrings and hip flexors are tight.

Here are a few methods for working on your flexibility as well as a few resources for information or services regarding stretching and flexibility training.

Dynamic warm up: In a dynamic warm up, the limbs are taken through a range of motion about eight or more times with a ½ second hold or stretch. This is done in attempt to warm up the body through specific ranges of motion for the sport or activity about to be performed. This elevates the core temperature of the body, mimics and prepares the body for the movements about to be performed, and gets the muscles and joints lubricated to enhance performance and prevent injury. Example: taking the arm across the chest and holding with the opposite arm for one second and repeating to warm up and stretch the shoulders. Try exercising with and without a warm up and see which one works better.

Static stretching: Best performed after a cardiovascular workout or warm-up when the muscles are warm and supple, and the joints are lubricated. Each muscle or muscle group is stretched to the point of tolerance and held for at least 30 seconds. This is where your flexibility improves and recovery is enhanced.

Partner Stretching: It is always nice to have someone else stretch you and it might make this laborious process more fun.

Yoga: Here is an excellent way to improve your flexibility while also enjoying the other benefits of an ancient practice.

Professional: Get your personal trainer, massage therapist, or other allied health professional to educate you about flexibility, or even better, to work on you on a regular basis. Most people do not know that this is a service offered by these professionals and do not take advantage of this wonderful resource.

Fall is the transition time of year for cyclist, usually October-early
November. You are generally winding down the race season, (unless you are
racing cyclocross) and recovering mentally and physically from your hard summer
of training and racing. It is the time of year to recharge your batteries
and clean the slate for a fresh start for next year. The weather is cool,
the days are short, the fall foliage is in, time to enjoy yourself and
relax. Here are some tips for preparing for a successful upcoming
training/racing season, training to train.

Relax. As already mentioned you need to totally recharge your batteries,
both mentally and physically. All of the training and racing for the last 10
months takes its toll and now is the time of year to enjoy the down time.
Spend time with friends and family, perhaps take that vacation you deserve.
Significant others can sometimes feel neglected during the riding season so
now is the time to give them the attention they deserve. Get plenty of rest.
It can take weeks to fully recharge after a burnout especially so catch up
on all of that missed sleep.

Crosstrain. While you want to get plenty of rest, you don’t want to
completely lose your base fitness. You will spend hours and hours on the
bike in the next 10 months so I usually recommend a change of pace for the
transition period. Some of my favorites are hiking, swimming, rowing, golf
(walking), Frisbee. I am not a big fan of running as it takes a while for
your body to adapt and is high impact and usually does more harm than good.
Two to three times a week for 1 hour or less is usually enough to maintain
most of your aerobic capacity. It is also the time to think about
supplementing your fitness and working on things like core stability,
flexibility, and balance. Sign up for a beginner Yoga class. It is great for
your physical and mental fitness. The thing to always remember is you are
recharging so stay away from any high intensity exercise. Ideally you should
stay in your prescribed Z1 and Z2 heart rate zones.

Review. Take a good look at your past year and review things. This is where
a diary is VERY helpful. Did you reach your goals? If not, why? What were
your strengths and weaknesses? What did you enjoy or despise about your
season? Try to identify patterns in your training. Can you identify periods
of overtraining or burnout? Schedule a review with your coach and tell
him/her everything you have on your mind relating to your training. You
would be surprised how many aspects there are to your training and what you
might think is meaningless may actually be very important.

Prepare. Think about what your goals are going to be for next year and
formulate a plan to reach them. The first step again is to talk with your
coach. This is probably best done immediately after the review period. It is
also important to reserve your spot with your coach as many coaches only
take on a limited number of clients and begin to fill up this time of year.
Choose your races and their priority. You may not have exact dates this far
from the next season but try to give your coach an estimated date for your
“A” races. If you are on a team or club, this is also the time of year to
review the season with your teammates and meet new teammates. It is also
time to work on things like sponsorship, budgets, uniform design/ordering.
Remember, teams always work better when everyone shares the work load. This
also facilitates teamwork later on during races.

Equipment. This goes along with preparing. This is the best time to get that
new bike, change your position, adjust your cleats, get custom cycling
foot-beds, overhaul your bikes, etc. The bike shops are slower this time of
year so you don’t get caught up in the spring rush. It’s also a good idea to
review the new products that are released this time of year. Stock up on
tires, tubes, chains, and nutrition. Make sure the trainer is ready to go
and you have the appropriate winter riding gear. Having these things taken
care of now will allow you to focus on your training when the time comes.

Stay Motivated. Come November/December you need to be excited and motivated
to start training. Along with doing all the things already mentioned, stay
enthusiastic. I love to watch old recorded races, read old issues of
VeloNews, go to the cyclocross races and cheer on your cross buddies. It’s
also a great time of year to have a club or team party to celebrate the
season.

Over the past 20 years training has been evolving so quickly it seems we spend more time digesting new information than we do riding. Since I have been riding and racing a bicycle, the new technologies that have been introduced claiming to make you faster, are overwhelming. From basic HR monitors to super tech-geek GPS and MP3 equipped cycling computers to electro stimulation machines that workout your muscles while you sit on the couch, to the ever popular altitude tents. Some of these gadgets cost as much as a small car! While it’s true they all have their benefits and will help you in some way or another, you must way the cost versus the gain with some of these training tools.

Years ago some of you may have heard me say that power meters are not worth the cost, that you can make huge gains with your basic HR monitor and allot of hard work. Well it’s true that a HR monitor is an extremely valuable piece of equipment and using it wisely will result in fitness gains. However, having made the switch myself in 2006 to power based training and now having 95% of my Athletes training with power my opinions of power based training are extremely different, to say the least. After several power based training seminars over the past few years and tons of research and reading, along with personal experience, I know and believe that there is no better way to spend your bike budget than on a power meter. If used properly in your training, the gains will be far greater than any set of aero wheels, lightweight frame or any other performance enhancing product, (this includes all of the supplements out there today that make wild claims of boosting your performance).

Let’s face it, we are all getting older and each year, especially over the age of 35, our fitness diminishes a little bit. Gaining in fitness becomes harder and harder as we age and our circumstances change, especially for more elite level athletes. A power meter is a tool that can help you dial in to your training and make those small gains that other wise may not be possible. So take advantage and make the most of your peak years, start training with power today. Here are my top 10 reasons for making the switch to training with power.

• Power is Speed. There is no better measure of performance than performance itself, and power or wattage is the best way to measure speed and performance. Heart rate is often mistaken for an indication of how hard or fast you are going, however HR is only an indication of the cost of how fast you are going. Think of power as the speedometer and heart rate as the fuel gauge. When used together, you can see, for example, how much a certain effort cost in terms of energy for a certain speed or output.

• Sprinter of Climber? Do you know your strengths and weaknesses? Most of us may have an idea, but it’s doubtful we know for sure. We may think we are a poor sprinter, but it may just be we are always in the wrong spot at the end of a race. Training with power will allow us to define both your strengths and weaknesses. For example, your power to weight ratio will be defined for certain time periods, you may have a really high power/weight ratio for 60 seconds, an extremely low number for 5 minutes, but then do pretty well for an hour. Training with power will allow us to identify the areas you need work beyond a shadow of a doubt. It will also help us together to plan your race strategy around your strengths.

• I am getting faster! Are you really? How do you know? Remember a stand alone HR monitor is only an indication of the cost, not the speed. So how do you know you are improving? In a highly variable sport like cycling, it is very difficult to use your race results to measure your fitness. There are too many outside variables that need to be considered, like the field, weather, terrain, luck, strategy, tactics and more. The best way to really measure your performance and improvement is with a power meter.

• Adjust that training plan. You will find that needed adjustments to your training plan are easier to identify and make with the use of a power meter. You will also be able to tell, while doing a workout on your own, when its time to call it quits and head home, or put your head down and do another interval.

• Consistency. We have already discussed how the power meter is the best indication of speed and output. How does that help you in your training? Well, consider the number of variables that affect your HR, these include, recovery, sleep, diet, weather, stress to name a few. With power you are training at a certain intensity, period. While the cost may be a bit higher or lower from day to day, you will know without a doubt, that your output or power is in the appropriate zone.

• Measuring fitness. This one kind of goes along with “I am getting faster”. In a sport where aerobic fitness is so important, there is now better way to compare the speed versus the cost than with the use of a power meter. For example, we know that your HR based aerobic threshold is 135 and at that threshold you produce an average of 160 watts. An increase in aerobic function could immediately be identified by a shift of either more wattage (175) at threshold, or a lower heart rate (125) at the same wattage. These shifts can immediately be identified and changes to your zone made, without having to wait on your next V02 test, making the best of your valuable training days.

• Racing with your power meter. The data captured while racing is extremely valuable. It really paints a picture of your strengths and weaknesses as well as your racing style. It is also very helpful in setting up or adjusting your training plan. It can also be used as a valuable tool while racing. Consider the following scenario.

Joe is a strong cat 2 racing in a regional criterium with other 1’s and 2’s and a handful of domestic pros. Through testing and a spring of training with his power meter, Joe knows his precise FTP of 350 watts (functional threshold power, or the approximate amount of power he can sustain for a 30 minute TT). He also knows that if he goes above this FTP for a considerable amount of time, he will likely blow up and DNF. With 20 laps to go, the bell is rung for a prime. Joe, being a pretty good sprinter, leaps off the front and gains an instant gap of 15 seconds and takes the prime. The next time Joe looks over his shoulder he still has the gap and has been joined by 3 others, making the breakaway 4 strong. The attack caused Joe to go over his FTP so he knows he must sit in the back of the breakaway group and recover. After he recovers a little, he starts to take some pulls. Joe quickly realizes that the average speed of the break away is above his FTP, so he does what any respectable sprinter would do; he sits on the back and takes a free ride. Besides, Joe has a hunch from looking at the others in the breakaway that they may also be above threshold and will soon blow up, so he saves his energy and waits for the field to catch them. With 11 laps to go, the bell again rings for a prime, and once again Joe sprints from the breakaway and takes the prize. When he looks over his shoulder, his break away companions are no where to be seen. Now Joe is all alone, off the front, with 10 laps to go and a 20 second advantage, not a great place for a sprinter to be. Joe doesn’t’ want to blow up, but he doesn’t want to sit up either, so he uses his power meter to pin his wattage at 340-360 right around his FTP. This way he knows he will still have some gas left if the field catches him, but he will still be trying his best to stay away, it’s the best Joe can do with the situation. With one lap to go, Joe still has a 10 second advantage, he knows know that he can now let his wattage climb up to around 400, an output that, through testing, he knows he can hold for 1-2 minutes. Joe wins the race by a margin of 5 seconds over the field.

Do you see how a power meter can be so valuable while racing?

• Improving technique. Training with a power meter can also help you identify areas where changes in technique could enhance your riding and racing. For example, we may discover after a few months of training with a power meter that changes in your cadence may help you ride more efficiently. It could be that a higher cadence allows for the same power output with a lower heart rate, or cost, than a slightly lower cadence. For the TT specialist, your power meter can be used as a virtual wind tunnel! Simply do the same TT course at the same average power output with different positions. Eliminate outside influences as much as possible and the only other major variable is aerodynamics.

• Avoid overtraining. With the use of a power meter it is much easier to avoid overtraining. Your workouts can be rated and given a TSS (Training Stress Score) to carefully track your days/weeks and avoid an overly stressful workload. We can now perfectly balance intensity and volume for the appropriate time of year. On a daily basis you will be able to see real time, while on your rides, how your body is reacting to your training, you will know exactly when to say stop and avoid going to far with your workout. This is a very important part of successful training.

• Train smarter not harder. Lets face it, few of us have 30 hours a week to train like the pros. Most of us are very limited in our time, yet we still must go out and race at a very high level, some of us even at the Pro level. This time crunch makes the limited amount of training time we do have very valuable, and we must use this time wisely. Make the most of your training time by making the workouts extremely specific, always have a goal in mind for each workout. There is no better way to do this than with the use of a power meter, you can now train a very specific area of your fitness, without overdoing it and riding blindly. Almost every professional cyclist today is already training with power, it’s your turn. Stop guessing and start improving.

For more information on power based training or to begin your power based training program, contact me.