Training tips

key terms

Carbohydrates. Energy food or fuel for the body, exp, Rice, potatoes, spaghetti, raisons, some sports drinks, and energy bars, fruits,

Glycogen, a storage form of glucose in the liver and muscle cells, each gram of glycogen contains 4 calories of energy,

A diet deficient in carbohydrates rapidly depletes muscle and liver glycogen and affects performance in intense short-term & long-term endurance activities.

Glucose. Blood sugar, source of energy, called dextrose,

Lactic Acid. Inlay-mans terms a temporary product of the anaerobic glucose metabolism, aching and pain in the legs due to oxygen debt.

Metabolism. All the chemical reactions that take place in your body when your body uses energy from food.

Oxygen debt. When you run out of breath and the bodies circulation can’t bring the oxygen to the muscles fast enough to keep up performance.

VO2Max. Short for maximal aerobic oxygen uptake, governed by heredity, training, age, sex, body composition.

Anaerobic Energy. The immediate and short term energy systems, e.g., Ice Hockey, Sprinting, track sprints

Aerobic Energy. The long Term System, 5000 meters speed skating, long distance bike race,

Average sedentary male VO2Max is approx 40%, but athletes range from 60% to 92%, with training you can build up your VO2 Max.

Training Diary

1. Keep it simple, but record everything related to fitness etc.

2. Time of day,weather conditions.

3. Resting heartrate first thing in the morning before you get out of bed.

4. Total yearly klm ridden.

5. Where you rode and the terrain.

6. Pace ridden, gears used, average heart rate on the ride, time in each heart rate zone.

7. How you felt on a scale from 1 to 10.

8. By keeping a training diary you can analyze your progress and set backs from year to year to adjust your training plan

9.. Your training diary lets you know if you are improving, getting lazy, or riding yourself into the ground.

10. Don't hesitate to alter your plans due to ilness, workload, stress.

11. Always keep an open mind, don't let your training plans enslave you with numbers or someone else's training plan.

12. Remember you are doing it for your own gratification not for coaches, parents, peers etc

13. Have fun

Cornering.

Start the turn by putting the outside pedal down & weighting it hard, lean the bike into the corner, have your butt on the rear of the saddle, and stay low along the top tube, don’t lean your upper body, let the bike lean under you.

Rotate your inside hip so your inside knee goes against the top tube, this angles the bike into the turn, Lean the bike and it will turn.

Its like downhill sking, you weight the outside ski, turn from the feet not the shoulders, it’s the same on the bike,

Note, after a season of downhill sking, I found I could corner 100% better .

In successive turns, exp, mission flats connector, Approach wide, cut the apex,and quickly shift the bike back to be ready for the next turn or fast straight , I watched Gordon Fraser go though that turn at 60+ kil, doing exactly the above. In the 2005 Canadian Nationals.

Paceline Tips.

When you reach the front of the line, keep the pace steady, assuming there is no change in the terrain & wind, If feeling fatigued just do a 30 sec pull and pull off to the rear, thus saving your self, Don’t be a hero and spoil your chances for later,

When you drop back to the rear, get back on as quickly as possible, in a few seconds you can be by yourself, No fun off the back,

Always give yourself a way out, stay a little to the right or left of the wheel you are following, soft pedal if getting to close, and always keep your eyes peeled on the road ahead. Relax your arms so if you are bumped by a rider it doesn’t send you out of control. keep your wits about you, don’t get meserimised by the wheel you are on.

Foods & Fluids.

Don’t forget, The sooner you eat after a race or ride, the better you recovery will be. A little protein & fat along with carbohydrate seems to extend the energy table,

Don’t get carried away by being fat free, A lot of top cyclists have a couple of egg & pancakes before a long training ride, And snacks along the way, fig bars, graham crackers, energy bars, and energy drinks mixed with water, swig often, Eat 7 or 8 small meals a day rather than 3 big ones.

Riding Tips.

Always start a ride into the wind, then if you are fatigued you are not chilled on the return trip,

Always check your tires for cuts etc, nothing worse than cruising down a steep hill & worrying about the rubber.

Always carry a pump and spare tubes [ two ] if on a long ride.

Make sure bike is in good working condition.

If weather cold wear tights to keep your knees warm, and a windbreaker[ waterproof ] in case of storms.

Ride with friends and groups but keep it sane, don’t let it turn into a “ Hammerfest “do that in the summer when you are ready,

Do not 1/ 2 wheel your riding partner if 2 abreast, this leads to higher speed and nobody wins. Above all have fun.

Nutrition

facts on seasonal nutrition
                           The Cyclists Diet.

               1 Endurance sports require much more in the way of calories,and allow the kinds of food that would be fattening or undesirable to a non- active person
                   IE. Tour de France rider’s burn 6 to 7 thousand calories a day,
                        1 lb of fat = 3500 calories
                          So as you can see, there is a fine line for a professional athlete to get the required amount of food,
                      The most important substances to ingest in your system are
                        1 Water {70% of our body weight}
                        2 Carbohydrates, Our main energy source,
                        3 Fats,   10 to 25 % .
                        4   Protein,   10% to 15 % a day
                        5   Vitamins
                        6    Fiber
                        7   Fruits etc
Note, Eat a banana before a race, but not during, It interferes with the digestive system and takes to long to digest., Every rider has his or hers favorite race food, just not Burger and fry’s.
                       Always have a high carbo meal the night before the race, and a light breakfast at least 2 hrs before race, And lots of fluids, Also don’t forget your warm-up.

Keys To Quickness

Speed is a combination of

1 Power

2 Cadence

3 Technique

Leg Speed, Practice low gear intervals, ease back when your bottom starts to bounce, pedal in smooth circles, gear exp , 39 by 17 at approx 85 to 100rpm.

Power. Start with a good foundation of base kilometers, approx 1500 to 2000, { weights in winter } Build power with hard accelerations in a big gear, exp 45 to 60 rpm in 53 by 16 approx for 20 to 30 sec then recover & repeat, or work out on short steep hills in large gears.

Technique. For hard power sprinting, finish line, Prime etc,

1 your back remains ridged, it doesn’t move, and it serves as a brace for your legs

2 Bring your shoulders only as far forward as front axle, no more

3 Pull on the bars like a rower to counter the power in your legs.

Heart Rate Training

Find what your MHR is first, There are several ways, some not as reliable as others,

220 – Age = MHR. Not 100% exact, could be out 10 to 15%.
Do a warm-up, then several sprints, or short sprinters hills until out of breath or anaerobic, Then check pulse on neck for 10 sec, then multiply by 6 resulting nos is MHR.
Different Work Zones.

Maximum Intensity, Zone 4

90% plus to 100%

Explosive Effort. Bridging a gap, Race Finish, Top of nasty Hill.

High Intensity. Zone 3

80 to 90 %

Anaerobic Threashold, Don’t go over it unless you plan it , You cant get rid of the lactic pain in your legs etc.not enough oxygen. Good for 20 to 40 min at max, HR is 15 to 25 beats below MHR.

Medium Intensity. Zone 2.

70 to 80%

Aerobic Threashold. This is were you want to be. Or close to it. You can still talk a little bit, and ride for up to 4 hrs at this pace, This is a good foundation pace, 35 to 45 beats below MHR.

LOW Intensity Zone 1.

60 to 70 %

Recovery , Comfortable, relax, Enjoy , Indefinite riding, great for new riders, 45 to 50 beats below MHR.

Training consists of 1 or 2 hard days followed by rest days, so the body repairs itself for tomorrow. Do only 2 sessions a week in Zones 3 & 4, Short 10 sec sprints, then 2 min recovery, or short hill sprints of same,

Spend 2 days in Zone 2. Spend 2 days in Zone 1. Do not do back to back Hard days. Make sure you have 1 day doing nothing strenuous.

As again this program is not cast, it depends on Weather , Heat, All those good things, and how well you feel.

Heredity's Influence On Training

HEREDITYS INFLUENCE ON TRAINING>

1 You can’t turn a cart-horse into a race- horse, no matter what kind of training plan you put the cart horse on. Its just not there,

2 That said many large athletes with training and motivation can win big events, So all is not lost,

3 We are not all blessed with 2lbs of body weight for 1 inch of height.

4 Our size can’t be changed, but are body weight can be within reason. Certainly not by diets.

5 When looking at the skeletal muscle, we find we are equipped with two types of muscle fiber,

6 Fast Twitch muscle type

7 Slow twitch muscle type

8 These muscle fibers are passed down genetically too us.

9 Fast twitch, Rely on short term energy system (Lactic Acid} for transfer of energy {anaerobic} exp, Sprinting, Ice Hockey, Speed skating sprints, lower VO2max.

10 Slow twitch, Rely on the aerobic system and are well suited for endurance type activities,{Higher VO2 max } exp 5000 meter speed skating, Tour de France,

But that doesn’t mean to say you can’t do well, by training and Technique, and savvy {brains} you can do the impossible.

Quote, you win if you think you can.

Our body make-up is determined largely by genetic code with major direction of the muscles composition fixed at birth.

Common Mistakes In Training

Common Mistakes in Training.

1 , Not having a PLAN, Training Strategy,& training schedule.

2 Not keeping a currant record of training and performance

3. Having insufficient or excessive overload.

4. Having unrealistic expectations

5 Expecting rapid improvement & becoming discouraged

6 Not planning your progress over several seasons

7 Following someone else’s program, not being an individual.

8 Not doing what works best for you.

9 Too much ,To soon

10 Not having your aerobic base kilometers in your legs.

Symptoms of Over-training.

1 Sudden weight loss

2 Increase in resting heart rate in morning, indicates your body is not fully recovered.

3 Chronic fatigue, No desire to train

4 Insomnia

5 Lack of appetite.

Treatment. A complete lay-off or reduced training , When desire comes back ,ease back slowly into it.

Note. Sometimes a rider gets hooked on the numbers and data in his or hers diary. Be carefull with this it can enslave you and over-train you.

Mental Training

Athletes emotions have a powerful effect on there level of performance. That said top competitors have learned to control there emotions to achieve optimal performance in competition.

When we face new, unusual situations E.g., Competition, We have an increase in heart rate, Blood pressure and metabolic rate {all the things that go on in our body,} and we either fight or flight.

This is not all bad, It energies Athletes Some things we can do to energize our bodies,

1, Visualize, exp, the race, start, turns, dream you are there, winning

2 Focus, on how you want to perform.

3 Transfer energy from negative thoughts to positive thoughts, Exp, Fear, anger, surprise, to challenge, desire, confidence,

SO, how do we do this, not to get to deep here?

Methods of body & mind control. One method to evoke a relaxation response

Technique.

1, Select a Quiet environment,

2 Get in a comfortable position and close your eyes,

3 Concentrate on taking controlled deep breaths

4 Be aware of your breathing, while breathing out, repeat a phrase

Exp breathes in, breathe out, and repeat for 10 to 20 min.

5 Allow relaxation to occur at its own pace.

This is just one exp of relaxation, There are numerous books written on the subject,

Your favorite music is another, whatever works for yourself, Remember we are all individuals,

IPS . Means Ideal Performance State. Exactly what it says.

General Characteristics are as follows,

1 self-regulation of arousal, energized but relaxed, no fear.

2 Higher self confidence

3 Better concentration,

4 complete control

5 Complete visualization of particular sport.

6 Determination , Motivation & commitment.

DAY of the event. Wake up slowly, repeat self talk statements, exp I feel great, I am ready, This is going to be a great day, SMILE,

Eating, important of what & when to eat.

Checking Equipment,

Leaving for the competition site.

Allow for personal space, to much interaction with team mates might lead to stress

FEELINGS. SKILLS. IPS.

Nervous, excited Relaxation Calm

Bored Energizing Aroused, alert

Body Stiff, dull Mild physical activity Loose Aware.

With mental rehearsal.

Optimal Tire Pressure

Cycling Tips, Hints, and Tricks

What Is The Optimal Tire Pressure?

March 9, 2009

tire When I started looking into this topic I thought it was gonna take me 10 minutes to find a definitive answer. Four hours later I’m neck deep in graphs, formulas, research papers, etc. It looks like a lot of cycling nut PhD students have done their thesis’ on researching the optimum tire pressure for a bike. Glad to see some of them are doing something useful.

Before I head out for a ride I inflate my clincher tires to 90psi (front) and 100psi (rear). I had no rational behind this except for that it feels good, it’s within the limits printed on my tires, and it’s what I’ve always done. I never really put too much thought into it.

There have been a few common themes throughout all the research I’ve been digging through that I’ll point out:

Tests have shown that rolling resistance is high at very low tire pressures. As pressures increase, tires roll faster, but the performance levels off at a certain pressure. Beyond this point, higher inflation offers negligible performance improvements. A properly inflated road tire (700×23C) at ~85 psi has nearly the same rolling resistance as the same tire at ~115 psi. This is only a marginal difference – depending on the weight of the rider. But at the higher pressure, the rider gives up some of the cornering traction and comfort necessary to cycling.

There’s a perception that running tires at high pressures of 115-140 psi somehow makes the bike roll faster. The thinking behind this is that it reduces rolling resistance because less surface area of the tread is touching the road. However, at higher pressures, internal losses due to flexing of the casing decrease, but suspension losses due to vibration and bouncing of the bike increase. The resulting vertical movement is robbing forward momentum. This cancels out most of the gains the increased pressure attempted to provide. What those high pressures really do is accelerate wear, compromise handling and give an extremely harsh and skittish ride.

Everybody knows what pressure their tires are rated for – it’s printed on the sidewall. However, not many people know what their rims are rated at. Rims change over time too. As your brake surface wears, high tire pressures will gradually cause your rim flanges to flare outwardly. Eventually, you will find the point at which the forces trying to blow your tire off of the rim will exceed the ability of your tire and rim to resist them. It usually happens in the middle of a turn and you’ll be on the ground before you know it. Also, heavy braking on descents will heat the rims and increase tire pressures beyond their tolerances.

Optimum tire pressure really is about rolling resistance. This is a whole other topic that depends on casing, durometer (hardness of the rubber), rim width, air temperature, load and other variables. This debate inevitably goes into clinchers vs tubulars. This is like discussing capitalism vs communism, Jesus vs Allah, Campy vs Shimano, Mac vs PC, Coke vs Pepsi. You’ll hit the same brick wall everytime.

What would I recommend for optimal tire pressure for your clinchers? I wish I could give you a chart and an easy answer. What I will say is that you can’t go wrong if you’re somewhere in-between the recommended pressure printed on the sidewalls of your tires. My Michelin Open Pro 3’s say 87-116psi. Be on the lower side of your tire’s tolerances if it is wet out. If you have a tire like the Vittoria EVO that’s rated for 115-140psi, make damn sure that your rim is rated for this as well.

Optimal tire pressure for tubulars (called singles here in Aus) is a completely different topic since both the tire and rim are made differently and can be run at higher pressures. More about this one later when I have a spare afternoon to look into it properly! Or can someone else offer to write that one for me?

Tagged as: maintenance, tires

Bike maintainence