"Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson “There is now good scientific evidence that expressing appreciation for what you have has a remarkable effect on your self-judgment system and your overall well-being, most likely because it confronts negativity and increases the production of dopamine—your brain’s pleasure juice.” This is a quote from “The Brave Athlete” written by Simon Marshall, PhD and Lesley Paterson, one of my favorite sports psychology books. I really consider it a life psychology book because our mental state out-of-sport certainly impacts how we think and feel in sport. They reference A.M. Wood, J.J. Froh, and A.W. Geraghty from “Gratitude and Well-Being: A Review and Theoretical Integration,” in Clinical Psychology Review 30, no. 7 (2010), 890-905.
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“I just rode my bike 4 hours last weekend, so of course I can go for 5 miles on my first run of the year”, said the cyclist who is then hobbling around for the next week. Many cyclists look to add other activities into their weeks during the “off” season, and running is a very common sport to incorporate. Yes, we have the heart and lungs to complete almost any endurance exercise, but, without taking it slowly and considering past running experience, running can be painful or downright detrimental. However, if done right, it doesn’t need to be painful, but is it helpful? The Godfather of endurance coaching and author of the Training Bibles, Joe Friel, recently wrote a whole book, called Ride Inside, on indoor training. Indoor training has become increasingly popular, and with the interactive platforms such as Zwift and RGT, and the more "realistic" equipment available, riders are logging more hours indoors. Some athletes are actually dedicated and sponsored indoor racers! Being forced inside during 2020 certainly added fuel to this fire. Riding indoors has it's own set of challenges. Last week, I wrote about Cardiovascular Drift, which is not uncommon during indoor training due to increasing body temperature and dehydration. There are steps you can take to help avoid this as well as more considerations about your setup. Here's a great article by Joe Friel that was posted on the TrainingPeaks Blog about setting up your indoor training area: Making Your Indoor Cycling Setup Work for You https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/making-your-indoor-cycling-setup-work-for-you/ If you don't have a dedicated smart bike, if you have a second bike that you can leave on your trainer, I find this eliminates one of the barriers that often exists for athletes. Little things like that can really help to make sure you get on your bike for your workout. It doesn't need to be fancy, but with a little thought, a couple of box fans, a little entertainment, and plenty of fluids, you can have a much more enjoyable time. To sign up for my remote indoor training classes, click here: Remote Indoor Training Classes If you want to get more out of your indoor AND outdoor training, I offer customized training programs that will upload to all popular training platforms and head units. If you're interested in setting yourself up for your best year ever, drop me a line. Email Coach Brian Coach Brian Why is my power staying steady, yet my heart rate continues to climb? Most of us have experienced this first hand. This is known as cardiovascular drift or heart rate decoupling. But why does it happen? Should we care? If so, what can we do to help mitigate it? Although some athletes may interpret this higher heart rate as getting a better workout, according to Dr. Ed Coyle of the University of Texas, this extra stress is not beneficial It is a negative type of stress. Take a look at the graph from one of my athletes doing some long (15 minute) sweet spot intervals: Key: Red: HR in BPM; Purple/Pink: Power in Watts; Blue: Target Intensity in Watts For each interval the power was very steady as you can see, but their heart rate rose over each successive effort. By the numbers, interval #1 was a 144 average HR, #2 was 151, and #3 was 155. An 11 BPM jump from the first to the last. Part is due to fatigue, but this workout was done indoors and heat played an issue. That's a great graphical example of what cardiovascular drift looks like using data. So what's the deal? |
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Coach B.L.Coach B.L. is the head coach at BJL Coaching and an avid racer and cycling enthusiast himself. Archives
April 2024
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