 "It's hard to hit the ball when all you can think about is striking out." ~ Unknown
If you're reading this, there's a good chance that you spend hours and hours on your bike, both inside and outside, training to reach your goals. We upload our data to Strava, Connect, and Training Peaks, looking at the metrics that are important to us. Most likely, you know your weekly volume and/or distance, and may go well beyond this with your average speed, maximum speed, elevation gain, average power, normalized power, kilojoules, average cadence, intensity factor, training stress score, variability index, and on and on. When was the last time you sat down and trained your brain? We ride hard and purposely go out in adverse conditions and call this developing our "mental toughness." And while this is true and can help us to cope with difficult events and less than ideal environmental conditions, most of us can spend more time training one of, if not the greatest limiter: our brain. At some point, and unfortunately for most, it's at many points in our cycling career, we experience times of self doubt and mentally "cracking."
And the list goes on and on. I found a great resource to at least get you started on properly training your brain. Sports Psychology for Cyclists is a wonderful read, co-authored by Dr. Saul Miller and Peggy Maas Hill. It's not just the theory behind what is becoming more and more popular in all levels of sports these days, but techniques with drills to practice these techniques. It takes time and effort, and is perhaps not as much fun as going out and riding your bike, but the results will speak for themselves. The book has a great flow switching back and forth between the authors, with many anecdotes to help the reader see the connections. If you find this intriguing, there are also some great resources available on Youtube that are worth checking out. Here's a few for example: It's All About the Mind: The Psychology of Cycling Applied Practice in Sport PsychologyThe Psychology of Suffering - How to Handle the Pain Take your next rest day to train your brain! Cheers, Coach B.L.
0 Comments
BJL Coaching and Cycle Craft teamed up again this winter for our seventh annual Winter Trainer Sessions. The block of ten classes is now complete and was a success. Congratulations to all who attended and chose to get in a solid mid-week workout on the dark and dreary winter nights. And a special shout out to the folks who were able to attend and complete all ten classes:
Chip (been there all 7 years) Andrew Geoff Scott Kevin Cathy Tony Well done, ladies and gentlemen! Our final class was extra special this year, as we had a guest speaker, Lisa Fleming, who presented on Nutrition for Endurance Athletes after the class was complete. Lisa is a personal trainer, nutritionist, and health coach. In addition to numerous certifications and specialties Lisa has a BA in Sports Medicine and an MS in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Currently Lisa is the tier 4 manager at Equinox Summit where she leads small a team of elite personal trainers and nutritionists who focus on optimizing performance. Lisa gave us a super presentation, and was kind enough to share the slides (see below). If you are interested in learning more about this very crucial component of endurance athletes and how it can integrated into your own training, give me a shout ([email protected]), and I'll put you in touch with Lisa. Happy riding! Coach B.L. Lately, there's been more and more online and computer based training tools specifically geared towards your indoor cycling workouts. Several decades ago, Computrainers ruled this domain on a NES like system. Despite the blocky graphics, the data provided was very scientific and helpful when analyzed by a trained professional. Today, there are many online and computer based options. Some are helpful for passing the time and motivation, others are for data collection only, and some are a mix of the two. Currently, a very popular choice among cyclists is Zwift. Zwift was launched in the Fall of 2014, and has continued to grow as a rapid rate since then. What is it? Here's what Zwift has to say about Zwift:
CYCLING IS SOCIAL.Here at Zwift we believe that the best parts about cycling are the places you go and the people you go there with. Outdoor cycling is great. But weather, traffic, time constraints and distance from other cyclists can take the fun out of it. That’s why we’ve created a new destination that places you and your bike into immersive, detailed, 3D landscapes with other cyclists from around the world. Now you can ride with anyone at anytime. Packed with real-time stats, stunning lifelike graphics, and the latest in massive multiplayer online gaming, Zwift has kicked up the indoor cycling experience. We think it’s the greatest innovation in cycling since the bicycle. Source: www.Zwift.com Kevin E., a BJL Coaching Athlete and Cycle Craft Employee, wrote a super blog post about Zwift. Check it out here: Kevin's Zwift Review Maybe it's the "old school" mentaility of someone who's been riding indoors while staring at the TV screen on those super cold days and dark nights since 1995, but I haven't ventured to Zwift Island yet. I imagine next winter I'll be checking it out and enjoying myself and looking for you on Zwift! Until then, get OUTSIDE and ride your bike! Cheers, Coach B.L. Avoid these mistakes as the weather gets better here in the North East, or wherever you may be riding. This is a super article, published on CTS, that is filled with good advice for the novice and experienced cyclist alike. I can't say enough about these 11 mistakes, and they're all mistakes that I've helped cyclists overcome. With that said, the best way to avoid these mistakes and make the most of your season, is by working with an experienced an qualified coach. Enjoy the read!
Coach B.L. 11 Surprising Mistakes Cyclists Make When Getting Back in Shape We asked CTS Coaches to share some of the common mistakes they see athletes make early in the season when enthusiasm is high and athletes are motivated for the season ahead. Our coaches came up with 11 mistakes they see pop up year after year that disrupt athletes’ training, and they offered these easy solutions to keep you on track. Avoid these early season missteps and follow our coaches’ advice and you’ll lay down a foundation for a successful season. 1. Starving Themselves Just as They Ramp up Their Training Getting back in shape is often coupled with a desire to lose weight, so some athletes both increase their exercise energy expenditure and dramatically reduce their caloric intake at the same time. Solution: You have to eat to support your activity level, so at the very least continue eating as you have been when you start to ramp up your training. If you add calories to your day, start by adding a small pre-ride snack and consuming calories only during rides that are longer than 60-75 minutes. 2. Going Big Right From the Start!Enthusiasm is great, but sometimes it gets the better of an athlete, especially one getting back in shape. The memory of what you used to do sometimes blinds you to the need to build up more gradually this time around. Solution: Getting back in shape is all about consistency and establishing the habits that will keep you going. It would be better to ride 4 days a week for 1-2 hours than to ride once or twice a week for 4 hours. 3. Immediately Changing Your Cycling Position For experienced cyclists trying to get back into shape, you may not feel totally comfortable on your bike for the first few rides on the comeback trail. The saddle might feel high and the reach way too long, for instance, because you don’t have the conditioning and flexibility you had when you were riding more. Solution: Before you totally revamp your position be patient. Keep your rides relatively short (60 minutes or so) and the intensity easy to moderate for 3-5 rides. Avoid the temptation to test yourself, just ride at a relatively high cadence (90+ RPM) and give your body time to readapt to the position. If after these rides you’re still uncomfortable, go see a bike fit professional. 4. Getting Hung up on Previous Best Power Outputs/Heart Rates/Course Times Oftentimes athletes are too focused on what “was”, as opposed to “what needs to be.” A lot of time is spent lamenting the fact that power output is not what it once was, or time over a given course is significantly longer than previous. Solution: Be realistic with your current fitness level as you are starting again, and know that it will take some time to regain that fitness. The upside is that if it did, in fact, happen previously- there’s a pretty good chance it will happen again with time and consistency of training. Soon those power numbers will be right back where they used to be, and then some! 5. Setting an Unrealistic Training Routine All too often, athletes set unrealistic training schedules for themselves. After an extended hiatus from regular training, it is easy to set yourself up for failure by trying to squeeze in more training time than your schedule can sustainably allow. Career duties are typically off the table during time management negotiations, this leaves family and personal time (i.e. sleep) on the chopping block. Solution: Discuss goals with your partner and family before developing your training plan. A good coach can help you to pragmatically decide how much time is truly necessary and how to make the most of the time you do have. A balanced training plan will be much more effective than one that spreads you thin and leaves you stressed out. 6. Worrying About What Your Training Partners/ or Friends Are Doing With Their Training Listening to what other athletes are doing with their training (which often is different than what you, the athlete, should be doing) can easily rattle the nerves and place doubt on the start of your training and event preparation. Solution: This is where a coach can be very helpful. Discuss these concerns with your coach which allows for an open two-way communication. Your coach see’s the bigger picture and will explain and show you (the athlete) where you are within your training and what you need to continue to do within your training in order to achieve your goals. 7. Waiting Too Long to Add Intensity Perhaps as common as doing too much too soon is waiting too long to add intensity to a training program. Many athletes believe they need to do weeks of low-intensity riding to build a base before they can do high-intensity training. This will unnecessarily slow their return to fitness. Solution: Add small doses of very short, but quite high-intensity intervals to your training after just a few rides re-familiarizing yourself with your bike. These will build your fitness faster, and getting some progress under your belt is good for morale. Start with as few as four to six 10-second sprints separated by several minutes of easy riding. Increase the number of these sprints before increasing the duration of high-intensity efforts. 8. “Making Up” Workouts Making up missed workouts by cramming them all into a couple of days often results in excessive fatigue and poor training outcomes. Solution: Don’t cram. Many times you just need to go to the next workout if you only miss a day. If you have to miss a workout, evaluate the importance of the workout (intervals are more important than endurance rides, typically) or discuss with your coach and figure out where it fits in best with your schedule. You can make it up but maintain the integrity of your training program by replacing a less important workout with the critical missed workout. If you miss several workouts in a row then you may have to repeat the week. 9. Too Many Group RidesSome athletes make the mistake of doing too many group rides and not enough solo work that focuses on specific energy systems and make progressively lasting changes to fitness. Solution: Group rides are great, so we’re not saying you should always train solo. Pick and choose your group rides and have a purpose for each one. Make the majority of your riding specific to your fitness and goals with a progressive training program. 10. Overpacked Your Race Schedule Some athletes set an overzealous racing schedule with races every weekend, without taking into account the physical and mental stresses of racing, traveling, and impact on family and other commitments. Solution: Set your racing schedule around your most important races then fill in with a conservative schedule of supporting races, keeping in mind your other commitments. Include your family in the process and get feedback from a coach or someone who has more experience in racing to give you objective feedback. Be committed to your race schedule but be willing to adjust when something is not working. 11. Unprepared For Changing Weather Conditions Motivated athletes want to get out there in all kinds of weather, which is a good thing. But you have to be prepared. Doing a long climb but not having a wind jacket for the descent, or going out in cold and rain without appropriate booties and gloves, turns a great ride into a miserable experience. Overdressing can also be an issue. Solution: The Weather Channel, or your favorite weather app, should be your new best friend. Check the conditions before going out, or just stick your head outside to check temperature and conditions. Dress appropriately, and if possible, take a rain jacket/wind vest if you’re unsure. You should be slightly cool starting out as you will warm up as you get moving. If you live in rainy or cold weather conditions, always be prepared with cold weather gear. http://trainright.com/surprising-mistakes-cyclists-make-when-getting-back-in-shape/ Have you set your goals for the 2016 season yet? You don't need to be a hard-core competitor to benefit from setting goals. Not everyone enjoys setting goals, and often hesitation is due to a fear of failure. Once a goal is "on paper", there it is...it's real. One might not achieve their goals. Failure to accomplish a goal does not make one a failure. By not meeting a goal, we can often learn much about ourselves.
Training and racing without goals is certainly feasible, but it's a fairly sure way to make sure you'll never reach your potential. Goals help drive us, help coaches to create training plans, and give us an idea if we "did it" or not. This is a very good article on this very topic that was published in Velonews.com several years ago, and it's worth revisiting as the season really starts to get underway. A cycling coach can help you set realistic and attainable goals. However, goals certainly can be a bit of a reach. And while some folks find motivation by posting their goals on social media, goals can also be private between you and your coach. I do recommend, however, getting your family and support group on board, so they have an understanding of why you do what you do. So if you haven't set your goals yet for this year, read this article, give me a call, and let's make them a reality! Coach B.L. Set goals the SMART way to achieve real success
It’s often easy to look back on previous seasons to find room for improvement. Any metric — power output, time up a local climb, body weight — can be a target for improvement in order to bolster race results, grab an upgrade, or even finish the morning closer to the front of a race-paced group ride. Setting goals for the coming season — at first glance a simple task, even for road seasons that extend well through the summer — can and should be nothing but motivating, especially when coupled with thoughts of meeting, or beating, those goals. However, preseason enthusiasm can breed over-zealous goal setting, which “would be self-defeating, and lead to burnout pretty quickly,” according to clinical psychologist Julie Emmerman. There are ways to make goal setting more effective — tools for long-term success, rather than mere digital Post-it notes on the computer screen at the office. “I always recommend following the acronym SMART,” Emmerman, a former professional cross-country racer, told VeloNews. That acronym dictates that goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-sensitive. Accountability, to one’s self or to a coach, is also key, “not only in terms of your long-term objectives, but every workout broken down needs to be following that plan,” she said. Specific Specificity “applies to anything, if your goal is to finish the Triple Bypass (a climbing-intensive event that starts in Evergreen, Colorado)… or if your goal is to race the Tour, or your goal is to lose 20 pounds,” Emmerman, who now practices in Boulder, Colorado, said. “Everything needs to be designed so that you’re holding yourself accountable and making it reasonable and achievable.” Emmerman did caution, however, against becoming overly committed and enslaved to numbers and data — an unhealthy, yet all-too-common scenario. “For some people, it is important to back off and go, ‘you know what, let’s not pay attention to the scale, or pay attention to the numbers; let’s just re-gain love for the bike and go ride,’” she said. “By doing that we’re protecting your passion for the sport and keeping you healthy and, possibly inadvertently, just because you feel less stressed, [you will] lose your weight and up your wattage. “It’s not as scientific, obviously, and so it’s probably not going to yield the same effectiveness.” Measurable To that end, measurable, quantitative goals are also critical. An open-ended, qualitative goal — “lose weight” or “upgrade to Category 3,” for example — is as effective as invisible rungs on a ladder, lacking benchmarks and clear objectives. “You want [the goal] to be legible so you can keep tabs on where you are and if you’re meeting your goals or not, and if not, [understand] what’s getting in the way,” said Emmerman. Achievable and Realistic Furthermore, while the achievable and realistic aspects of goal setting may appear redundant, achievability — of specific workouts, for example — is in fact a building block for a realistic goal. A realistic goal, Emmerman said, “has to be something that is feasible. And when you’re doing the day-to-day stuff to get there, those mini-tasks need to be achievable.” Time Sensitive Time sensitivity, the final element of goal setting, can be as simple as setting a target date for the accomplishment of a goal, according to Emmerman. For example, a goal to hit 1,200 watts in a road-race sprint could come with a target date of July 3, 2013, the first day of the five-day 2013 USA Cycling Elite Road National Championships. This aspect, in one sense the most straightforward, can impact intermediate planning as well. “If your goal is more long-term, then it’s going to be important to keep in mind being flexible, and there’s more room for different variables to get involved that might really test your resilience and perseverance, simply because there’s more time [for setbacks],” Emmerman said. “And if the goal is short-term, usually that means there’s less room for variables and you can stay more sharply in-tuned to the progress.” Setbacks do arise, however, some of which are difficult, if not impossible to control. Emmerman’s advice in such instances is simple: “You can only control what you can control… Some people do struggle with that, and I think it’s one of the great lessons that racing offers.” Above all, Emmerman said, “It’s important to keep it fun and keep people around you who have that positive attitude, who can support your passion and share their own passions with you… reach out when you’re feeling discouraged, and talk to people. “It needs to be fun, and if it’s not fun then [you’re] not going to stay committed to [your] goals.” Read more at Velonews |
AuthorCoach B.L. is the head coach at BJL Coaching and an avid racer and cycling enthusiast himself. Categories
All
Archives
February 2025
|
RSS Feed
Proudly powered by Weebly