 Happy Pi Day! Yeah, I'm a math nerd at heart. Despite the bitterly cold temperatures, 30 mph wind gusts, and sideways snow here in the North East, spring is right around the corner. We've sprung the clocks forward and have that extra daylight in evening, just begging us to get off of our trainers and out on the road and trail. Let's go get that fresh air! Many of us are fully conditioned to the cold weather at this point of the winter, and even a 60 degree day feels pretty darn warm. Unfortunately, as liberating as shorts may feel, our legs can actually take on damage if we ask them to work exposed to the cold temps. In an effort to keep you riding strong and healthy, I bring you my PSA of: "If your arms are cold, cover your legs." Turns out, we have a lower density nerve receptors in our legs compared to our arms, and that's why our arms can feel cold but our legs feel fine. Source: https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/jn.00313.2020 And I know...it looks "pro" to have a long sleeved jersey with bare legs but it looks like you're a complete "noob" if you have leg warms with a short sleeved jersey. Bonus tip: Just wear a long sleeved jersey AND leg warmers and you'll be fine. I've seen it time and time again. As I go our for a ride in these transition seasons, the veteran, accomplished cyclists will almost ALL have their legs covered. On the flip side, the weekend warrior is out there with bare legs. I've seen it as far as ear covers and bare legs, or even winter shoe covers and bare legs! Another example that is forever etched in my memory was an early season training race. It's a Tuesday night, probably right around 60 degrees, and we're all rolling around with bare legs and a jacket warming-up. In rolls this legit pro with a jacket a leg warmers on. "Surely this guy must be soft." Nope. He was just smart. He proceeded to lay down the smack on us all and for many seasons to follow. I would imagine the philosophy of really taking care of his body and not making things harder than they need to be was a pillar of all of his training. Below is my post from last fall as well as a link to a great podcast. If you're not sold on protecting your body, check it out! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One of my goals as a coach and lover of all things bike, is to help make sure people can ride bikes for as long as they live. It's a great sport for longevity, but there are some precautionary measures that need to be considered to keep us all rolling. A joint in our bodies that potentially takes a toll from riding a bike is our knees. There are steps we can take to help keep our knees healthy and functioning well starting with a proper bike fit and avoiding large increases in volume and/or intensity. But protection from the environment is important as well. As the temps drop, we also need to consider protecting our knees. Not only our knees, but all of the hard working muscles in our legs. I've long been a proponent of keeping knees and legs covered, but this podcast from Fasttalk really gets into the "why" and how damaging that pushing our muscles and joints in the cold can be. Cold, Bare Legs Make You Dumb, Not Tough https://www.fasttalklabs.com/fast-talk/cold-bare-legs-make-you-dumb-not-tough/ The title is perhaps a bit harsh, but really drives the point home. Although it looks "cool" to wear a long sleeved jersey and shorts, it's just not a good idea. And I fully agree that just knee or leg warmers with a short sleeved jersey is not particularly stylish. In that case, just cover your arms and legs. If it will be warming up during the course of your ride, you can always stop and take the warmers off and stash them in your pocket. My own personal rule is 65 degrees or below, my knees and legs are covered. Do what makes you feel good, but keep in mind the words of Coach Connor that if you're overdressed you're maybe uncomfortable, but if you're underdressed, you're doing damage. Who wants to do damage? So get yourself a set of leg warmers and maybe some knee warmers and keep your legs happy. What's your take on covering your legs? Post a comment or question below. Ride on and enjoy these great early Fall days! Cheers, Coach Brian Thanks for the insight Brian. I remember the roadies from way back when suggesting to keep the knees covered in 60 degrees and less. Never thought too much of the reasoning behind it. Do you think the same applies to us mountain bikers? Slower speeds in the woods, lack of wind,etc Thanks for reading and for the question, Jack!
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Will you be happy with your future self? Picture this…you just rolled back into your driveway from a multi-hour winter base training ride. It’s cold, you’re cold, you’re tired and hungry, and you just want to get out of your cycling clothes and get some good food and warm up. You glance at your bike as you park it in your stable and see it’s a mess.
“It’s OK,” you think, “I’ll clean that later.” And then you get busy or just conveniently forget until…the next time you go for a ride and it’s a mess or worse and not even rideable. So you just lube the chain and deal with the extra wear and tear, until that next time. And the cycle repeats. Or maybe it’s the pile of cycling clothing that’s growing, or the water bottles that are a mess both on the inside and outside. Or your head unit showed that your power meter battery was low and “you’ll change it later.” Or that tire with a slow leak. Or that head unit that needs to be charged. Or countless other little things that may provide a barrier and time delay to you starting your next ride. I write about these through personal experience. I’ve struggled with all of these things and more, and been frustrated with myself when I go out for my next ride. Although as I “grew up” and got busier, I did improve in this domain but it’s far from 100%. I recently heard a great suggestion that really resonated with me to help us all make better decisions when it comes to these little tasks. Ask yourself the question, “Will my future self be happy with my current decision?” I like to take it just a step further and ask: “Will my future self be PSYCHED with my decision?” The busier I get, the more important taking care of these post ride chores becomes, and the more psyched I am when I take that extra step. It might even mean, gasp, ending my ride 5 minutes early to fit it in, but it saves a whole bunch of self-aggravation later. I bucket this together with also being proactive, such as setting out my clothes for that early morning training, or getting my bottles prepped hours before my ride when I have 5 “extra” minutes. These are definitely decisions that my future self is psyched about. I know many of you may have all of your cycling and life tasks wired, and I admire that and aspire to that. If not and you’ve have experiences like me, set yourself up for success with those little less-than-fun chores. Especially at those times when they’re least enjoyable. I’m off to get ahead on my laundry and prep my bottles for tomorrow’s ride. And my future self is going to be psyched. Word. Coach Brian  Just like we train with specificity to best meet the demands of our events, we should also fuel with specificity. What does this mean?
Event day is NOT the time to experiment with new energy and hydration sources. We want to have fun and perform well, not be dealing with gastrointestinal distress. Or perhaps it’s a mix that doesn’t bother our gut, but tastes so terrible you have no desire to drink it. While a fun farm to fork fondo type of event might be more forgiving if you’re riding casually, you still don’t want gut issues. How can this be avoided? (Nutrition? Fueling? See: Fueling vs. Nutrition) If you’re providing all your own fueling for the event, start dialing in what you’re going to eat and drink at least 8 weeks out from the event. Practice with this fuel on different training rides, especially rides that replicate part or all of the event. Can you open up the food when going hard? Does it take forever to chew (which can be good or bad, actually)? Is it fine at an endurance pace but as soon as things heat up your stomach revolts? Does it taste pretty good 2 hours in but after 6 hours in you’re tired of it? All things to think about that can be investigated through deliberate practice. If some or all of the refueling will be provided by the neutral support at the event, make sure you find out EXACTLY what will be offered. If not clearly outlined on the registration page, find out directly from the promoter, not what your buddy that did it 5 years ago remembered. If you’ve used their products successfully before, GREAT. If you’ve never tried them, go get yourself some and practice as I wrote about above. Obviously if you’ve used and it didn’t sit well with you or just wasn’t effective for you, you're going to want to carry your own fuel and, if available, have your drop bags stocked up. I had a teammate that could not stand what one of the big endurance mountain bike events in our area had in the hydration jugs at the aid stations. Instead of using what they offered, he would carry small plastic bags of the drink mix that worked for him, and then just add water at the aid stations. Slower at the aid stations? Maybe, but better than the time you may lose from not drinking during a super-hot race of 8+ hour duration. For either situation, try to practice under similar environmental conditions, as something that sits well at 40 degree Fahrenheit might be a gut bomb at the 95 degree venue. Try these foods and drinks on the trainer when you’re really cooking as we all know it’s easy to get hot riding indoors. Or maybe the bar or waffle that’s soft and chewy at home turns into a brick at the frigid event. Obviously the different conditions are not always available, but something to consider. Even if you’ve got your plan dialed in and find “your products,” I encourage you to continue to experiment and try other things. The wider the range of products that you know work for you the better. You’ll make yourself much more versatile lower maintenance with the flexibility. You also may find that a new product came out that works better for you, or you’ve changed with time and respond better to something else. Buying box of bars or jugs of mix that you might not like can get expensive, with a little creativity you can save some dough. You can make trades with riding partners, buy singles at your local bike shop, or check out The Feed. I’m not sponsored by The Feed or anything of the like, I just simply know that some of my clients have enjoyed purchasing samplers to figure out what they like and what works. www.thefeed.com While you're experimenting, also work on the amount of the fuel that you're taking in. Are you getting enough calories (energy)? Can you push it up to 60 grams per hour? 70? 80? Find what works for you, but also be ready to adapt the plan based on the duration and intensity of the event. I can help you dial in your plan and find a good range that works for you. I had some teammates who could race up to 10 hours with all liquid based calories. And others, like me, that needed and preferred a mix of liquid and solid calories. Find what works for you and keep in mind that different durations may yield different “optimal” plans for you. Here are two solid resources to help you get DIALED: https://www.trainingpeaks.com/blog/how-to-optimize-carbohydrate-absorption/ https://cyclingmagazine.ca/sections/training-guide/training/pro-cyclists-share-their-race-day-nutrition-plans/ As always, find what works for YOU! So keep practicing and leave as little to chance on event day as possible, especially not what’s going to keep your turbo diesel engine humming along! What are your best practices for fueling during your event? Post these or any questions below. Fuel like a champ! Coach Brian  I’ve been riding indoors for almost 30 years now and most of those years were spent staring at some kind of movie, video, show, webinar, etc. Sometimes it was less than exciting, but it was effective and got me through the cold, dark months of winter.
Around 2014, I started hearing about this thing called Zwift, back when it beta and was just the island. I was intrigued and listened intently as it was described by some of my friends who got on the beta release, but it seemed unnecessary to me and just added a layer of complication that I didn’t want. After it moved out of the beta version and started gaining some momentum and membership, I felt even stronger that this wasn’t something that I needed and always got... a good workout on my trainer with no problem. Admittedly, I was also concerned that I would indeed develop a dependence and not be able to ride indoors without the gamification of Zwift. Quite possibly it was a bit of grump old guy not interested in the new-fangled gizmo. As a TrainingPeaks Coach, several years ago I was given the tools to create workouts that are downloadable to all the major online platforms, and I learned everything I could about them and the “new” smart trainers that were quickly becoming ubiquitous. But I still felt this wasn’t for me. To add to this mentality, I heard more than one story of connectivity issues, frozen screens, deleted workouts and the like. Again, all aggravation that I wasn’t looking at add. Fast forward to 2019 and I’m still off Zwift, despite the thousands and thousands of users, many of them my friends and racing colleagues. Everyone seems to be raving about it. Then, late fall of that year, another virtual platform called RGT reached out to the top level TrainingPeaks Coaches and asked if we would pilot their software. It sounded like a good opportunity to me and with it came a lifetime free membership to their premier service. So I downloaded the app, created a profile, and I was off. It was a cool experience for sure, and it was fun providing feedback and seeing what changes they could or would make to the platform. The graphics were great, the courses were fun, and it has a super cool feature where you can upload a GPX file and it would recreated the course for you. Now, it was in this magical land where the roads were kind of clear and there wasn’t much terrain, but it’s a cool tool to practice a real life course like a road race or a TT course. If nothing else for the elevation profile which would be recreated accurately. The greatest downside with RGT was a fairly “small” membership base. I did a few events and often there were less than 20 people registered. Meanwhile, I’m hearing of Zwift events with hundreds of participants. I would drift on and off of the RGT platform and had no problem just “riding” and doing my workout without logging in. OK, so a cool experience but I wasn’t hooked. Then we all know what happened in March of 2020 and as a result more and more people started training indoors, or training more indoors. The pandemic cycling explosion had happened. Well, I also rode inside a bit more but spent plenty of hours riding out of doors as usual as outdoor riding was permitted in my area. I wasn’t going to hop on the Zwift train…yet. Late summer in 2020, one of my clients asked if he could hire me to do some Zwift rides with him. At that point it seemed like a no brainer, so I got an account as I was off. I had some fun with my client and my original plan of only being on for a short while quickly went out the window. As a child of the 70s and having lived through the birth of video games, I was having fun earning the different badges and learning more about the platform. Group rides were kind of cool, and I tried a race to see what that was all about. Zwift does a great job of peppering in those dopamine hits very frequently and you really crank through the levels in the beginning. As you ride more, you start earning new frames, helmets, glasses, shoes, socks, etc. I certainly felt like I could still ride indoors without Zwift, but now, why would I? It’s been a full two years since I signed up for Zwift, and I have to admit it’s added to my enjoyment level when training indoors. On days when I’m a little low on motivation, I’ll scour the group rides to find one that meets my target intensity goal of the day, but I’m also fine getting spit out the back if it’s harder than what I’m looking for. It’s fun just doing a workout on an open world and getting some PR’s, KOM’s, Green Jerseys, or Course Leader Jersey’s when your intervals line up with the sections. I also create meetups and will get together with clients, friends, teammates, and so on. It’s weird that that becomes even more motivating, but it does. Just cruising around some Zwift world in the winter, texting back and forth, rubber band is on (no one can get dropped), and getting in time spinning our legs. Finally, I have strategically put in a handful of races when they fit my training goals. I can tell you that they can be very, very HARD if you want them to be. I’ve set some 5, 10, 20, and 30 minute power records chasing some avatar on the screen which is just downright silly. But they’re “free,” there’s many to choose from if you get dropped, and results just don’t matter. For the most part at least. Indoor training is not what it used it be. Interactive online platforms and smart trainers have changed the game for the most part for the better. But unless you’re a sponsored e-sports cyclist, I do hope you use the indoor trainer as a tool to enhance your outside riding, not as a substitute to your outside riding. Just this past weekend it was in the low 30’s with wind in the teens, and I considered staying indoors and banging out a few hours on the trainer. It’s convenient, a great workout, very focused, efficient, and effective. And makes for a lot less laundry. After a quick gut check and mental head slap, I suited up with my five layers and burly gloves and got outside for two great rides. Maybe I’ll see you on the roads of Wattopia, but I hope to see you out on the roads and trails IRL! If you’re interested in listening to an in depth discussion about the future of online racing, check out: https://www.fasttalklabs.com/fast-talk/is-virtual-racing-the-future-with-ben-delaney/ What’s your take on indoor training? What’s your favorite online training platform or are you “old school?” Leave a comment, question, or answer below. Thanks for reading! Coach Brian  This is a great article written by one of the giants in a scientific approach to endurance training, Doctor Edmund Burke. I first came across Dr. Burke with his High-Tech Cycling as pictured here. Since then I have learned much from his books and other literature, and indirectly through his influence in the sport. He is surely missed but his works live on.
Keep these key concepts of:
Check out what Dr. Burke has to say and let me know your thoughts, questions, or comments below. What’s your goal for 2023? Ride on! Coach Brian Starting the Year Off Right By Edmund R. Burke, Ph.D. Active.com Most of you could ride almost as well as Miguel Martinez or Alison Dunlap. You probably couldn't ride their times or beat them in a race, but if properly trained, you could approach your potential as they have theirs. While we each have different genetic gifts for off-road cycling, most of us have the ability to fully realize our promise if we go about our training with intelligence and restraint. Whether you choose to try and maximize your talent or simply to obtain the greatest possible fitness benefits from your riding, the results will depend largely on how you train. As we begin the New Year, let's explore some of the key concepts used by many great athletes in designing their overall training program for the year. Much of what separates the good cyclist from the back-of-the-pack cyclist is their individuality, consistency, slow progression, fulfillment and goal-selection concepts from which we can all benefit. Individuality First, you must plan your training to your needs, abilities and routines. While we must listen to the training programs of elite riders, read books and articles on training, you must know your strengths and weaknesses. What is good for Steve Larson, the 1998 and 2000 NORBA cross-country national champion, may not be good for you. The smart cyclist listens to everyone and then selects what is best for his or her training. In addition, you must also train your weaknesses: if you are a poor climber, make sure to spend time on climbing technique and building anaerobic power, so you climb better in your first race of the season. Too often, we train at what we are good at already, and neglect our weaknesses. By strengthening your weaknesses, you will become a better all-around cyclist. Consistency It is more important to do less more often than to do more less often. When in doubt about a ride, the choice that will improve consistency is to be conservative. Often it is better to do less than more. You'll probably avoid the three major reasons most athletes spend time away from training: injury, illness and lack of motivation. Ned Overend, a multiple national champion, has attributed much of his success to his ability to race less, train consistently and take a few days off his bicycle every few weeks. He also pointed out the need to monitor his state of health and fitness during a long, hard season, which lasts from early March to late September. Slow Progression Along with a consistency in your training, there should be a progression in training volume and intensity that taxes your body enough to improve it, but not enough to cause it to break down. Again, if in doubt, be conservative. You'll get there. Whether your goal is to climb faster as soon as possible or to finish in the top 10 at the national championships, the season is long and you need to build to a peak during the months of July and August, and not in April. A champion's path to end-of-the-season success shows that the shortest path may be the one that appears the longest and slowest. The cyclists that were flying in March were not necessarily the ones with strong legs when the season was winding down in September. Fulfillment This can be defined as a challenge or goal you enjoy working toward, while feeling good about yourself and what you are doing. You need this to psychologically stay with any endeavor. However, if you demand too much of yourself too often, your body (especially your immune and endocrine systems) will be unable to respond to the requests you put upon it. You will be more susceptible to injury and illness, and you may even find yourself dissatisfied with cycling. Goal Selection Your goal should be a major race or race series of the season. Your goal could be finishing in the top five in the Colorado Off-Road Points Series or placing in the top five in 10 races this season, but it could also be the fulfillment of other cycling aspirations. If in doubt about some matter regarding your training, racing, commitment or equipment selection, the question you must ask yourself is, "How will this decision affect my goal?" Whatever enhances the accomplishment of that goal and doesn't interfere with consistency is probably the best answer. Though few of you have all the time you'd like to devote to mountain biking, you still take it seriously and every once in a while seek to test yourself as a cyclist. Following the above ideas and suggestions will give you a sound and proven methods for better performance in the upcoming season. Dr. Edmund R. Burke was among the pioneers in applying scientific principles to endurance sports training, especially cycling. As an exercise physiologist, he was responsible for several advances in sports drink formulation and almost single-handedly developed the subcategory of performance recovery drinks. A former director of the Center for Science, Medicine and Technology at the U.S. Cycling Federation in Colorado Springs, he worked with the U.S. Olympic cycling team during the 1980 and '84 Games. Dr. Burke is the author of 17 books on fitness, training and physiology, including the best-selling Optimal Muscle Recovery.  "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. Dr. Marshall and Ms. Paterson recommend setting up a “Daily Gratitude Log” where you find three things that you are grateful for each day. Write them down. As they say, it might sound trite and trivial, but it’s based on evidence that it actually works. They don’t need to be life changing statements of gratitude and they suggest avoiding vague concepts or future events. One example they give is simply “I’m grateful for getting into bed on the first night of clean sheets.” Simple. Quick. Personally, even just thinking about that feeling seems to lighten my mood and put a smile on my face. This little act can help us slow down and take a moment to recognize even the little things that make us happy which can in turn potentially really help out our well-being. Try it. There’s not much to lose. If you already do this or after you give it a try, let us know how it goes by leaving a comment below. I hope you all have an enjoyable Thanksgiving Holiday and take time to slow down and reflect and be thankful. Eat, drink, be merry, and get out for some great Fall riding! Cheers, Coach Brian  “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? There are multiple layers of this question. One, is there a potential performance benefit for a cyclist that incorporates running into their training program? Two, could the benefit be through helping to make us healthier human beings and more versatile and durable, hence producing an indirect benefit to our primary sport? Three, is there a mental component that running will give us a break from riding and let our minds reset? Four, is it actually detrimental to our performance and/or overall health? There are not easy yes/no answers to each of these questions. I believe it’s important to us to use our muscles differently, especially during the winter months when there will be many hours where we’re locking into a stationary bike or trainer. Running isn’t the only way to accomplish (XC skiing, snow shoeing, hiking, etc.) this, but running is typically very accessible and most likely we all have some history of running, even if it dates back to our youth. First and foremost, I see running as a healthy human benefit, which can then secondarily improve our cycling through durability and injury prevention. This is especially true if you mix it up and do some trail running where the movement is even more dynamic and stresses (good stress) our muscles, connective tissue, and bones in even more dynamic ways. If you are considering incorporating running into your routine, it’s important to check your ego and start slow and short. Like really, really slow and really, really short. Cyclists are often used to rides of 2 or more hours, with some folks riding 6 or more hours regularly. We have the engine in our well developed heart and lungs, but we just don’t have the chassis in our muscles and joints. Make those first half dozen (or more) runs short, like 10-15 minute short depending on your history and how long it’s been since you last ran. Those first “runs” should probably also be more of a jog, and if you’re not an experienced runner, make them jog/walks. Jog for 30 seconds, walk for 60 seconds or some easy combination like that. Have patience. Progress slowly. You’re not looking to break any speed records here, but to just acclimate your body to the demands of running so you can actually then start to do some work. You do yourself no justice of heading out for your first run, banging out 10 miles, and then not being able to move for the next week. Or worse and actually injure yourself. Then, once you’re “used” to running and residual soreness does not appear, if it works in with your goals and objectives, you can slowly add some intensity into your routine. Science has shown that there can be real benefits, particularly in the area of VO2 Max work that running can stimulate better than cycling. If this is not part of your dial up or you’re prone to injury, then just keep it easy and use this to build your aerobic system while strengthening your body. Don’t rush into the intensity, especially if you’re coming off and long and hard cycling season. Running is typically more abusive that cycling, evidence in the number of “former runners” that I coach who came over to the light side due to running related injuries. However, running does not have to equate to injury with patience and proper equipment. Here’s a great podcast from the folks at Fasttalk that really gets into the meat of it all and lays out some actionable steps for starting, or re-starting a running component of your training: https://www.fasttalklabs.com/fast-talk/should-cyclists-run-and-should-runners-cycle-with-lauren-vallee/f So again, take your time, be OK with going slow and not far, and enjoy the slow roll. Who knows, maybe a multi-sport event is in your future for 2023. At the very least, you may find you’re a healthier and happier human being! Cheers, 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? If you’re not interested in reading the article or listening to the talk, the biggest take-aways are:
What about heat adaptation? Science has shown that our bodies actually do adapt to the heat with physiological changes, but purposely making yourself hot during exercise can be detrimental to the quality of your workout at best, and possibly dangerous. Better to stay cooler and nail your workout. I’ll take a look at heat adaptation in another post. Here are two great resources that dive into why this happens, why it is indeed negative, and what you can do to help minimize your CV drift. Fasttalk Labs Podcast: Cardiovascular Drift with Dr. Ed Coyle Polar Article: And if you really want to nerd out: Science Direct So while getting your heart rate up during exercise is often the desired response and a good thing for our fitness development, take the necessary steps to avoid that cardiovascular drift. Have you ever experienced CV drift? Have you learned any tricks for staying cooler while riding indoors? Post up questions and comments below! Drink up and get that fan firing! Coach Brian I have to do most of my training indoors and the intensity of the intervals varies a lot. So my absolute essential item has become the Wahoo headwind fan, which blows a narrow column of air at up to 25 mph. Best of all it adjusts the fan speed based on my heart rate monitor, or you can choose to have it adjust based on power. No more getting on and off the bike, sweating and freezing. I keep the fan behind me as a tail wind, which I find much more comfortable. Definitely worth the investment. Climbs. Love them or hate them, most cyclists want to be able to get up the hills faster. There are many approaches to training and workouts you can do to become a better climber, but what’s the fastest way to attack a hill? Steady power like a flat time trial or vary your effort? Stay seated or stand or mix it up?  As is often the response to many cycling related training and performance questions, the answers to these questions fall into the category of “it depends.” For years, we just didn't know. And while we could see some techniques were faster for some riders, it was hard to definitely offer specific guidance. However, new technology has allowed coaches and sport scientists to look more in depth into this often discussed topic and come up with conclusions based in science.
It’s important to understand that what’s best for performance may not necessarily be best for generating a training stimulus for adaption. The research was conducted from the perspective of truly “what’s the fastest way to ride up this climb?” The article and podcast are really great if you’re interested in taking a deeper dive into the subject, but the big take away is that the fastest approach is to focus on speed, not intensity. So while you need to be careful not to put yourself into the red and burn too many matches, on a climb with varying grade, keeping up the speed will almost always be the fastest approach. From a physics standpoint, this would certainly seem to make sense as you would want to conserve your momentum in the form of forward velocity. So as the grade transitions to a steeper section, you’ll come in with a little more intensity in an effort to maintain as much speed as possible. For some cyclists, this may be best accomplished by standing up and driving the pedals a little harder. Again, it’s important to be mindful of your effort, but the notion of pinning it at your threshold for that 20 minute climb might not be the fastest approach. In no way am I suggesting you go for your PR every ride, but Strava can be a great tool to experiment with different approaches to a climb. Get out and do some repeats on your favorite hill using various approaches and see how your time is impacted. Create a new segment for yourself if there’s not a suitable one and have at it. Science is great to give us some starting points, but find what works for YOU. So check out these great resources here, and give a try for yourself: Fasttalk: Inside the New Science of Climbing https://www.fasttalklabs.com/fast-talk/inside-the-new-science-of-climbing/ Pez Cycling: The Biomechanics Of Climbing: Stand And Deliver https://pezcyclingnews.com/toolbox/toolbox-stand-and-deliver-the-biomechanics-of-climbing/ Have fun, and remember in the immortal words of Eddy Merckx, “Don’t by upgrades, ride up grades.” Find those hills and ride them! Cheers, Coach Brian  When you have limited time to ride, it's often very hard to "sacrifice" that very precious time with a warm-up. Sometimes it's just the excitement of getting out on our bikes that makes us start too hard, or perhaps you're at the mercy of a group ride that sprints out of the parking lot. While almost anyone who's raced has most likely warmed-up and believes in the value of warm-up, many choose to omit a warm-up before a group or solo ride or a training session.
So is skipping a warm-up a big deal? If you are interested in putting forth your best performance and just feeling better, I believe so. Although science on the cool-down is not so clear, there is indeed much research supporting the notion that a warm-up provides a performance benefit. Here are five reasons why you may want to make sure you always work in a warm up before you rides. 1. Increase Body Temperature It doesn't take much to see that this is probably where the term "warming-up" comes from. We are literally increasing our body temperatures. While getting too hot can be detrimental, the enzymes that are linked to energy production get fired up with this increase in temperature. This means your muscles will be better able to do the work you're about to ask of them. 2. Increase Blood Flow and Circulation Our muscles need blood to do work. By increasing our heart rate slowly during a warm-up, we'll be also increasing the muscular blood flow. Our body gets the signal that we need to start dedicating more of the blood for our muscles, again getting them ready and capable of doing the upcoming work. 3. Establish Range of Motion According to Cyclist.co.UK and sport scientist Greg Whyte: ‘The muscle fibres need to be activated, which means increasing bloodflow and establishing range of motion. These muscles include those associated with respiration – the diaphragm and intercostals – that assist with breathing and supplying oxygen to the muscles. More oxygen to the muscles equals better performance.’ So it's more than just our leg muscles, it's also the muscles involved in breathing that can get better activated. Bonus! 4. Reduces Muscle Stiffness and Increase Speed of Nerve Conduction Think of a piece of meat that's straight from the freezer. Certainly not very flexible at all. Now consider one out of the refrigerator. More flexible, but still perhaps a bit "stiff." Now let it heat up to room temperature and a bit above, and it becomes more an more flexible. The same is true with our muscles. It's not as large a shift as frozen to thawed, but that increase in temperature can make our muscles more flexible which means they can move more easily. While this is happening, the speed of nerve conduction is increased, which means the signals get communicated more quickly. Some also believe that this will help to prevent injuries, but there is not much science behind. To me, however, that does make some sense in that supple muscles seem less likely to get aggravated with doing hard work. 5. Prepare Yourself Mentally for Your Ride or Workout While this one does not have quite the same science behind it as it's hard to measure, many believe this is a very important and beneficial piece of warming-up. This aspect may even be more important than the purely physiological ones. By consciously preparing our mind, we can get focused on what's coming up. This may be simply detaching yourself from your other worldly tasks, problems, and concerns. Those chores, work projects, e-mails, etc. won't get done while you're out on your ride. During the warm-up is a great time to "put them in a box" and put that box on a shelf in your mind. They haven't gone away, but don't let them creep into your focus and fun while riding your bike. On a more dramatic level, if you're too distracted to focus on your ride, you may become a safety concern not only for yourself but others around you. I can definitely remember crashing at least once on my mountain bike after having been distracted with my thoughts. In a future post, I'll write about some guidelines for your warm-ups. For now I'll suggest taking at least 10 minutes to slowly increase your heart rate, and if there is going to be hard efforts or a fast group ride start involved, one or two "hard" efforts of 30-60 seconds. If you want a better ride, take the time to warm-up. What do you do for a warm-up? Do you skip warm-ups? Thoughts? Ideas? Questions? Please post below. Here are some great resources to check if out if you want to learn more: Articles: https://www.velonews.com/training/training-warming-up-for-better-results/ https://www.bicycling.com/training/a20040253/the-right-way-to-warm-up-for-every-ride/ https://www.cyclingweekly.com/fitness/do-you-need-to-warm-up-cycling-328966 https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/2399/cycling-fitness-do-i-really-need-to-warm-up https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/knowledge/article/izn20140115-Intermediate-Warming-Up-and-Cooling-Down-0 Podcast: https://www.fasttalklabs.com/fast-talk/forget-what-you-thought-you-knew-about-warm-ups/ Thanks for reading. Coach Brian |
AuthorCoach B.L. is the head coach at BJL Coaching and an avid racer and cycling enthusiast himself. Categories
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