A few things can happen to cyclist or endurance athletes. We tend to do the same things over and over again. We are creatures of habit and because of that can get stuck in a rut that we don't even realize.
Here are two I just found myself needing a quick reminder on!
Take a week off. Period. 52 weeks a year of 200-300 miles each week leaves you physically and mentally flat. Come back slow the first week and then ramp it up and get back to business.
On and off days. On the "on days" GO HARD. On the "off days," take it easy. Let yourself rebuild and recharge. Off days are on the bike too. If you rode yourself into the ground on Saturday and wake up Sunday feeling it. Take it easy, go for a 2 hour "spin" mix it up. You don't need to go hard every day. What ends up happening is that you "think you are going hard" but actually you are not. If you took the day off or took it easy you have a better chance of coming back and putting in a 100 percent effort on your next "On day."
If you follow this simple process you will be more likely to put in the right intensities when needed. Otherwise getting stuck at 90 percent is easy and likely to be what ends up happening.
Problem is, realizing that you are at 90 percent and not getting anywhere is really, really hard to do. It feels hard, it is work but really it is not the intensity that leads to growth, rather the pitfall that leads to medium performance and slowly losing the fitness you worked so hard to gain.
Train smart. You do the work, make it pay off!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Riding with Stava - Can't be any better!
Stava Application for the Iphone is rocking! Not to mention FREE. With Free unlimited ridge uploads right from your phone uploads and blog embedding. Great technology!
I have switched to using the Garmin Edge 500 - more accurate and batter life. Honestly Stava is an amazing application that all cyclist should be checking out. It it the facebook for cycling, only with ride stats and bragging rights!
I have switched to using the Garmin Edge 500 - more accurate and batter life. Honestly Stava is an amazing application that all cyclist should be checking out. It it the facebook for cycling, only with ride stats and bragging rights!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Winter Season - Mix it UP!
Winter Season - Mix it up!
Some of us are racing already, others still building fitness looking forward to getting back in the mix. Get the most out of your winter season by mixing it up and trying something new.
Thinking about a new set of pedals, new tires, a new seat or tweaking your current bike fit. Now is the time to get all those adjustments settled in before you make any changes during your peak fitness.
Likewise, thinking about a new nutritional approach on or off the bike for this year. Use this time, the early months of the year, to experiment and take a trial and error approach before you dial your focused
energy into your "A" races or peak fitness.
Have everything dialed in? Then you might be like me, looking to take some unexpected risks in the first few races of the year. Why not attack that hill, or take off 2 K from the line in the next crit this coming weekend. Trust me, now is the
time to mix it up and take some chances and even make a few mistakes, of course we all learn from our mistakes right?
Give it a try, test out a new set of pedals, test their clearance, try mixing in some new products in your water bottle, best of all, attack 3 laps to go and don't look back!
Some of us are racing already, others still building fitness looking forward to getting back in the mix. Get the most out of your winter season by mixing it up and trying something new.
Thinking about a new set of pedals, new tires, a new seat or tweaking your current bike fit. Now is the time to get all those adjustments settled in before you make any changes during your peak fitness.
Likewise, thinking about a new nutritional approach on or off the bike for this year. Use this time, the early months of the year, to experiment and take a trial and error approach before you dial your focused
energy into your "A" races or peak fitness.
Have everything dialed in? Then you might be like me, looking to take some unexpected risks in the first few races of the year. Why not attack that hill, or take off 2 K from the line in the next crit this coming weekend. Trust me, now is the
time to mix it up and take some chances and even make a few mistakes, of course we all learn from our mistakes right?
Give it a try, test out a new set of pedals, test their clearance, try mixing in some new products in your water bottle, best of all, attack 3 laps to go and don't look back!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Elements of Optimal Recovery
This is "taken" (actually cut and pasted from the article since he hit the key points here at the end) from a article by Dario Fredrick is an exercise physiologist and Director of the Whole Athlete Performance Center in Northern California. He can be reached via www.wholeathlete.com.
Elements of Optimal Recovery
Refueling
• Replenish glycogen stores within 30-60 minutes following a workout or race. Take in one gram per kilogram of body weight of high-glycemic carbohydrates. • Consume 16-20 oz of fluid per pound of weight lost during exercise.
Rebuilding
• Consume adequate protein (2-4 gm per pound per day), especially during intense period of training or racing. • Sufficient sleep is important for optimal growth hormone production and rebuilding and repairing damage. “Power naps” of 20-30 minutes also help do the job.
Restoring
• Minimize the stress response when not training to maximize restoration. Practice calming the mind and recovery will improve as well. • Stretch or practice alignment-based forms of Yoga to restore muscle/connective tissue and joint alignment. • Massage is a long-time recovery tool of successful athletes. Take advantage of its restorative effects.
To view the full article.....
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Nutrition Timing
Timing what you put into your body is another key element in training and racing. The 3 elements of time frames are : Before / During / After workout.
Eating before your workout is two fold, it fuels your energy storages which in turn allow you to perform better and thus burns more fat and stores less calories. If you are short on time, less then 3 hours, look for something light and carb rich, a banana, toast or a gel / sports drink. Think about getting in at least 100-200 calories for best results.
Eating during, can be harder to. Doing a hard workout and eating do not work well for many reasons but there are many products that will fuel you right from your water bottle. In fact, studies show that having more than water will also increase your performance! See "what's in your water bottle blog" The calories you are taking in during exercise allow your muscles once again to do more work, remember food is your fuel, by giving a steady flow of fuel to your muscles during hard, you are in turn keeping your motor running just right. How much??? Once again think about the 100-200 calories per hour. Your body will tell you what is just right. If you can't feel the food in your stomach you are on the right track. Look for a sports drink that contains a 1:4 protein to carbohydrate ratio that provides about 150 calories per bottle and sip down one bottle per hour under normal conditions. Your body will now be properly fueled, allowing you to finish your workout or race on a strong note! No bonking.
Post workout fueling is VITAL. You have a 2 hour window to replenish your glycogen storage and protein synthesis. You replenish both by feeding yourself 1.2 grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight and once again using the 1:4 protein carb ratio. The carbohydrates will replenish your fuel tank for your next workout and the protein will repair your muscles. It seems now a days, there is another big protein fad going on and everyone is dumping crazy amounts of protein into their recovery drink thinking it will build all sorts of muscles. Most likely not, but that is another topic. For now concentrate on the math that works for your body size.
For 150 lbs cyclist you want 100-200 calories before you workout, 100-200 per hour during and about 86 grams of carbs and 22 grams of protein as soon as you stop exercising. Read your labels as you might be surprised how many grams of carbs you will need to take down to reach your 1.2 grams per kilo ratio. But you were hungry right?
Eating before your workout is two fold, it fuels your energy storages which in turn allow you to perform better and thus burns more fat and stores less calories. If you are short on time, less then 3 hours, look for something light and carb rich, a banana, toast or a gel / sports drink. Think about getting in at least 100-200 calories for best results.
Eating during, can be harder to. Doing a hard workout and eating do not work well for many reasons but there are many products that will fuel you right from your water bottle. In fact, studies show that having more than water will also increase your performance! See "what's in your water bottle blog" The calories you are taking in during exercise allow your muscles once again to do more work, remember food is your fuel, by giving a steady flow of fuel to your muscles during hard, you are in turn keeping your motor running just right. How much??? Once again think about the 100-200 calories per hour. Your body will tell you what is just right. If you can't feel the food in your stomach you are on the right track. Look for a sports drink that contains a 1:4 protein to carbohydrate ratio that provides about 150 calories per bottle and sip down one bottle per hour under normal conditions. Your body will now be properly fueled, allowing you to finish your workout or race on a strong note! No bonking.
Post workout fueling is VITAL. You have a 2 hour window to replenish your glycogen storage and protein synthesis. You replenish both by feeding yourself 1.2 grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight and once again using the 1:4 protein carb ratio. The carbohydrates will replenish your fuel tank for your next workout and the protein will repair your muscles. It seems now a days, there is another big protein fad going on and everyone is dumping crazy amounts of protein into their recovery drink thinking it will build all sorts of muscles. Most likely not, but that is another topic. For now concentrate on the math that works for your body size.
For 150 lbs cyclist you want 100-200 calories before you workout, 100-200 per hour during and about 86 grams of carbs and 22 grams of protein as soon as you stop exercising. Read your labels as you might be surprised how many grams of carbs you will need to take down to reach your 1.2 grams per kilo ratio. But you were hungry right?
Friday, December 31, 2010
Athletes, Whats in your Water Bottle?
Reading an article from a recent sports science test, I was shocked to see the vast differences in performance levels based on "what the athletes had in their water bottles" Of course my goal with these blogs is to get to the point REAL FAST so here is deal....
...According to a 2009 study (Martinez-Lagunas), 12 highly trained cyclist were given an exercise test of 2.5 hours, first consisting of 55 % VO2 and then riding to exhaustion. Each cyclist performed the test 3 times. Okay, here is the point... Those consuming only WATER went to exhaustion during the second test within 14.7 mins, those consuming a sport drink lasted 26.9 mins and furthermore, those consuming a sports drink with a protein added went on to ride 30.5 mins until full exhaustion!
In other words, durning intense exercise consuming carbs or better yet, carb and a 1:4 protein mix, yielded almost twice the performance than water alone.
The study mentioned Accelerade as sports drink with the 1:4 protein mix, I personally like to use a amnio acid liquid and cytomax - a teammate of mine turned me on to it last year and I was doing it, without really knowing exactly what or why, but felt good about the results. It also kept calories in me on longer 3-5 hour rides opposed to consuming solid foods. Remember you only need 5 grams or so of protein per bottle, anything more will might fill you up too much and have a not so light stomach effect.
Think about what is in YOUR WATER BOTTLE and fuel your body while exercising. Seriously. Let me know if you want to babble on why this is or if you are just happy knowing that real studies show the above results.
...According to a 2009 study (Martinez-Lagunas), 12 highly trained cyclist were given an exercise test of 2.5 hours, first consisting of 55 % VO2 and then riding to exhaustion. Each cyclist performed the test 3 times. Okay, here is the point... Those consuming only WATER went to exhaustion during the second test within 14.7 mins, those consuming a sport drink lasted 26.9 mins and furthermore, those consuming a sports drink with a protein added went on to ride 30.5 mins until full exhaustion!
In other words, durning intense exercise consuming carbs or better yet, carb and a 1:4 protein mix, yielded almost twice the performance than water alone.
The study mentioned Accelerade as sports drink with the 1:4 protein mix, I personally like to use a amnio acid liquid and cytomax - a teammate of mine turned me on to it last year and I was doing it, without really knowing exactly what or why, but felt good about the results. It also kept calories in me on longer 3-5 hour rides opposed to consuming solid foods. Remember you only need 5 grams or so of protein per bottle, anything more will might fill you up too much and have a not so light stomach effect.
Think about what is in YOUR WATER BOTTLE and fuel your body while exercising. Seriously. Let me know if you want to babble on why this is or if you are just happy knowing that real studies show the above results.
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