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96 Newsletters V.1 #1 to V.13 #6 Complete
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Volume 1 – sample highlights (1995)
Jeffrey P. Broker’s Fine Tuning Pedaling Skills Reveals in V.1 #1:
A better understanding of smooth pedaling can be gained by examining force application patterns of cyclists. As stated, all cyclists apply counterproductive forces to the pedals as they rise. The masher, however, applies forces to the pedal at the top and bottom of the pedal cycle that are either (a) too small to be effective, or (b) directed along the axis of the crank. Since the right crank receives no power at the top of the pedal cycle at the same time the left crank receives no power at the bottom, and vise versa, power delivery to the rear wheel is turned completely off when the cranks are vertical. This is apparent when examining the total (right plus left pedal) power curve derived from the measured pedal forces.
Robert Havard M.D.’s Cyclist Guide to Preventing & Treating Exercise Induced Asthma Reveals in V.1 #5:
Treatment of EIA is pretty straight forward. Anything that minimizes the cooling, drying, and polluting of the airways helps. Nose breathing, face masks, and riding indoors during the winter help warm and humidify inspired air. Avoiding high traffic routes decreases exposure to pollutants. Increasing aerobic fitness increases the intensity and duration of exertion one can do without causing bronchoconstriction.
Inducing one’s refractory period before a race or training ride helps prevent bronchoconstriction. Several techniques for doing this have been tried, though further research is needed. Most include at least a 30 minute warm-up with 8-15 minutes at 75-85% maximum heart rate at least 15 minutes before the race. Keep exercising lightly as close to the start as possible. A recent unproven technique involves riding several three-minute intervals at 85% maximum heart rate with three minutes of rest between intervals.
Volume 2 – sample highlights (1996)
Nicholas Terrados, M.D.’s Using Big Greas — A Very Specific Form of Strength Training Reveals in V.2#4:
The benefit perceived is that by adding resistance you become stronger in the performance of the skill being overloaded. You also risk confusing your muscles and nervous system (the pattern in which your muscles “fire”), potentially causing erosion of the skill. Endurance athletes also risk an increased potential for injury. A joint improperly overloaded when fatigued may develop a chronic injury.
Tim Quigley’s How to Train for the Points Race Reveals in V.2#7:
Preparation for the points race is very similar to that for any endurance track or road event. Early season emphasis must be placed on aerobic conditioning and endurance training. As the “peak” event approaches, duration must be reduced in order to allow for a higher intensity of training. At this time, emphasis must be placed on the speed and anaerobic aspects of the event. A good period of time to work on points race specific training is the last 6-8 weeks before the peak event. It is this period which this article will focus upon.
Volume 3 – sample highlights (1997)
Steve Thordarson’s A Beginning Racing Guide to Winning — Part 3 – Hill And Turn Attacking Reveals in V.3#1:
The short abrupt climbs are more likely to get an immediate reaction in the field. The pace at such climbs often changes very quickly. Riders will be scrambling to change gears and jumping out of the saddle to avoid being dropped. The more times a hill like this is climbed, the more the field will be broken up. If there are several of these hills in a row, there can be an added effect. When riders get away from the field on flat ground, they can often still be seen. This gives the chasers something to pin their hopes on. When there are hills in the way, chasers have a tendency to lose hope quicker.
Arnie Baker M.D.’s Cyclist Guide to Classification and Planning of Workouts Reveals in V.3#6:
Cadence
Leg speed is another component of fitness. Consider a rider told to work at a heart-rate intensity of 150 beats per minute for 15 minutes. Those with a limited view of cycling fitness might think that if intensity and duration are defined, then the workout is determined. It is not. Riding at 50 rpm in a big gear at a heart rate of 150 beats per minute (bpm) trains strength. Riding at 150 rpm at 150 bpm trains leg speed. The workouts are quite different and give different physical results. Some fit riders can pedal very fast—but in an easy gear, they are not necessarily working hard or going very fast.
Volume 4 – sample highlights (1998)
Gary Achterberg’s How To: Developing a Training Log That Works for You Reveals in V.4#3:
Getting started is easy. There are several excellent pre-printed training diaries on the market. Some take slightly different approaches and stress different information. All lay the groundwork for recording the necessary information to later analyze progress and other trends. The pre-printed diaries simply make it easy and encourage riders to comply. Blank notebooks offer the flexibility of being able to use as much or as little space as is needed. There also are a variety of computer logs on the market that allow the rider or coach to analyze data in different ways and graph it easily. Clubs or coaches also might want to consider designing and distributing their own log books that emphasize the information they believe is most important.
Kathy Zawadzki,s Physiological Considerations for the Female Cyclist Reveals in V.4#5:
For both men and women, the measurement of VO2max is dependent on two things; (1) the ability of the muscles to extract and use oxygen to produce energy and (2) the capacity of the heart and blood vessels to deliver blood to the working muscles. The process by which men and women use oxygen to produce energy is essentially the same. However, research has shown that elite women athletes have 65% to 75% of the absolute aerobic capacity of men. Absolute is the total amount of oxygen consumed, with no corrections for height, weight or body size. One of the most obvious differences between men and women is that women are smaller (on average 13 cm shorter, and 15 to 18 kg lighter), so a direct comparison of absolute oxygen consumption is not really fair. When using relative numbers that have been corrected for body weight (ml of O2 / kg body wt per min) women still only possess 75% to 85% of the relative aerobic capacity of males.
Volume 5 – sample highlights (1999)
Joe Friel’s Preparing for a High — Altitude Bike Race Reveals in V.5#5:
Racing at high altitude means that there is less oxygen passing through the lungs and into the blood for delivery to the muscles than is common at low altitude. This means a lowered aerobic capacity (VO2max). In fact, for each 1,000 feet of increase in altitude above 5,000 feet there is a three-to-four-percent drop of this critical element of endurance performance. So at 7,500 feet, the sea-level rider can expect to see a loss of 7.5 to 10 percent of aerobic function from what is experienced at home. That’s a hefty loss. Not only that, but there is an increased production of lactic acid when racing at altitude which effectively lowers the lactate threshold.
Gary C. Hamill’s Imagery Training for Mountain Biking to Develop Competitive Action Speed Reveals in V.5#6:
Many sport psychologists recommend that athletes touch an object related to their sport while doing mental rehearsal. Visualizing while out on a ride takes this one step further. If you are doing long intervals, imagine yourself in a race out on a long solo breakaway with the pack 60 seconds down and closing. Your watch counting down is your distance to the finish line. Think the things that you would like be thinking in a race — staying focused on your form, maintaining a steady cadence, and remaining confident that you can win the stage. As the “line” approaches, imagine seeing hoards of spectators lined up on the side of the road, cheering you on. Any traffic that passes are cars belonging to the race caravan, escorting you to the line. When your watch ticks down to zero, “see” yourself crossing under the finish banner. Sit up after the line and bask in the effort and the success of the “win”. Use the same mental approach for shorter, more intense intervals and sprints.
Volume 6 – sample highlights (2000)
Richard Wharton’s Specific Shoulder Training for Obstacle Clearing Reveals in V.6#1:
Enjoying a successful mountain bike ride or race requires that the participant have a high level of total body fitness. Too often, cyclists do not adequately train upper body muscle systems that could improve their level of performance in off-road trail riding. This article will reveal the muscle systems required to overcome obstacles encountered in all-terrain mountain biking, and will describe proper bio-mechanic resistance training movements that can ensure safer riding and injury prevention while increasing performance.
The mountain bike itself is an inherently unstable object. Movement of the bike at lower speeds requires lots of body motion, especially in the shoulder and arm region. This so called body english, when combined with a rapid pedaling motion, can lead to higher energy output and hence, quicker fatigue. Trails littered with obstacles that require lots of pulling motions on the handlebars can lead to sore backs, aching shoulders and drooping necks. In order to alleviate this potential for pain and fatigue, it is recommended that all cyclists, recreational and competitive, practice certain resistance training movements that can increase both muscle power and muscle endurance, making the rider more accomplished through muscle preparedness.
Chris Carmichael’s Conditioning Interview (Lance Armstrong’s Training) Reveals in V.6#2:
“Early on during the foundation period, we do fixed gear riding. There are a couple of reasons for doing this. First, we are doing resistance training in the gym. Consequently, to get the strength gains in the gym, we have to reduce the time on the bike, just like if you’re doing a lot of time on the bike, then you have to reduce time in the gym. We were in the gym doing a quite bit of work so we reduced the amount of time Lance spent on the bike. By riding a fixed gear, Lance was pedaling all the time. We did this in a light gear, about a 71-inch. That meant most of his riding was at or above 100 rpms. Then, he doesn’t need to go out and spend as much time on the bike. Most of the riding was kept to an hour or hour and a half. Because he is pedaling constantly, you get more load in a shorter amount of time. Because he is pedaling quicker, he is more aerobically engaged. His heart has to beat faster because his legs are spinning faster and he has to breathe more. So, we get the aerobic benefit. Also, I believe we needed to work on keeping him in the saddle more when he’s climbing. Before, he liked to get out of the saddle a lot, which costs more energy. So we needed to do more work in saddle and make him more comfortable with turning these quicker rpms. It is something that takes a long time to develop efficiency at. This is actually something we’ve been working on for ten years.”
Volume 7 – sample highlights (2001)
Dean Golich’s The Three Building Blocks of Conditioning with Special Considerations to the Female Cyclist Reveals in V.7#5:
Training consists of three blocks; endurance, lactate threshold and a VO2. The following are definitions and a sample training protocol for the female cyclist in which there would be a large carryover to the male cyclist, as well as to mountain bike training. There are some different specifics between disciplines but it’s done more when they are mature in the sport and are at higher levels of competition. After each block is performed one week of active recovery is done.
In the first two weeks of December we start with intervals. Generally, the elite level cyclists are already training so genrally speaking they are still aerobically fit. Most people would suggest this time for endurance training, i.e.,long slow distance. We do VO2 intervals but at a higher cadence. Intervals are divided into blocks. The first week in December we do two days of intervalsin a row. Sometimes we do double days, where we do these intervals in the AM and then again in the PM and most times on two consecutive days. The sessions would generally be seven efforts of 3-4 minutes followed by 3 minutes recovery (easy spinning). This is done at 110-130 rpms.
Barney King’s Conditioning Interview — Training and Coaching the Junior Rider Reveals in V.7#6:
“Rule number one with young riders is patience. There is some truth to the fact that young riders are men and women in kids’ clothing. They develop at different rates. Just look at a junior race. You see a great variation in the musculature of male and female riders. Some male riders shave, others don’t. As a coach you must identify and classify the skill level of the rider. If you deal with an elite level junior they may need, and be able to handle, more volume and intensity because they are more physically developed. If, at the same age, you load a less mature rider the same way you would run them out of the sport. Qualifying their skill level is very important. The patience is the realization that each young cyclist will develop at their own pace. This is something you can’t push. With the federation reintroducing the gear restrictions for young riders it will allow for a more even playing field. If a junior rider who is bigger, stronger and capable of pushing a much larger gear races a junior race, s/he has to go into a higher cadence mode which is more competitive than going up a gear. This will keep things more on an equal basis. In addition there is less risk of injury which helps in teaching proper technique.”
Volume 8 — sample highlights (2002)
Christopher Kautz’s Positioning Specialist: The Newest Member of a Performance Resource Advisory Team Reveals in V.8#1:
If your interest is positioning someone on a bike to achieve optimum performance, you need to think about what actually dictates performance. When we got down to it and really thought about these things, we found that the important variables were really how much power the athlete developed, how aerodynamic the athlete was, how efficiently the athlete pedaled, and to a lesser degree, depending on distance of an event, how comfortable the athlete was on the bicycle. If you can quantify those variables, you don’t need to worry so much about the other measurements people have been taking in the past to fit a bicycle.
It basically required a new way to go about fitting an athlete, so rather than spending time measuring the body, you need to spend time measuring the effective changes on the position to performance variables.
Ed Burke, Ph.D’s Evolution of Training and Conditioning Practices in Cycling Reveals in V.8#5:
Starting in 1977, the United States Cycling Federation (as it was known at the time) started to change the way cyclists approached their training by the hiring of their first national coach, Eddy Borysewicz. Eddy came out of the Eastern Block as former head of the Polish National Team. The Poles were one of the more successful teams coming out of this region. He was really the first one to bring over the concepts of organization of training — quality of training with structured interval and tempo type training. This was the introduction of what we call the periodization of training.
His concept took some time to catch on. Eddy started working with the national team as the 1980 Olympic coach, working through the middle of that decade. During this time, he was one of the first coaches in this country to start working with the cycling athlete with resistance training on a large scale. Like with many things, it takes an outsider to come in and open peoples’ eyes to new techniques. The type of training we did at the Olympic training center was a more volume type of training that worked the whole body. Also at that time he introduced, on a minor scale, the concepts of what is now known as plyometrics.
Volume 9 – sample highlights (2003)
Tom Ehrhard’s Favorite Exercises of the Coaches, 5 Minute Ladder Workout Reveals in V.9#1:
Start with a five-minute interval at lactate threshold wattage, then rest for one minute. Then do a four-minute interval at an increased increment of wattage and so on until you reach one minute, then 30 seconds, and end with a 20-second interval at sprint wattage. You’ve just gone up the ladder, and now you must go back down by increasing the “on” intervals and decreasing the rest.
As you move to a shorter interval, you should increase the rest. You have a one-minute rest after five on, two minute rest after four minutes on, three minute rest after three minutes on, three minute rest after two on, three minute rest after one on, and four minute rest after 30 seconds on. After the 20 seconds at sprint intensity, rest for five minutes. Now you must go back down the ladder using the same rest-work intervals until you’re back up to a five minute lactate threshold intensity.
Sean Wilson Ph.D.’s Cycling Conditioning: The Over Emphasis on the Metabolic Systems — a Case for High Intensity Training Reveals in V.9#4:
There are clear differences in the abilities of the various levels of cyclists, from the beginner, moving up through the ranks to the advanced, professional and even for the older masters level competitor. One of the realities of adaptation is that if someone is trained they are going to regain a loss in function faster than someone who has never trained. Another consideration is that an individual who has trained will not lose all of their abilities, just some of them. So by taking time off from the bike you only lose a little bit, especially if you are including other types of cross training in your training program.
As a result of this, the beginner cyclist will want to spend more time doing low intensity riding to build up their tendons and ligaments to be able to withstand the load that will be required during intense exercise, more so than the more advanced cyclists. The more advanced cyclist in comparison will be able to progress much quicker through the stages of training at the start of the season. They can integrate high intensity training into their regimen earlier on compared to novice cyclists. An example is power work (low cadence and high intensity), which puts a great amount of stress on the muscles and tendons. If a beginner cyclist did power work they would risk having tendonitis problems. The advanced cyclist is more adept at handling these high training loads.
Volume 10 – sample highlights (2004)
Allen Lim’s How Cycling Principles, Practices and Research Can Improve Performance Reveals in V.10#1:
For all of the athletes I work with the demands of training and competition are determined by monitoring power output, heart rate (HR), perceived exertion (RPE), and perceived fatigue. The power meter gives us an objective reference for what is actually happening in a given race or training ride while heart rate and perceived exertion allow us to understand how that rider is responding. In the past, coaches and scientists simply used an athlete’s response and had no objective reference to relate it to. With the power meter we can finally tell a complete story.
Andrew Richard Coggan, Ph.D.’s Understanding Heart Rate — Seven Questions Answered Reveals in V.10#1:
Power is the product of the force applied to the pedals and how fast they are turning so obviously, it varies considerably on a moment-to-moment basis. You might, for example, produce twice your steady/average power when stomping over a very small rise, then have your power fall to zero when you briefly soft-pedal or coast down the other side to let your training partners catch up. This variability in effort over very short periods of time tends to set cycling and a few other sports like cross-country skiing apart from other endurance sports, such as running (stop running and you fall down), but it is really just part of riding a bicycle, especially in a group.
In terms of training, it means two things. First, if “all” of somebody’s training is at a constant intensity (e.g., on an ergometer), then s/he is likely going to have difficulty producing the brief “spikes” in power needed to close gaps or climb small hills quickly when racing. Second, because of this variability it is very difficult, if not impossible, to ride down the road and keep your power between X and Y “at all times” when training. Even if you stare constantly at the powermeter display, crawl up hills and pedal madly down them, your power will still be much more variable than, say, your HR.
Volume 11 – sample highlights (2005)
Bernard Condevaux’s Coaching Perspective: The Triad of Cycling Back Pain Prevention Reveals in V.11#2:
There are people who despite their best efforts, have tight hamstrings. Tight hamstrings can also be the result of a sore back or, if one is stressing the back with riding, the hamstrings will tighten up to protect it. The pairing I think is more common is the psoas and weak core stability. If the core is not stable, with weak lower abs, the core stabilizers aren’t doing the job and the rider does not have a good base. Again, the base of support for cyclists is really the trunk. If that is stable, the legs have something balanced and stable from which to generate power. If a rider doesn’t have it, the psoas will compensate and become a primary stabilizer. Rather than doing what it needs to do and being more of a contributor, it becomes a prime mover when that is not its optimal function. It should be more of a stabilizer or a secondary muscle. The exception would be if you are really pulling up on the pedals, the psoas will be very active. But cyclists rarely pull up that consistently. The psoas tries to stabilize the back by tightening up and pulls the back down into a more locked position. That becomes a problem because it is constantly pulling the spine forward into an overly-extended position and potentially compressing nerve roots or facet joints, creating pain and limiting the range of motion.
Patrick Borkowski’s Off-Bike Sprinting Power Improvement: Appling National Jr. Team Programming to Your Situation Reveals in V.11#4:
The amount of time spent on working out each week is dependent on how much time the athletes spend on the bike. Beginning competitive riders may spend a minimum of 12 to 15 hours per week. When I was with the national team our riders were spending over 20 hours per week. With this on-bike load it’s important to avoid adding too much time in the weight room—including warm-up and cool down the max time should be targeted at 40 to 45 minutes. During the season this should be done a minimum of once per week to maintain the strength/power gains of the off-season. However, it’s important to build a good base in the off-season so that maintenance can be accomplish with only one session in the weight room per week. During the off-season one would do a little higher volume so the workout might take a little longer but no more than an hour and 15 minutes.
Volume 12 – sample highlights (2006)
Hunter Allen’s Redefining Periodization for Cycling with Power/Wattage Training Reveals in V.12#1:
When designing a weekly plan it is always important to keep in perspective the big picture. For example, an athlete has six weeks before a key event. In planning the week it’s important to have days where the athlete will be challenged in terms of wattage.
Athletes might do five repeats times five minutes. This will put them at a very specific range of wattage. I will want the athletes at each one of these five-minute intervals to be at 106 to 113 percent of their threshold power. If in the first one they do 120 percent and the second at 113, as long as they are achieving the desired goals within the workout itself then, as coach, I know we are on track.
Clay Worthington’s Periodization of Sprint Cycling with Considerations for Endurance Cyclists Reveals in V.12#4:
If a coach has an athlete who he thinks needs to improve sprinting abilities, that athlete can benefit from sprint type training. This type of training can be performed in the gym or on the bike each has their particular advantages and disadvantages. This is the best way to develop some speed and pop. A goal of any endurance cyclist with good sprint abilities is can s/he get through the hard parts of a race and be in position at the finish to win. S/he can rely upon sprint training and abilities to win a race so long as they can produce sufficient sustained effort to remain in the peoloton at the critical points of a race.
Volume 13 – sample highlights (2007-08)
Lynda Wallenfels’s Distance Mountain Bike Racers: A Tale of Two Cycling Communities Reveals in V.13#2:
For the finisher plan this typically involves a person who has never gone a hundred miles or a 24-hour solo before — these individuals look at it from the perspective of a personal challenge. So, for these individuals we spend most of the training emphasis on endurance and teaching execution. This would include accurate pacing, fueling, how to keep the bike running, a positive mental approach, and equipment including where to put your drop bag on the course and, most importantly, how to ride in the dark. Execution includes all the details on how to get to the finish line. Little if any time is spent on speed, lactate threshold or VO2 max training. The key role for coaches is to know all the details of what it takes to get to the finish line. This is why I said earlier that experience is the best teacher — finding out for the details for themselves and living it will allow coaches to properly prepare their athletes.
Lori Thomsen’s The Relationship between Postural Asymmetry and Cycling Injuries Reveals in V.13#4:
Wedges in cleats, adding padding to the right saddle and modifying bike fit are current trends to assist with postural mal-alignment in cyclists. Cycling is a sport that requires a person to maintain a postural position for hours during a normal workout. The average cyclist will perform 80-110 rpms per minute. If you take this coupled with the repetitive position that cyclist’s workout in, injuries will result. Common injuries include pain found in the neck, IT band, knee, low back and feet. If the body is not in the right position with normal sitting, standing, and walking activity how will it be in the right position sitting on a bike? This article will assist cyclists in preventing injury by discussing postural symmetry of the body prior to getting on a bike.