Fitness
Winter Training Exercises
03 months ago
If you’re like me, you hate to see the warm weather go. Cold temperatures force us back to the trainers or Indoor Spinning classes from great rides like Moab’s Slick rock, the Alpine Loop, and endurance races like Ranatad, Lotoja, and Salt to Saint. Consequently, this can be a good opportunity to focus on the fundamentals of cycling for both the road bike and the mountain bike. Winter is also the perfect time to rejuvenate your body with a periodization schedule.
At the end of the season I go back to a base building period that involves keeping my heart rate in an aerobic zone. I do this for 2 ½ months then I add strength zone which takes heart rate up about 10%. This is followed by adding in intervals at 92% Heart Rate (HR). This base building has many rewards including fully recovering from the stresses of intense exercise and competition, and gaining a larger cardiovascular base. Many athletes believe that the path to increasing fitness, power, and speed is to keep a high intensity or volume of training without interruption. Although it is easy to feel that any break in this kind of training will result in setback, the truth is that the real gains in fitness and strength come in the rest and regeneration periods between hard workouts or training cycles.
You’ll enjoy these other numerous benefits from aerobic training:
Increased fat metabolism: the body prefers fat for fuel at this rate.
Better performance: improves VO2 max (oxygen use during exercise).
Stronger immune system: increases number of macrophage and T-cells (our fighter cells).
Increased resistance to fatigue: The more effective the heart is as a pump, the better it efficiently provides more oxygen to the body.
Lower risk of heart disease.
Increased general stamina: We build more capillaries thereby creating less work for the heart over time for the same cardiac output.
I suggest finding a good spinning instructor who knows how to train for endurance, strength, and competition. I train my students at the Orem Fitness Center. We have just started our Periodization program so we’ll be more fit; ready to compete and enjoy staying with the pack on group rides and centuries. Come indoors and spend some time training with me until you can get reacquainted with your good friend, the road bike. I have taught Spinning for over 8 years. I do endurance races and triathlons for Fezzari Bicycles. Let’s build a stronger body together. Here is a good aerobic workout that I tried out in my class for you who prefer the trainers.
Objective: increase leg strength in aerobic zone
10 min. warm-up
3 min. small hill climb (elevate HR to 75% or level 5)
2 min. mod. Hill climb ( HR to 80% or level 6)
1 min. heavy hill climb ( maintain HR. focus on relaxation and breathing)
1 min. on flat road. Repeat
Rolling Hills: In the saddle
Add gear every 20 sec. 3 gears ( try and hold same cadence) off 3 gears
Add gear every 15 sec. 4 gears ( know your limits) off 4 gears
Add gear every 10 sec. 5 gears (put your ego aside and slow cadence) off 5 ( I take 30 sec. In between each set to recover)
Add gear every 30 sec. 6 gears ( last gear out of saddle for 15 sec.) off 5
Add gear every 20 sec. 5 gears (last gear out of saddle for 15 sec.) off 4
Add gear every 15 sec. 4 gears (last gear out of saddle for 15 sec.) off 3
Add gear every 10 sec. 3 gears (stay seated) off 3
(take 1-2 min. to recover)
Flat road. Cadence 100 rpm. Add 3 gears without slowing cadence. Hold for 30 sec. Slow down to about 80rpm. Add 3 gears w/o slowing down. Hold for 20 sec.
Slow down to 60 rpm. Add 3 gears w/o slowing down. Hold for 10 sec. Recover 1 min. Repeat.
Finish off with light resistance hold for 2 min. then add tempo bursts until HR leaves zone (maybe 10-20 sec.) slow down and wait for HR drop.
Repeat. See how many you can do in 5 min.
Cool Down 10 min. Easy pedal.
For information about Orem Fitness Center Spinning classes: visit http://rec.orem.org
Written by: Audra Jeske
Fitness: Pilates – The Silver Bullet for Cyclists
04 months ago
All of us have heard the name “Pilates” from celebrity fitness gurus and sub-urban moms, but you may be wondering, what is Pilates, and how can it make you better at cycling?
What Is Pilates?
Pilates is a fitness and strengthening system developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century. The system focuses on building strength and flexibility mainly in the abdomen, chest, arms, back and buttocks, which typically are the weakest muscles on a road or mountain bikers physique.
Pilates Guide Marguerite Ogle made this observation while watching the Tour de France.
“As with most sports, in bicycling there are common pitfalls like repetitive stress on certain muscle groups and the accompanying uneven development of the musculature.”
In other words, we as cyclists tend to have highly-developed legs, but frequently without the same sort of muscular conditioning of the upper body.
In order to strengthen the commonly underdeveloped muscles try these three Pilates exercises:
Front Support/Plank Exercise: Works Arms, Core, Butt and Legs.
Position your body on all fours with either your hands flat on the floor or your upper body resting on your forearms. Pull your tummy in and straighten your legs one at a time so your body creates a straight line. Be conscious that you do not sag through your shoulder blades or hips. If your arms are straight, keep your elbows soft; not locked. Hold for two sets of five slow breaths. Increase the number of breaths as you gain in strength.
Pilates Push Up: Works Arms, Core, butt and Legs.
Assume regular push-up position with hands shoulder width, arms and feet directly behind you. While keeping your head and spine in-line, lift one leg up off the ground eight inches.
Do 6-10 push-ups or until failure in this tripod position while tightening core to your hold leg steady off the ground, and rest on knees for 30-60 seconds. Again while tightening core and keeping feet the same distance apart, lift leg off ground and complete your set with 6-10 push-ups or until failure.
Pilates Swimming: Works Lower Back, Butt, Core and Shoulders.
Lie flat on stomach with your arms stretched out in front of you, with legs outstretched behind you.
Before you begin squeeze inner thighs and heels together. When ready, tighten core and flex butt, slowly lifting chest off mat with arms extended away from you and about 6 inches off ground in a superman position. Without straining lower back, lift legs off the mat. Begin alternating arms and legs up and down in an even rhythm of swimming. Think of elongating your body and stretching your arms as far away as possible, pointing hands and feet. Make sure not to rock your core back and forth, keep as steady as possible on the ground while keeping tension out of neck.
Swim for 24 beats or six full breaths to complete one set.
If Swimming strains back or muscles to much try the modified swimming movement. Get on all fours and with the same idea, switch arms and legs in an alternating rhythm, stretching one arm and leg at a time. Make sure to not drop hips or arch back, engage abdominal to maintain tightened back angle. Swim for 24 beats to complete one set.
Athletes of all sports recognize the importance of cross training, more importantly weak-point training. Pilates being a program that is tailored to cyclists, should be utilized by all who wish to take their fitness to the next level. Be sure to check out the Top 5 Weight Lifting Exercises for Cyclists for additional cross training tips.
Also, If you are looking to improve your fitness further, Take a look at the Cycling Computers we offer for accurate exercise tracking and statistics.
The Health Benefits of Biking
0The United States is a car country. We drive everywhere, and we all pay the price: transportation alone accounts for 20 percent of the family budget and is the second biggest cost after housing. A sedentary lifestyle doesn’t just kill our pockets, either — it kills us. Research has proven that swapping out driving in favor of biking can have incredible health results.
The Two-Wheeled Key to Better Health and a Better World
- 15 percent of asthma cases are linked to living close to major roads.
- The average person will lose 13 pounds in their first year of riding a bike to work.
- 20 bikes can be parked in the same space as one car.
- Portland leads the U.S. in bike commuters with nearly 6 percent commuting.
- Portland, Oregon’s investment in cycling is expected to save it $400 million in healthcare costs by 2040.
Created by: Healthcare Management Degree
Worldwide Obesity Statistics and Trends
05 months ago
We found this infographic on worldwide obesity statistics to be a little eye opening, so as you gnaw down those holiday treats, keep in mind what it takes to work off that extra pound or two of Pumpkin Pie and candy canes. The writer personally lost 15 pounds by eating healthier foods and exercising. What kind of exercise? Cycling of course. What’s your favorite post-holiday exercise?
Worldwide Obesity Statistics and Trends
I personally lost 15 pounds by changing my diet and riding a bicycle. You can too.
Heart Rate: 5 Steps to More Effective Off-Season Training
05 months ago
Winter is on its way in and temperatures are declining. Temperatures and shorter daylight hours can make it difficult to keep your body in the shape you want. Whether you are new to competitive cycling, a seasoned racer, or just looking to better your fitness, there are a few simple steps to improving your abilities in preparation for the coming season.
1. Setting Goals
When entering the off-season, the first step to a successful upcoming year is planning. Take a look at your previous season and assess which aspects went well and which didn’t turn out as expected. Think of what you want to improve on this year, set a few goals, and make necessary plans to reach those goals. Perhaps you had great endurance but not very much power. Maybe you felt fast on the flats but not as quick up the climbs. Adjust your training to improve your weakest areas of riding.
Plan out your approaching race/ride calender and focus on the events most important to you. You’ll want to be hitting your peak fitness at these times. Planning can make a huge difference in your season.
2. Decrease Training Intensity
Fall/Winter is a time to slow down your training intensity. If you were to train year-round at your maximum ability, you are likely to burn out much too early. Instead, you want to start your off season at a much lower intensity, then gradually work your way back up to your peak when the time is right.
To regulate yourself, you should consult a target heart rate diagram easily found online. You can customize your own training plan to your age and limitations. First you need to determine your Maximum Heart Rate (mhr). One method to determine your age adjusted mhr is to use this equation.
Male: 220 – (age) = mhr
Female: 226 – (age) = mhr
Once you have your mhr, you can effectively plan your off-season. Start slow by riding at 50-60% of your mhr. In a month or two bump it up to 60-75% mhr. Next, when early spring hits, you can jump up to 75-85% mhr. Then, when the event season starts, you can increase up to 85-100% mhr. Not only will this allow your body to work its way back up to peak fitness without overtraining, but you will increase your endurance by training your body to work at different heart rate zones. To more effectively monitor your heart rate, check out the cycling computers we offer.
There are many approaches to building your base level of cardio. For a great article on base training be sure to check out Garret Rock’s article – The Importance of Base Building: Heart Rate Training
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3. Add Variety
It can be difficult to get out and train often in the Winter, especially if you live in a cold climate, but there are many activities you can do to stay fit.
- Get a trainer or rollers. They are simple to use and you can stay fit while riding your bike without leaving the house. Check out the Cycleops trainers we carry.
- Running, swimming, tennis, basketball, soccer, cross-country skiing, and snow-shoeing are great for cross-training
- Pick-up some leg and arm warmers to keep warm when its cold out
- Start interval training more when you get closer to the race season.
Ultimately your goal is to keep training and have fun doing it.
4. Weight train
The off-season is a great time to use weights to your advantage. Weight lifting can build and tone your muscles while increasing your muscle endurance. Although your legs will be most important to improve, focusing on other muscle groups will improve your overall athleticism as well. The goal isn’t to bulk up, but to increase endurance. This is best achieved by using smaller weights with higher reps. For an in depth article about specific weight training exercises, make sure to check out – Top 5 Weight Lifting Exercises for Cyclists
The off-season is a great time to use weights to your advantage. Weight lifting can build and tone your muscles while increasing your muscle endurance. Although your legs will be most important to improve, focusing on other muscle groups will improve your overall athleticism as well. The goal isn’t to bulk up, but to increase endurance. This is best achieved by using smaller weights with higher reps. For an in depth article about specific weight training exercises, make sure to check out – Top 5 Weight Lifting Exercises for Cyclists
5. Discipline
The last thing to keep in mind over the next season is to stay consistent. It’s easy to get out of the routine when you become busy with other things, I’ve definitely fallen victim to this before. It is important to keep your goals visible and set time aside to train, even if you can only manage a little bit at a time. Staying on track and consistent will guarantee greater success for the coming year.
Make sure you are having fun throughout this process! Following these steps will improve your riding ability and help you have a more enjoyable year. Good Luck!
Heart Rate Training: The Importance of Base Building
26 months ago
Heart rate training has gone through its ups and downs throughout the years. To some it is considered a fad, much like fads such as low-carb diets. To others it’s considered the most effective training method still. In my reviews of literature, I fall somewhere in between, however, I sway more toward the side of heart rate training being one of the most effective means by which to train (with important considerations…so make sure you read the entire article).
How Long
The majority of people that monitor their heart rates during workouts really don’t have much of a clue about why they are doing this or what their goal is in doing it. The goal of heart rate training should be to build a base fitness level that is enough to take you through your goal event feeling strong. To adequately build this base, science generally says it will take 4-6 months of heart rate training to build a base, depending on the distance/amount of time the event will take. Fezzari Bicycles sells many different heart rate monitors and cycling computers. Give them a call and they can help you find the one best for your training needs.
How Do You Determine Your Optimal Heart Rate In Training?
The ideal heart rate to train at is debated a bit, however most equations result in numbers that are similar. The equation for determining your ideal training heart rate I like best (because of the research behind it) is the one developed by Dr. Phil Maffetone. His equation is 180 minus your age. If you have had injuries caused by training (knee pain, ITB syndrome, etc), or have been sick in the last 3 months you should subtract 5. If you have been training consistently for at least 6 months without any sickness or injuries, you can add 5. If you have a chronic health problem, such as heart disease or diabetes, subtract 10.
Dr. Phil Maffetone’s Heart Rate Training Calculation Example
As an example of calculating an ideal base building heart rate, we will use a 32 year old that has only been consistently training for 2 months, so we will not add or subtract anything. Their ideal heart rate would be 148.
| Value | Age Example | Ideal Training Rate | |
| Base | 180 | - 32 | 148 bpm |
| Base – Injury | 180 | - (32 – 5) | 153 bpm |
| Base + Healthy | 180 | - (32 + 5) | 143 bpm |
In setting a plan for base building, you first must consider your race distance. If your goal is an Ironman 70.3, most evidence says you will need at least 4 months of base building at your ideal heart rate. If it is a full Ironman (140.6), at least 6 months of base building is necessary.
While base building, all of your training is done at your ideal heart rate. Speed work, intervals, progressions, and such are thrown away. For most triathletes, this concept is VERY hard to do because we have it engrained in us that we will lose speed if we don’t do speed work. I ensure you, this is not true at all, and in fact the research, both anecdotal and empirical says you will gain speed. The goal of base building is to increase aerobic speed (the speed you can go at heart rate). Building aerobic speed is relatively easy with heart rate training. After 3-4 weeks of base building you will find that you are able to run faster at the same heart rate. Throughout the rest of base building, you will continue to improve.
What Were My Personal Heart Rate Training Results?
Now, let me share my personal experience with training in this manner. When I first began, I had been training 4 months consecutively without injuries. I was doing a lot of speed work and going anaerobic in nearly every workout. My body constantly felt like it was recovering. Initially, I could run a 7:50 pace at a heart rate of 148. While training at heart rate, I felt MUCH better. My body nearly always felt fresh, long runs didn’t kill me, back to back runs were now possible, and I got sick less often. After 3 months I was able to run a 7:25 pace at a heart rate of 148. Then I hit race season (without having done any speed work at all). Here are the results in the run:
- Race 1 (sprint tri) - 6:14 pace (compared to 6:55 the prior year)
- Race 2 (sprint tri)- 6:13 pace after averaging 25.0 mph on bike (didn’t do this race the prior year)
- Race 3 (olympic tri) – 6:37 pace after averaging 24.1 mph on bike (compared to 6:53 the prior year)
- Race 4 (olympic plus tri) – 6:23 pace after a bike route that had 1500 ft of climbing (7:03 prior year)
I would look at my watch after each race and wonder where these times were coming from because I was now standing on the podium.
Regarding my improvements, they fall exactly in line with what the research says you can expect. After your base building period, I usually recommend adding speed work 1-2 days per week. In my case in the year referenced above, I didn’t get to add speed work because I began my base building so late. I used my races as my speed work.
Heart rate training is effective, reduces injuries, and reduces general stress on the body. It remains one of the most effective means of training for endurance athletes.
Top 5 Weight Lifting Exercises for Cyclists
46 months ago
The off-season is a great time to tone down your intense cardiovascular training and focus on building your leg muscles in the gym. Building your leg muscles will help with overall power as well as endurance. Weight lifting also requires your body to use many of the smaller muscles required for balance and agility. Here are 5 exercises to build stronger muscles for increased power and strength.
Squats for Cyclists
The squat is the single best exercise for developing powerful legs, as it works the entire upper leg muscle, butt and lower back. When done right, you will quickly see results in increased power output and sprint speed weather you are on a road bike or mountain bike.
In doing the squat exercise, you first hold a weight bar across your traps just at the base of neck and top of back. You will want to be in a standing position with knees slightly bent, your feet pointing straight ahead or turned out just a bit, and positioned slightly wider than your hips. Then while keeping your back straight, bend your legs and lower your hips until your upper thighs are parallel to the ground. From this point you then push straight up, returning yourself to the standing position.
If you haven’t done squats before, we would recommend that women use just the weight bar and men can add 10-25lbs as a starting point. What’s great about this weight range is that it allows you to develop proper form, which is most important with a technical exercise like squats.
As with all movements described here, in order to thoroughly exhaust the muscle and attain the most amount of blood flow (increased blood flow brings more oxygen and nutrients to the muscle helping it become stronger and recover quicker), you will need to focus solely on isolating the muscle and not tensing the rest of your body. Pay attention to a complete range of motion at the top and bottom of your movement flexing the muscle at the peak of each repetition.
In cycling, along with your hamstrings, the quadriceps in your upper leg will carry a majority of the load, the squat will help you develop strength quickly.
Calf Raises
The Calf Raise is a great exercise to improve your lower leg muscles for two reasons. It will increase your cadence allowing you to pedal faster on a road bike and also increase your ability to push off your pedal transitioning into the next pedal stroke on a mountain bike. There are a number of machines to work this muscle group, all with virtually the same range of motion and movement.
To do calf raises, first position your toes on a raised bar that allows your heels to drop several inches below your toes. A curb or set of stairs will work just fine for this. You can hold dumbbells in your hands, or do this with no external weights.
The secret to this movement is to really stretch your calf all the way down at the bottom of your contraction, and when raising all the way up pinching the muscle at the top. Stand on the ball of your foot with your heel hanging off of the ledge, slowly lower heels down as far as your can then raise up to your tip-toe, and back down. You will feel a nice stretch in the back of your calf. Then raise yourself back up to tip-toe and repeat. Do four sets of this, with 20 repetitions each time.
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Hamstring Curls
Strong hamstrings help when sprinting towards the finish line as well as in the steep section of a single track climb. Having strong hamstrings also balances out the quad muscle giving you more power overall.
The Hamstring Curl is done on a bench with a pulley system that allows you to raise a stack of weights. You lay on your stomach, with your legs out straight out behind you. With the back of your lower leg against the bar, you bend your legs so that your heels come up toward your rear, raising the stack of weights.
In this exercise, do three sets of lifts with ten repetitions in each. The weight can be the same in each, but the rest interval between sets should be only 30-60 seconds. Start light at 20 % of your body weight until you find the right weight for you for these exercises. The right weight is one that challenges you over ten repetitions, and failing in the 12-15 rep range.
The Leg Press
You can do three sets of leg presses, performing 12 repetitions in the first set, then 10 in the second and then eight repetitions in the last, getting progressively heavier (10-15%) each time. Allow three minutes rest between sets. This exercise will mainly work the outer muscle of your thigh and your upper quadriceps. This helps to balance the muscles worked in the squat exercise building muscle evenly across the top of your quad.
To determine the right starting weight for your exercise, a good rule of thumb is to start with an amount roughly equal to your body weight. If you can do this twelve times easily, bump up the weight by 10-15%. If it is already too difficult, trim it down by the same amount, making these adjustments until you get to that good starting point.
Leg Extensions
The leg extension is performed on a bench with a pulley system that allows you to raise a stack of weights. You sit on the bench with your feet and ankles pressed against a bar that, when raised by slowly kicking your feet out and forward, lifts the weights into the air.
In these exercises, do three sets with ten repetitions in each. The weight can be the same in each, but the rest interval between sets should be only 30-60 seconds. Start light — maybe just 20% of your body weight at first — until you find the right weight for you for these exercises. The right weight is one that challenges you over ten repetitions, but that you can ultimately complete.
This exercise will develop the quads right above your knee, along with the squat, hamstring curls and leg press your will successfully isolate all muscle in the upper leg, seriously increasing your climbing and sprint speeds, as well as enlarging your endurance potential.
Whether you are a trail hunting All-Mountain/XC rider or a pavement seeking road cyclist, this group of leg exercises will bring immediate results and bring more enjoyment into your biking.
