Post Number 9: You Lose Some, You Win Some

Well, it's fair to say that this week has been a typical example of how awkward my work / life / training balance can be! Trying to squeeze in 40 hours of teaching, plus something similar in Lego building and then add in the complicating factor of some stressful negotiations with an important client of ours is never going to be conducive to smashing out a few hours of aerobic, low intensity training on my bike (as was my goal).

You can see from my Strava stat's that I have only managed a dismal 41.8 miles in 3.5 hours of cycling! For the 'Stato's' amongst you, to save you getting a calculator out, that's an average speed of just under 12 mph!! 

I always knew that this week was going to be a difficult one from a training goal perspective... Therefore I did what any good fitness professional would do and I changed some of the variables in my training. Generally speaking, fitness programming works around four principles: Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type (FITT Principles). I couldn't do the time this week, so I upped the intensity instead. 'How so? You averaged under 12 mph!' I hear you say... Well, I put in a bit of extra effort in the strength training sessions and I also chose to ride up a big hill near where I live called 'The Wrekin'... twice. The Wrekin allegedly has the 'Highest ascent for it's circumference around it's base in the whole of Britain'. I'm not sure that's completely true, but it felt like it two days ago - particularly the second time up!

The Wrekin is an off-road climb to be done on a mountain bike. At times the gradients make you slow to near walking speed. Even once onto the false flat over the top there is still a sting in the tale that is 50:50 whether you'll make it up without pulling a foot out to avoid an embarrassing, slow speed 'topple'. It takes 13 minutes on a good day to get to the top. The day I went up was not a good day, weather-wise or state-of-training-wise! 

The Losses

So, I'm a little behind on one of my goals already (30 hours of cycling in January including a ride in North Wales and the Peak District). I could get down about this I guess, but, there have been a fair amount of 'out of my control' obstacles put in my way this week. As mentioned right at the start of my blog, I'm not going to worry about those sorts of things. I'm choosing to concentrate on getting the things in my control right. However, there are also some positives to reflect on too!! (One of the many advantages of setting a number of 'Process' goals).

The Wins

I've managed to up my loads in the 2 big strength exercises I do (Squat and Deadlift). I'm now lifting 10kgs more than over Christmas (see pic to the right for weights) and I feel like I can go on from that over the next couple of weeks too! Usually, you would expect to progress by around 2.5-7.5kgs every 5 weeks or so (that's a typical length of a strength training mesocycle). I guess my progression has been a bit quicker due to me getting more 'familier' with the 'skill' of lifting. Along with this increased strength has come slightly bigger quadriceps and glutes (approx 1 cm in circumference since the start of training in November). Coupled with an actual decrease in bodyweight of 1lb, that's all the proof I need that my body is changing for the better!

Perhaps though, the biggest positive to take from my training so far, is that I felt 'strong' riding up the Wrekin, despite DOMs in my legs limiting my riding intensity. I got to the top as comfortably as is possible up there - never pushing much harder than 7/10 effort. I was 3 minutes off my best time up the hill, but actually think I'm not too far off my best fitness of last year already and I definitely think I'll be challenging for the Strava KOM up there in the Summer! (This is another of my goals!).

The Week Ahead

So overall, I'm pleased with how things are progressing. This week I do have some extra time due to work being quiet, so I'll try my best to get in some long rides alongside the heavier weights sessions. I'm also going to have a go at a 2 Rep Max Deadlift Strength Test at the start of Monday's strength session. Mainly because my training partner, Pom, did one last week (watch Pom's self-glorifying video below!). I won't get very close to his mark, but I'm intrigued to know what I can do! Of course, I'll report back!

Don't try that at home folks...

Paul

Post Number 6: Stronger Together

Only a shortish blog tonight (although I realise I have a tendency to ramble!)... Mainly because I have zero energy left after training earlier. There's two main reasons why I have no energy - and they are the two culprits below left! 

You see, tonight I trained with my friends and colleagues Tom and Pom. No, they don't do a comedy double act despite their similar names (unless you include their current attempts at growing beards as comedy). As you can see from the pic' above, they're not cyclists... 'So why train with them?' I hear you ask.  Well, two reasons:

Reason 1

Training with mates is motivational. Not only does it push you to lift that extra weight or rep (or if you're on the bike, ride the extra mile), but it also gets you out and training in the first place. I can guarantee that tonight I wouldn't have made the training session without them pestering me on our 'group text'. Nor would I have lifted as much as I did, or focused on my technique. All in, they were good value to me tonight! (Thanks lads!).

Reason 2

Despite them being football and rugby players, the basic movements of their sports share many of the same features as cycling. Therefore, the exercises we do can benefit all of our sports. 

The primary movement in almost every sport, is often referred to as 'Triple Extension'. Triple extension, in a nutshell, involves the extension (opening up) of the ankle, knee and hip joints. If we want to generate as much power as possible, then we have to be able to extend the hip' knee and ankle as fast and efficiently as possible. That means practising this movement repeatedly to train our muscular timing and muscle fibre recruitment. If we can 'time'our muscle contractions to work together perfectly and 'recruit' as many muscle fibres as possible, then we will be able to generate an awful lot of force which we could use for jumping, sprinting, pushing opponents, or... pushing pedals around in circles. 

The Gluteals, Hamstrings, Quadriceps and muscles of the lower leg; Tibialis Anterior, Gastrocnemius and Soleus all have a role to play in Triple Extension, so tonight we used the Deadlift and Clean exercises to develop strength, fibre recruitment and muscular timing.

Training Triple Extension of course, can be done on the bike... but training muscular timing and recruitment is generally thought to work best when high forces are involved. High forces are possible on a bike of course (grind up a hill in a big gear at low revs per minute). But... tonight it was dark, wet and windy... and... the forces that I can generate with an Olympic bar on my back are an awful lot more than what is possible if I push pedals around - even up a big hill (push too hard and you'll either just lift your bum off the saddle or fall off!). 

Now some of you might be thinking 'Yeah, but is any of that going to cross over to cycling?'. Well, in my opinion, yes. That's why track cyclists do it. I hear your next question... 'Yeah but what about endurance cycling?'. Well, Think of this analogy:

There are two identical twins - they both weigh exactly the same and genetically are identical. However, one of the identical twins can squat a heavier weight (twice his bodyweight) than his brother (he can only lift 1.5 times his bodyweight). This is because the first twin has been doing strength training.

Question - If both twins were asked to do 100 bodyweight squats (an endurance activity if ever there was one and nowhere near either twin's maximum lift), who would get tired first? You can write your answers below as comments if you like! I'll give you my (and the strength and conditioning community's) answer in the next blog!

So, that was tonight. Oh yes, with one other thing. Tonight a young impressionable cyclist named 'Todd' trained with us. Fingers crossed, he has felt the benefits of group training tonight! I guess we'll see on Wednesday, when our next session is due! 

Our programme by the way, if you hadn't noticed is now in the top right hand corner of this blog. As it changes, I'll keep you updated!

Paul

Post Number 4: Dispelling the Myths Surrounding Strength Training and Endurance Sport

Well Christmas has come and gone, and I'm pleased to say that I don't feel like I've turned into a Christmas Pudding just yet - and it's not for the lack of eating! I'm not the sort of person to hold back on the food front or abstain from drinking. But what I have done, is fitted in some quality workouts to keep up the metabolic rate and reduce the fat deposition! 

Like most people these days, my free time is pretty limited, so I squeeze what I can in, when I can. Everything though, is of value to me. If there isn't a point to what I'm doing, I either won't do it, or I'll change what I'm doing. Having a specific objective for each session that fits in with my Mesocycle aim - which in turn fits in with my Macrocycle aim, will ensure that I stay on the most direct route to my goals. The same will work for you too! 

So what have I been doing? Well, as per my previous blogs, I've been clocking up a few miles on my bike at a low intensity (for endurance). As we all know though, cycling can tend to take up most of your day, which is no good when you have potatoes to peel for a Christmas Dinner! So I've supplemented the long(ish) rides with Strength Training. A lot of cyclists fear strength training and don't see the benefits. In fact, many think it's going to 'ruin' their cycling legs. So here's my attempt at dispelling the myths surrounding strength training and endurance sport (particularly cycling).

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OK, lets not 'Beat around the Bush'. Will strength training destroy all ability to push pedals around in circles? The answer is a categoric - YES short term, and NO long term. The key to successfully incorporating strength training into your endurance training plan is TIMING, INTENSITY and RECOVERY. Are there better things to be doing than lifting weights? Well, in short, YES! You could ride your bike for hours and hours like a pro, then sleep for hours and hours like a pro! If you don't have hours and hours though, I think it's fair to say, that if you do it properly, with some guidance, then strength training can give you the 'Biggest bang for your buck' out of pretty much any other training. (I'm excluding Interval and HIIT training here - as I'll write about those another day and besides, it's nice to vary your training a bit and not just ride your bike all the time!).

Within 12-72 hours post a strength training workout, you will undoubtedly suffer muscle soreness known as 'Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)'. The soreness experienced comes from 'micro-tears' deep within the muscle fibres. This breakdown in the muscle fibre is definitely going to make you feel like you have zero cycling ability until the tears are repaired. However, DOMS doesn't preclude you from riding a bike at a low intensity during this recovery period. In fact, a nice easy bike ride will actually speed up the recovery process! This fits neatly in with wanting to gain an 'endurance base' at low intensity! 

The benefit of strength training, is that you get stronger. Your muscle fibres get thicker and your coordination between large groups of muscles, as well as your ability to contract your muscles effectively, increases. The result, is that you can produce more 'Force' with potentially more efficiency (ie, less wasted energy). Long-term, this could well make you a faster cyclist. I have trained this way for a number of years and have trained others too (riding at a very good level - one got a top 15 in the National 10 mile tt champs and a top 60 best ever 25 mile tt time!) with great results. So far, everyone I have trained this way has got something out of it. Word of warning though, if you are genetically very much an endurance athlete (ie you have a high proportion of slow twitch muscle fibres - you'd need to get a good opinion on this), then potentially, strength training could be worse than useless for you!

The more you strength train, the less DOMS you will suffer. The first month is the hardest to get through. You won't be able to walk for much of it and your confidence will take a knock as your mates ride off up the road. But hang in there, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It's a long tunnel though if you do it properly!

To benefit from ST you will need to do it for at least three months ideally. A month to get used to the movements involved, a month to build some quality in to what you're doing, and a month to focus on fitness acquisition. I'm pleased to say that I'm now in this last phase!

You really don't want to be strength training during your competitive season either. The recovery periods after a session can interfere with other important factors in your race preparation. In other words, do strength training when you're not competing, be prepared for a dip in form during the strength mesocycles, and do keep in mind the reason for doing ST. Each and every session's objective, should be leading to increased STRENGTH. You are definitely not looking at increasing your endurance in these sessions - that is done ON THE BIKE!

So what should a strength programme look like? Well, there are a million ways to 'Skin the strength training cat'. The following is my way! (For legal reasons I should probably mention at this point that you need to get individualised expert advice on what's right for you as well as what is 'good technique'. Don't believe every You Tube video! If you really must watch video clips online, then Google world reknowned weightlifters such as Mysha Koklyaev!

The Plan:

Choose one of the following exercises:

• Deadlift
• Back Squat
• Front Squat
• Leg Press

then choose any two of the following exercises:

• Clean
• Overhead Squat
• Step up
• Lunge

Complete the three exercises in your strength session (after a good workout and dynamic stretch).

Complete some core strength exercises - take your pick here!

Alternate the exercises so that you complete all off the list within a two week period. So that means a minimum of two strength sessions per week. I do a Monday and Wednesday so that I'm recovered by the weekend!

and that's (almost) it!

The number of repetitions (reps) I lift and the number of sets I complete depends upon the exact mesocycle I'm in. If I've just started my strength training again after a summer of cycling, then I'll be in the 12-14 rep range with a low weight (less than 65% of what I think my heaviest lift would be - my 1 Rep Max). If I'm progressing from this phase, then I'll lift a weight that is 65-85% of my 1 Rep Max between 6-11 times. If I'm through that phase and looking to really gain some strength, then I'll up the weight to over 85% of my 1 Rep Max, but will drop the reps to 1-5. This last phase, in my opinion, is where you get some real pay-offs from all your hard work!

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So there you go. Simple really. Ride your bike slowly for as many hours as you can and between these rides, beast yourself with some squats etc to gain real STRENGTH. Feel free to contact me with any specific questions. Otherwise, enjoy!

Paul