Indoor Time Trial Series

I just started an Indoor Time Trial Series topic on the Gulf Coast Cycle Fit forum. Let me know what you think of this type of competition. Go to www. gccyclefit.com and click the link to GCCYCLEFIT FORUM.

Functional Stability continued

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I have more reasons ( in lbs.) to workout.

Just a follow up from my earlier post on functional stability.

The more I work on force production, the more sensitive I've become at sensing inefficiency. As I was riding this morning, I stood to climb a steep pitch. I could tell that I would step on one pedal and ride it to the bottom, then I would step on the other pedal and ride it to the bottom. I felt it. It was bad.

If you remember, I wrote about one of the guys on our softball team in an earlier post. He could throw the ball from the outfield fence to home plate on one bounce. It was awesome to watch. All of his strength came from his legs, up through his trunk as he threw the ball.

As I was half way up the pitch, I could tell that I wasn't apply force to the pedals at the top or bottom of the stoke. Then it clicked, "I wasn't using the center of stability(my pelvic and trunk muscles) at all."

I tightened up the trunk and began to generate the pedalling force with greater emphasis on the hip flexors and gluts as well as quads and hamstrings. It was a total change in technique. With that simple change, I was applying force throughout the pedal stroke.

It's going to take some practice to become stronger but some hill repeats with emphasis on technique will smooth out the process.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Functional Stability

Take a look at the rider in front of you. Go on...look. What do you see?

Is the dog wagging the tail or is the tail wagging the dog? Are the shoulders rigid? Are the elbows locked in extension? Does that rider have a functionally stable trunk or "core".

Core training has taken off over the last couple years. Why? Because sit-ups lost their appeal. And the exercise market realized that somehow, you have to integrate abdominal strength into your everyday functional activities.

I say, "functional stability", because your trunk should be able to move an flex. Your not trying to develop a muscular cast for your trunk. You want a muscular corset. You need the ability to move within an acceptable range with strength.

The cyclist is in desperate need for functional stability. We have one stable point of support, the saddle. Everything else moves, pedals and handlebars.

The trunk(including the pelvis) on the saddle, has to become the effective foundation of power for the lower extremities. If you can't keep your trunk stable, what foundation are you using to pedal the bike? Are you using your shoulders, triceps or your neck muscles? No wonder riders have difficulty tolerating long rides. If you spend 4 hours using your shoulder muscles as the foundation of strength for your legs, you will be exhausted.

You can ride better. Work on the things that matter. There's more to riding than getting on the bike everyday.

Spinscan continues to be productive

This is the reason to be in the service business. There's no greater feeling than being able to help someone move toward success. It's a rush to see someone when they realize that they have a new tool that will help them achieve their goals. That is what the Spinscan has been for clients.

Here's what you can expect from a Spinscan session.
1) An accurate picture of your current pedaling pattern/force production.
2) Feedback and interaction to help you change your pedaling pattern.
3) Repeated pedaling efforts to begin training the proper muscle recruitment pattern.
4) Recorded effort to give you a baseline measurement of force production.
5) Pedaling activities to work on between tests.
6) Follow-up tests to evaluate progress. (Visual, definable).

If you pedal better, you will ride better from several aspects.
1) A greater percentage of force is used to drive the crank.
2) You will require less effort from your upper body to stabilize ineffective forces.
3) You will ride faster.
4) The more you do it, the better you will get.

CP profile

This is my current predicted CP profile.

copyrighted by Rick Moll

Too Cold, Time to put the analysis to work.

As I understand it, the critical power for a given time interval is the absolute greatest average power that can be sustained for that period. That would be the academic definition. I don't know if it's that easy to determine in real life. I guess I would figure that I could always give just that little bit more. But, who knows.

Here's what I've learned so far. Future tests will be more reliable. The profile I gave in the previous blog had two actual CP wattages and the others were calculated. I can tell you that I started both tests way too hard and went into O2 debt.

Here's how the CP3 test went. I started hard and maintained 475 watts for the first minute. It was then that I realized that I was in trouble. I had to back off to 310 watts to recover. In the end, I finished the last minute at 330 watts. My average ended up at 375. Here's the good news, on my next test, I will start at 375 watts and try to increase my power throughout the 3 minute test. I did the same thing with the CP20 test and I'll know more next time.

But, for now, I'll use the data that exists.

It was freezing this morning. What better time to implement the training strategy. Here's the goal of power training. You want to increase your time at a given wattage level. For this session, I picked the CP12 wattage as my target(239 watts). To train for increasing your time at given wattages, you plan for short breaks to recover a bit. I'm still working on the specific ratio of work to rest. I've sent some questions in to one of our Exercise Physiologists at the hospital. Hopefully, he will have more info for me in the next couple days. For now, here's my workout for this morning.

150 watts for 10min warmup
239 watts for 9 min
150 watts for 2 min
239 watts for 9 min
150 watts for 2 min
239 watts for 9 min
150 -->100 watt cool down

Total workout time 50 min
Total time at CP12 wattage - 27minutes

It was a great workout. It felt like it was just enough. I wouldn't have wanted another set.
Here's my take away. I think my CP 12 wattage is a bit higher than 239. I don't think I should have been able to go that long, even with the rest intervals. I'm going to perform a CP12 test soon. For that test, I'll start at 239 and work up the watts from there.

So, there's the basic protocol. You can do the same thing with any CP time.

If you need help, let me know. We can go through all the tests.

Also remember, the efficiency side. You may be able to burn mega watts but unless you can use them effectively, you are still going to struggle.

Critical Power Profile

This is the coolest training tool I've seen. It's a critical power predictor.

I think I discussed this in an earlier post. Critical Power(cp) is the average maximal watts that you can sustain for a given time period. For example, your critical power for 20 minutes is call cp20. There are cp's for several critical time increments, 5 sec., 1min., 3min., 20min., and 60min. I found a excel spreadsheet, written by Rick Moll, out on the internet. It uses some accepted calculations to predict 5 cp wattages based on testing two of those cp's.

I did a cp3 and a cp20 max test. The spreadsheet predicted the rest. Of course, if I actually tested all times, it would be more accurate. However, the predictive model allows me to see the general wattage range for various time intervals. Now, if I want to actually test my cp60, I could be smart about the test so that I don't go out too hard and blow up which is exactly what I did on the two I actually performed. I'm considering retesting this week to see if they are accurate.

Here's my data so far.
cp1 - 737 watts calculated
cp3 - 375 watts actual
cp5 - 303 watts calculated
cp20 - 221 watts actual
cp60 - 203 watts calculated

Now, I can formulate my training based on my needs. At this point in the season, I don't need to work on my sprint. I need based miles. I will set my training so that I can elevate my cp20 and cp60 wattages.

Next blog, I'm going to talk about how to put it into practice.

What takes priority in cycling?

I'm kicking around a few ideas about cycling priorities when it comes to being fast
- position/setup
- training/how you train
- pedaling technique/efficiency

Great weekend ride

I guess you can't ask for anything better. A beautiful October day in the 70's. It was kind of cool this morning when we started riding but it warmed up rather quickly.

To focus on the things at hand, I'm still seeing improvement in my pedaling pattern. I need to do another efficiency test and critical power test soon. Hope to get to that this week.

Today's ride was slow to start and quick at the end. Several rather long pulls today went well. I was able to ride at pace and maintain good pedaling form. I also noted that I was able to sustain longer pulls without going into oxygen debt.

We rode down the road to perdition(Grand Bay/Wilmer Rd., north of Airport Blvd.). It has to be the bumpiest road in the county. However, the Ti bike and Topolino wheels did a good job of making it tolerable. Also, a balance consistent pedal strong allowed a few of us to make a break from others who didn't want to feel their teeth chatter loose.

I continue to be impressed with my ability to maintain good speed. It's purely because of technique. I can feel that I'm able to apply power to the pedals for the entire 360degrees. I owe this entirely to the Computrainer Spinscan, rollers and other riding drills.

I can't wait till I'm race fit. It should be fun.

Great weekend ride

I guess you can't ask for anything better. A beautiful October day in the 70's. It was kind of cool this morning when we started riding but it warmed up rather quickly.

To focus on the things at hand, I'm still seeing improvement in my pedaling pattern. I need to do another efficiency test and critical power test soon. Hope to get to that this week.

Today's ride was slow to start and quick at the end. Several rather long pulls today went well. I was able to ride at pace and maintain good pedaling form. I also noted that I was able to sustain longer pulls without going into oxygen debt.

We rode down the road to perdition(Grand Bay/Wilmer Rd., north of Airport). It has to be the bumpiest road in the county. However, the Ti bike and Topolino wheels did a good job of making it tolerable. Also, a balance consistent pedal strong allowed a few of us to make a break from others who didn't want to feel their teeth chatter loose.

I continue to be impressed with my ability to maintain good speed. It's purely because of technique. I can feel that I'm able to apply power to the pedals for the entire 360degrees. I owe this entirely to the Computrainer Spinscan, rollers and other riding drills.

I can't wait till I'm race fit. It should be fun.

Connected Technique

Too Cool! Maybe this is the reason that cycling has such appeal. There is always some aspect of cycling where we can improve and become more proficient. Next year, I'll be 40. I don't have many years to focus on brute strength. Maybe I'm over the hump already and I'm in denial. Who knows.

Here are the things that keep me coming back. Every year, I get better, provided I apply myself. I don't know many cyclists that become bored with the sport. However there are many that become frustrated. Cycling proficiency must be recognized as a long term venture. If you see it that way, you will reap the reward without giving up.

Yesterday, I received one of those rewards. I rode out early to meet some other riders. It turned out to be one of those mornings where I ended up riding alone. It was foggy and I meandered 30-35 miles around the city and back out to the house. I could have passed a peleton with 100 riders and not known it.

Something finally clicked in my pedalling technique. I was applying power to the pedals without straining my brain. You know how it is when you are learning something new. You focus on it, hold your breath, contract other muscles that are unnecessary and ultimately you fail until...you get it!. Then you are able to succeed and incorporate the new skill into your everyday "toolbox". It was a great sensation as I mentioned before. It's about being connected.

Well, here's the hard evidence that my efforts are paying off. Typically, I can cruise at approx 20-21mph when I pretty fit in the Spring and Early Summer. (I define cruising as a pace that is too fast to chit chat. But, not so fast that I'm huffing and puffing. I know it's a hokey definition but work with me.) Yesterday, I looked down to find that I was riding 22mph with the same percieved exersion. Earlier in the week we rode at this same pace but it took more effort. I was skeptical. I thought, maybe I'm going down grade or, down wind. Nope. I rode all over town yesterday. All directions. Each time I was on a flat section of road, I was doing 22. That's a about a 5% increase in speed without increased effort. I invested the time in the technique and received the reward of increased speed. I'll take it! What's next, who knows. This may be a stretch but I'm setting my sights on next season. Things are looking good if I can stay on target.

Great ride yesterday morning. So much time has been spent on technique recently that I haven't been riding with any speed. I decided to take it up a notch this morning. Don't get scared, I'm only talking a "small" notch.

The time and effort that I've invested in technique has really paid off. It feels like I'm finally over the hump when it comes to being able to pedal a bike effectively. It's the first time that I've cruised at 21-22 mph with a great sense of being "connected". It feels like every bit of pedaling power is going to the back wheel. I'm not breaking any land speed records. But it feels like I'm laying a good foundation for next race season.

Fog this morning. Instead of going out on the road, I stayed at the house and went through the roller skills routine.

So much to say, so little time / Efficiency Testing

I've been looking over some of the recent posts. I apologize for all the fragmented information. I'm sure it will get better with time.

There have been a couple different topics over the last couple entries. I spoke of critical power testing as well as pedalling efficiency. I want to talk about how the two concepts come togethers.

Tonight, I performed my second "Efficiency" test. Here's the questions that we should ask: How well can the rider apply power to the pedals when operating near the lactic acid threshold? As with any research, you need to compare control data with test data. In this case, we use the Computrainer(CT) as the control. For the purposes of our study, the CT pedals with 100% efficiency.

We set the CT pacer to perform at the same wattage as your lactic acid threshold. For me, it's in the neighborhood of 218 watts. It's my goal to maintain 218 watts and stay with the pacer. Once the performance is finished, we compare average speed and average wattage to that of the CT pacer to determine the riders efficiency.

I performed the test for myself tonight. I was pleased that I was able to put in a test with 99.1% efficiency compared to the Computrainer. It's my goal to become more efficient than the CT pacer. I've been working on my pedaling pattern diligently. I can tell that it's paying dividends even within a couple weeks.

Don't be confused by this test. It doesn't determine your fitness. It is used to determine your effectiveness as you apply force to the pedals.

Later.

Website update

Made a few changes to the website tonight. Gulf Coast Cycle Fit . Added a cycling priorities list to the TRAINING page. If you have any additions to the list, let me know. Also, look for ride and race calendar information in the near future. If you have ride calendar additions, let me know by emailing me.

A work in progress

Yes, I'm taking the same medicine that I've written about recently. Cycling skill and technique. It's like starting all over for me. I had a rude awakening when I originally set up the Computrainer. I was faced with the fact that my pedalling technique SUCKED!.

Admitting it is the first step toward recovery. Hello, my name is David and my pedal stroke sucks. (reply from the crowd) "Hello David."

Early on, I was a bit confused about how to handle the problem. I didn't know where to go or how to fix it.

Here's what I've known in the past.
- Mileage is good
- Go easy when it's cold
- Go hard with it's warm

I had dabbled with fast pedalling and other games but I hadn't been purposeful in my effort.

It's time for a new leaf.

Here's how you can tell if you have an effective pedal stroke or not.
Spinscan on the Computrainer breaks the 360 crank rotation into 24 sections. Wattage is measured in each section and laid out on a bar graph. You spinscan number is a calculation of your average wattage divided by your maximum watts.

Here's an example: 150 Average watts/300 peak watts = 50% (bad)

Solution: Lower the peak force and increase the muscle recruitment over the top and through the bottom of the stroke. 200 average watts / 275 peak watts = 73 % ( better).
Train the your movement pattern so that more muscle groups participate in producing pedalling force. It's a matter of using all the muscles appropriately. By doing this, you also pick up some rather intangible benefits like reduced torso and upper extremity fatigue. Why, because you are spending less effort trying to stretch or compress the crank arms. You begin to apply force to the crank in the direction that it's intended to move. If I apply force to compress or lengthen the crank, I have to stablize the reaction forces somewhere. Most likely, it's in the trunk and arms. Notice someone who has a smooth pedal stroke. They aren't fighting the bike.

More later.