Training for mediocrity

Before you take offense, please read a bit further.

If you ride for enjoyment or other social aspects of cycling, this entry doesn't apply to you. However, if you have a desire to ride faster than you have in the past, this is for you.

Have you taken the time to examine how you ride and train? If you train the way you always have, essentially, you get dropped by the same people every year. If you expect a different outcome, you have to do something different with your training.

That said, let's look at a couple training concepts:
1) LSD training. (Long slow distance) : Contrary to popular opinion, riding slow and long does not make you fast. It does make you aerobically fit!. But it doesn't make you fast.
2) Hammer all the time training: While you will probably ride faster than the LSD guy, you will not achieve your maximum potential because you can only stress your system to a certain degree. Ultimately, you will only achieve high medium potential. Will you drop people? Yes. Will you win some races? Yes. Will you be the best you can be? No.

Training is about stress. If your training doesn't cause stress, your body will not accommodate. A good training program is about stressing the right systems. There are specific metabolic energy systems that react when load is placed on them. Just like weight training, if you challenge the muscles with a heavier load, you will get stronger. Also, there are technique stresses such as hill climbs, bridging efforts, break away efforts. These technical activities rely on energy systems but they also have certain physical and mental skills associated with them.

I continue to be pumped about working with clients. The information that I gathered this weekend at the USA Cycling Coaching program filled in the gaps for me. Having the physiologic background for performance enhancement is key. Now, I plan to integrate these programs for each client so that they get the benefit of profitable training.

Great Coaching Course

I can't wait to get home from Colorado Springs. The USA Cycling coaching course was great. There was a great deal of information that I'll be integrating into my coaching program. Most importantly, there was very little overlap with the information that I currently use for training.

Topics included training program design, sport physiology, athlete relations, nutrition and hydration.

Program design was my weakness. I would say that over half of the course content related to the foundation and application of training programs. The services that I offer through Gulf Coast Cycle Fit are becoming multifaceted to meet the needs of all cyclists in the area. It will be fun to put this information to work with my coaching clients.

Now it's just a matter of completing the 125 question test so that I can be certified as a Level 2 coach. It's been a long time since I took tests. Whew!

What a cool facility

This is the end of day 2 at the United Stated Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. It's an amazing facility. Imagine going back to college and instead of going to class all day, all you had to do was work out, rest and eat. The food is great and it's endless. Just to the west is Pike's Peak.

I'm here for the USA Cycling Level 2 coaching certification course. Overall, I've been very impressed. I'm looking forward to integrating both training and administrative processes in place within the scope of Gulf Coast Cycle Fit. The information will best serve the athletes that I coach.

Classes have included: Athlete Interview, Athlete Monitoring, Hydration and Nutrition, Tactics, Periodization and Sport Physiology. Each class has offered key pieces of information that I will integrate into my program.

On the other hand, emphasis on skills and biomechanics is significantly lacking. I've had the opportunity to talk to several of the other coaches here for the course. For the most part, the concepts that I teach are completely foreign to them. Once again, thanks to my mentor for pointing me in the right direction. Now, I can fill in missing elements with the information that I'm learning here.

Typically, 7-10 percentage points

In a continual persuit of objective improvement, I've been doing pre- and post-fit SpinScan tests. Most clients are seeing an immediate 7-10 percent improvement in their pedaling effectiveness just by being fit correctly. It's amazing to see the change.

I've begun to use it with handlebar placement as well. It helps to determine handlebar height. If I see a significant drop in Spinscan when a rider goes from the hoods to the drops, it's an indication of a fit problem. Most of the time, it's related to the acuity of the hip angle.

Objective evidence of improvement is what Gulf Coast Cycle Fit is about.