OFF Season Training

Why it's wrong stop training for more than a week during OFF season?

Because you will loose so much fitness that you would need to spend 3-4 months of the new season just to make up for that loss in fitness. This is every good recipe not to improve year after year.

Training has a cumulative effect, so the level you want to reach the next season depends upon how much training you have been doing and the level of physiological adaptation that you have been creating in the past years.

Especially after 35, detraining occurs already after only one week of doing nothing.

Therefore, if you stop training for few weeks or even months, you will loose VO2max (even more rapidly that the normal decay induced by aging), you will start accumulating lactic acid at lower effort or power-output, and your plasma volume will decrease making your temperature regulation less efficient.

My suggestion is: keep training 4 times/week and keep 2 significant workouts with some intensity and interval structure in it.
Also, do not forget to include 2 weight sessions/week (one session is only for maintenance, it won't induce any adaptation). Make sure that your weight routine are specific for cyclists, and are focus on strength improvement, since strength is the main reason why masters (35+) loose power-output.

Read more about this on:
http://http://www.davanticycling.com/mastercyclists.html

Talk to you soon
Luisa

Weight Training for Cycling - Specific Strength Training

I will start with a series of Tips for a correct weight training program specific for cyclists.

Everybody noticed that with aging, the power output declines. Do you know why?

Aging-related decline in power output can be due to a decline in force or in velocity or in both. Well, some latest studies conducted on master elite marathon runners [5] have showed that the decline in performance is not due to a decline in the velocity of the muscle contraction, rather in the ability to produce force.

These studies, therefore, concluded that short-duration, high-velocity intervals are not sufficient for maintaining fast muscle mass and force production and thus optimal training should also include intensive strength exercises.

read more on http://www.davanticycling.com/mastercyclists.html

Also check my Davanti weight and strength training program specific for cyclists based on these latest reserach studies :

http://www.davanticycling.com/strengthtraining.html

Luisa

Top 5 steep climbs in Boulder - Sugarloaf

Sugarloaf Climb

How to get there
Ø From Boulder, take Canyon Blvd west
Ø Keep going west along the Canyon creek
Ø Pass the turn for Four Mile Canyon
Ø Pass the B&B Alps on your right
Ø Pass the Red Lion Restaurant on your left
Ø Go through a short 200 meters tunnel
Ø Pass the sign and the turn for Magnolia on your left
Ø Few hundred meters after you see the sign Sugarloaf drive
Ø Take a right turn on Sugarloaf drive.

Climb details
Ø The entire climb is 7.7 km or 4.8 miles long: from the turn off on Canyon to the top, before the descend starts towards hwy 72.
Ø The first 2.6 km is not very hard : the first km (0.5 mile) is around 7%; then there is over 1 mile (1.7 km) almost rolling with the uphill parts between 4-6%
Ø Then there are 2 km (1.6 miles) steady around 6-8% grade
Ø The last 3 km (exactly 2 miles) are the steepest 10-14%, but the real tough part, where with my 39*28 , my cadence went down to 38-40ish rpm, is 1 mile long, it starts just a little before the 3 mile marker and ends at 4 mile marker. The last 1 mile is more around 10%, it’s steep but you can turn the pedals at a decent cadence and apply power on the pedal.
Ø The top is soon after the right turn-off for Switzerland MTB trail.

Add a challenge
Ø On the way back down on Canyon, take left turn and climb Four mile canyon at your Tempo. It’s much less steep climb and it will feel good after Sugarloaf.
Ø Descend as you came, take lft turn on Canyon and cruise down to town.
Ø To make 3 passes: take left on Pearl, left on 4th, and left on Mapleton and climb Sunshine canyon. This is much steeper than Four mile canyon, so you just climb at the rhythm that what’s left in your legs allows.
To make a loop
Ø After the top, keep descending on the dirt part all the way until your cross Peak to Peak hwy.
Ø Turn right towards Ward. There are 2-3 steep rolling
Ø Take right at the Ward sign
Ø Go back down to Boulder from Ward along Lefthand canyon

Cycling Climbing Tips n 3 - Gearing

Cycling Climbing Tips: Gearing

1. For longer steady climb with regular grade: Use an easier gear and keep higher cadence to favor good blood flow to the leg muscles and consequently good oxygen delivery. Higher cadence will cause a higher HR, a more intense cardio-vascular effort but less muscle tension and fatigue in the legs. Towards the end, last 2-5 km to the top, insert one harder gear and push harder. If you do repeats on climb, do the first reps (1-2) with easier gear and use one harder gear for the following reps.
2. For more beginners riders: do not spin while you climb, you will never gain strength. Try not to emulate your cycling heroes when you cannot produce even 1/3 of their power. They are able to climb at 80-90 rpm, but they also produce around 400 w when they climb. So, look at yourself and try to improve according to your abilities. When you climb, every pedal stroke counts. During the down stroke you need to feel the muscle tension, you need to apply that force on the pedal rather than just turning your legs around. Sometimes not expert climbers, spin because they are afraid to fall off and thing that if they spin they can make the hill faster and easier. All wrong!
3. So, start alternating, pushing1 harder gear at lower cadence you are used to, for 1.5-2 min and then shift to 1 easier gear and increase the cadence back up a little. Do this until you reach the top. In few times, you will get used to push one harder gear, pushing on the pedal and produce that force on the pedals.
4. Also alternate position: when you push the harder hear at lower cadence, slide back on the saddle and engage more your hips and glut's muscles to extend your legs. When you shift up to an easier gear and increase cadence, slide forward and engage more your quads muscles.

Next it will be on rolling hills

Climbing tip n 2

• Climbing Tip n 2 -
  
  Hands on top of the handlebar (when grade is steeper than 4-6%)



• Up-right position to open up your chest



• It has been proved by research study that for a grade above 6%) the upright position wit hands on top of the HB is the most efficient in terms of VO2 cost and time (it's faster)



• Do not squeeze the handlebar rather pull on the handlebar with the hand of the same side of the leg you are extending.

Climbing: it's all about pacing and rhythm

The more I ride and watch people climbing (regardless how strong riders they are) the more I notice that the most common mistake people make is starting too hard and bonk half way...



When you start a climb, you need to know:

- length in miles or km

- the average grade

- where the steepest parts are and how long they are


Then it's all about to pace yourself and save your energy or for the toughest parts (the more tired you arrive to those steepest parts, the more they will feel hard) or to push and finish strong at the end. Especially if it's the first time you are climbing a hill, it's better having a conservative approach. Study the terrain, how your body respond, where the toughest parts are... how do you feel near the end etc...


Never start a climb hard or fast just because "you feel good", especially if you do NOT know how long can you sustain that effort? Do you know at which your own training zone that effort corresponds?


My 1 million $ tip of this week about climbing:

- Approach a climb in PROGRESSION. Start at your Tempo at steady pace, let your body gets adjusted to the type of effort, as you feel your legs turning smooth and fluid, then accelerate to your sub-threshold and see how your body respond. Stay there most of the climb, when you are 3-5 km (2-3 miles) from the end if you feel you have energy left, go to your threshold. Do you still feel good? Ride at race pace in the last 0.5 -1 mile, sprint the last 200-300 meters. Also, let your breathing go with your legs at the same rhythm.


Watch the climbing stages at the Giro or at the Tour. The peloton increases the pace as they go up progressively to start the selection. Usually who wants to win the stage or they attack on the steepest part (if they are pure climbers) or they attack in the last 3-5 km NOT at the bottom of the climb.

Think about it during your next climb.

Luisa

Do those extra miles help your cycling performance?

Do I need those long 4-6 hours endurance rides ?

Are they part of the old school of training ? Is it better to focus on shorter but high intensity workouts?

Here, in USA it's common belief that if you race mainly criterium you do not need to ride longer than 2 hours. In Italy when you register for a Granfondo (90-200 km) the first thing they ask is "Do you have 7,000-8,000 km (4,000-5,000 miles) in your legs?". If your answer is no, you don't want to experience that "look mixed with disappointment and disapproval" that you will get.

Who's right? Again, depends on your goals.
If you participate in road racing (60-80 miles) , which means 2.5-4 hours races with some climbing, for sure you need those long 4-6 hours endurance rides.
You need to be able to ride with comfort 4-5 hours, in order to be able to race 2.5-3.5 hours.
If you are able just to ride at endurance level for 3 hours, after 1 hour of racing you will bonk.

Do you remember from my post back in April? For Events/races longer than 3 hours

• 7-12 hours/week if you just want to finish the race
  15-25 hours/week for high performance and place yourself in the race

Why? The bigger and stronger is your aerobic system, longer will be the period you will be able to ride at high intensity in racing still using your aerobic system and consequently before you accumulate lactic acid and you fatigue.

You cannot rely for too long time on your anaerobic system..... especially if you cannot recover much between high intensity efforts. You max can sustain 20 min at your threshold or 2-3 min a time in your anaerobic zone.

Now. Does this mean that your training should focus only on long endurance rides? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Otherwise you will have the opposite problem. You will never improve or get faster, because your body is not used and trained to clear lactic acid or tolerate lactic acid and you will fatigue as soon as you hit that intensity...

I will come back on this later in specific, but latest studies show that the majority of the physical adaptions that will influence your performance occur if you train at a specific high intensity!

I recommend that during the week you keep your short and intense workouts, but do at least one long endurance ride during the weekend.

These are my 1 million dollar TIPS:

1. Have 2 groups to ride with. Use the group with riders stronger than you for shorter (70-80% of the length of your races) group rides where you can simulate racing environment and where you can push yourself beyond the point you go during a training session by yourself. Use a group with riders at your level or lower for that weekly long endurance ride (120% -130% longer than your races). In this way you will not feel the pressure, and you will be able to keep that comfort pace for long period.


2. Now, endurance does not mean "recovery". Include in your long endurance rides, climbs or efforts where you stay at 75-80% of your max for longer periods, 2-3 times during the ride.

TESTIMONIAL - Incredible but true (incredibile ma vero)!

While I was writing this post, I got an email from one of my athletes in Italy. This is the 1st year I am coaching him.

Today he placed himself in the top 10% of his category (39 on 353 ) and this is what he wrote:
" I do not have comparison with last year for this race, since they changed route, however, I finished after 4 hours and 15 min still fresh while the previous years I was already exhausted after 3 hours and 30 min for the same race with a shorter route and with less climbing..This year I felt good and I could still push all the way until the end" (Massimo Marinozzi, Verona, Italy).