Coaching cyclists training with power

LOTOJA Classic Race Report

2010-09-13T12:16:00.000-04:00

Always looking for another challenge, I signed up for a slot in the LOTOJA race earlier this spring. The event sells out quickly so they have a lottery-type system for entry. Not sure if I got in due to past results or if they felt some sympathy for a guy from Indiana. Either way, after a great race in Calvin's Challenge 12hr in May, LOTOJA was my other big focus of the year.
Race week meant a lot of travel to get to Logan, UT. Leaving family in OKC 2 lugnuts snapped off the car leaving us stuck in Amarillo, TX for a night where the stomach flu from the niece and nephew finally hit me. Good thing I could stretch out and sleep some in the back of the wagon on the drive to Durango. Two days behind schedule and 3 days til the race I'm eating Jello and saltines hoping for some good luck to hit.

We do some easy 3-4 hour hikes to get in some activity and acclimatize before the drive to Logan. A warmup spin in Logan the night before felt good but was the first time on the bike in 6 days. At least my legs were rested but I was just starting back on solid food. The forecast was for sun and a bit of tailwind but a chilly start time of 6:46AM for the Cat 4's. Not sure of the actual temp but it couldn't have been above 40.
Like a well-oiled chain, we went off in waves every 3 mins to a nice cheer from the crowds in the dark. The race was neutral for the first few miles just like the pros. I was up in the front 15 racers or so knowing the slinky effect would be brutal on such a long day for anyone at the back. 66 in our group got stretched out early as the Spiderbait team went to the front and set a strong tempo. Oh, I almost forgot, my powertap died during the warmup and my Garmin watch would die in another hour or two leaving me to ride without any idea of speed, distance, HR, power, etc.
The first feed zone was at 34 miles and our brisk pace had us catch two of the groups that started before us. Knowing the next rest stop ways at the top of the Strawberry climb, I grabbed a quick bottle from Jenn and tried to cram some solid food in while riding. The lower slopes are easy, 1-3% grades for a long time. I had ridden these climbs on the Computrainer and felt confident I could hang until the steeper grades near the top. On a normal day this might have been the case. Saturday was not a normal day. The legs immediately had nothing to give and I found myself hitting the 34x23 and 34x26 waaay too early. My race just became a ride.

Watching group after group of racers ride by, I just tried to keep a steady effort, eat and drink as much as possible to fuel for the 150+ miles to go and enjoy the stunning views. I was nowhere near my limit physically but the legs could only do so much. FZ2 was neutral support only and they had a great spread. I choked down a Red Bull and 2 Gu's while zipping everything up for the descent, always the best part. I was able to work with a solid group on the flats before the next climb, not letting anyone past without jumping on the faster train.

Climb #2 was shorter, 3-4 miles of good grades but it made me feel like someone had attached a trailer full of lead to the bike. It was all starting to get a bit blurry at this point since my stomach was fully locked up and resisting attempts to force more calories in. Watered down Gatorade with extra salt and honey/gel packs were all I could manage. I knew dehydration was in effect as well since I had not even had the urge to take a nature break yet. One more climb and then 90 miles of tailwind to the finish. #3 was the KOM climb, about 20 mins of pain for me before the sweet, sweet downhill. I gutted it out and actually passed a few people who were struggling more than me to hit the top and a great mountain view. Not waiting for anyone I did my best no brakes descent and passed some shocked riders at a scary rate of speed on the 7% grade.

FZ5 was time to strip down and spray on the sunscreen. I was working with a good group, letting my stomach empty a bit when I felt the rear go flat after crossing the rumble strips. Jenn happened to be on the side of the road and got some pics of the change. Off again, trying to drive a group to some higher speeds on the flats, my only thought was to finish the day. Another flat at FZ6 saw an even longer stop since Jenn was stuck in traffic and I finally borrowed a tube from a Biker's Edge racer to get underway again. Jenn made it as I was leaving with about 40 miles to the finish. Plenty of time to make the cutoff but my stomach was full of undigested liquid and lots of anger. Thankfully this was one of the most beautiful stretches of road I had ever been on. We rode alongside the snake river in Bridger National forest with a bit of wind at the back, eating up miles, using everything I had left in the tank to keep up the speed and make sure I at least came in under 12 hrs. No more food or fluid going in the stomach, I just needed to get to the line.

10 miles to go and I flat for the third time! Watching all those people go past as I changed the tube again built up an anger that I've never quite felt on the bike before. I put it in full TT mode and ripped past people I really had no business riding with. Joining with the Biker's Edge team we rode to the line and I decided trying to sprint might be a bad way to finish the day so I coasted across in 11:55. A disappointing 50th place in my race and 779 overall. Still pretty amazed that I was able to keep going on no food and little fluid. I had nothing else to do on the day so stopping was never really an option although I heard the siren call of the comfy Saab wagon seats for many hours.

No excuses, just not a good day for the legs. I feel really bad for the people who were still coming in behind me since I can't imagine feeling or riding slower than I did. I knew winning was out of the question since I'd only had 10 weeks of training from the quad tear but I figured 10hrs was realistic with the good conditions. The climbs were tough but not impossible and the rest of the race was much easier than the 20mph wind and rain of Calvin's Challenge. Not sure if I'll be back but if I am it will be with good legs and stomach, ready to be competitive, not just a finisher.

Big thanks to Jenn for the incredible support and to all of the volunteers who made the event one of the smoothest run I've ever done. Sorry I couldn't do more on the day but the finisher medal is pretty sweet!

Time to get fast!

2009-04-08T15:22:00.002-04:00

The weather is finally starting to cooperate a bit here in Indy and more and more cyclists are hitting the road. The clock is ticking for the real racing season so now is the time to get some speed in the legs - before you get dropped.

Here are a few quick tips to help build some speed on the quick:

Ride with people faster than you - An oldie but goodie. Move your butt near the front of your next group ride and push to stay there. Hang on as long as you can and get a great workout from it. You can add in some intervals off the front or drift back and chase to increase the pain if the group is not hitting the speeds you need. Remember - you have to ride faster than what is comfortable to get faster.

Do a max effort at least once on most of your rides. I mean MAXIMUM effort, not that sorta fast stuff. Efforts that make you want to curl up in the fetal position for a few minutes. I like to hit the Nebo Ridge group ride on Tuesday to get in a good, fast group ride. Even if you can't win the sprint, contest it to the best of your ability and push your body into a real max situation. If you have a power meter, these are the times to try for a new 5, 10, 20 sec max power. If you have any juice left in the legs, do a few more sprints on the way home to really drain the legs.

If you have races planned, try to ride the course and push the parts you know will be fast during the race. If there is a hill, do repeats until you know every nook and crannie. Practice sprinting for the line (see above) and make the workout harder than the real race. Having this confidence will make you faster on race day.

Get out and ride! - Coach Kevin

Ramblings in the off season

2009-03-03T14:30:00.006-05:00

The holidays are always a challenging time for me. Over eating and cold weather tend to ruin my form on the bike. This year (like most cyclists) I vowed not to let it happen!

On Christmas Day I was happy to find some new cycling DVD's under the tree with my name on them. The DVD set boasts of a 12% increase in power. Who doesn't want 12% more power??

So, with my trainer set up, and a little motivation I began my new indoor training program. While I found the actual video and music content of the series quite lame, the workouts were challenging and I enjoyed them. On off days I've been riding the rollers for 1-2 hours and really working on improving my spin to eleminate dead spots.

So what were the results? I saw my 8 minute power test go from 251NP to 289NP. That's a 13% increase. 13 is 1 better than 12 (insert SpinalTap theme). During this time I've also dropped about 10lbs of holiday goodness from my gut. Another 10 and I'll be at my race weight.

I took 1 week off the bike after completing the series. I plan to run through it again with my new power zones configured. We'll see if another 12-13% is obtainable.

One of my goals for 2009 is to raise my TSS/d score to 60+. As of today, I'm sitting at 36.3. A 60 would be higher than I've ever achieved in the 4 years I've been training with a power meter. Can I raise it that high? We'll find out. Keep an eye on my progress with a shared spreadsheet at: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p_wA1kH7HvjhdS_0pS29Ncw

First race of the season - Indoor Time Trial

2009-02-22T08:36:00.013-05:00

High blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, dry mouth, constant checking of your gear... these are just a few of the wonderful sensations of RACE DAY! On Saturday the 21st of February we held an indoor Time Trial using Computrainers for Two Wheels Cycling clients at Anytime Fitness in Zionsville, IN. 13 brave souls came in for 10K of pain. The 6.2 mile course is rolling and never gives you the chance to settle and find a steady rhythm. A real test of cycling fitness.

Bill Olds set the early time to beat in the first wave with a 17:05, just a tick under 22mph! James Clary and John Hixon were hot on his heels starting the day off on a high note and putting the pressure on the rest of the field.

The second wave saw Paul Harrington turn himself inside out to better his 08 spring time by a second. His time of 16:44 was the first sub 17 min time of the day and it was going to take a superb effort to best the time.

More times in the 17 min range were the order of the day and Paulie was looking good in his Heineken jersey.

Chris Janak, a regular to the advanced cycling indoor classes for the last year had no idea what to expect since he has only been riding for the last 15 months or so and just got a road bike last summer. After warmup up with some weight work in the gym he got on his Specialized and shot off the start line incredibly fast. Everyone was watching and waiting for him to crack and slow down. The crack never came and he posted a blistering time of 16:26, just shy of 23mph!

The final heat saw Rob Meinzer jump in for another race againt Jay Dunbar and myself. Jay set a new PR for the course registering another sub 17 effort, good for third on the day. Rob stayed within 30 seconds of his earlier time - well done. What about your fearless coach? I snuck in under Chris's time with a 16:05. All in all a great day for everyone and some strong motivation for the spring.

On a side note, Wendell Hyink (http://www.racingforbangladesh.com/) the 63 year old Two Wheels super client and poster child for masters athletes everywhere ran a 16:57 on this course a week before winning his age group at the early season 24 hours of Sebring bike race. Wendell posted 344 miles (a new PR) on a windy day that saw low numbers from the entire field. Wendell also exhibited some incredible sportsmanship by helping fellow racer Larry Ide after a crash at 2AM. Look for lots more from Wendell this year as he chases the UMCA Ultracup series title!

Good Riding - Coach Kevin

Zionsville Indoor Time Trial #1
Name
Time
Chris Janak
16:26
Paul Harrington
16:44
Jay Dunbar
16:53
Bill Olds
17:03
Rob Meinzer
17:05
Brian Robinson
17:09
James Clary
17:17
Rusty Denton
17:22
Paul Schenkel
17:31
John Hixon
17:54
David Norris
18:50
Tim Wiley
21:06
Kevin Koval
16:05

TESTING

2009-01-25T08:29:00.003-05:00

Long time - no blog posts. I could talk about all of the things that happened since the Spring but I want to get right into TESTING. Not the MCAT's or SAT's but performance testing of yourself.

I'm sure you have heard the definition of insanity - repeating the same actions but expecting different results... This still seems to be the most common mistake I see people making everyday with their physical endeavors. Our bodies simply adapt too quickly to the level of stress we apply, causing our fitness to plateau. You've heard it all before right? What ever can you do??

You MUST have an idea of what your body can do. On the first day of wrestling practice in H.S., the coach lined everybody up to see how many pushups and pull-ups you could manage, noting the results for everyone. We also ran a 1/2 mile for time. Looking back I realize he wasn't so concerned with what type of number you put up that day, he wanted to see improvement over time. A month later at a retest, the 25 pushup guys from day one were in the 40-50 range, or they were running stairs. The slow runners had to run more (which they did at an even slower pace, guaranteeing they would not get faster - more in the next post). Simple concept that most of us do not do enough.

Let's focus on cyclists - If you have a power meter, you can test all sorts of performances very easily. From max power on down, the Mean Maximal numbers for specific times are great ways to measure your fitness and improvement against others. If you don't have a power meter, time over a set course/distance (e.g. Time Trial) works best. You add the factors of wind, weather, etc. but it will be a good comparison of your fitness improvement.

At Two Wheels, we require an initial test with clients on the computrainer before we can create a training plan. Depending upon your goals, the numbers you want to focus on will vary. Racers should know max power, 20 sec, 1 min, 20 min and FTP. If you fancy yourself a sprinter, the big max # will help but the 20sec power will win you the race or sprint for the town sign. Breakaway riders will have a big 1min to make the move and strong 20min and FTP to make it stick. TT'ers will be focused on the 20min and FTP (think 40-60min power) to get up to speed and stay there.

Most important - if you are training x number of hours each week and you retest yourself only to find that you have not budged your numbers (remember the insanity reference) YOU MUST CHANGE YOUR TRAINING ROUTINE! The P90X program calls this muscle confusion. Unfortunately in cycling, the muscles have to work the same way. Becoming a good kickboxer will make you feel better but probably not help you ride faster. The easiest way to shock your body is to get out of your comfort zone. In the gym this is easy - just pick up a heavier weight or do some extra reps. On the bike there are numerous ways to achieve this effect. I'll go over some in detail later this week.

Good Riding - Coach Kevin

The Fastest way to Increase your Speed.

2008-03-18T16:02:00.001-04:00

I rank cyclists right up there with golfers when it comes to thinking that it is the bike or clubs that are slowing you down. If I only had a new carbon fiber handlebar, I would have won the sprint… Not the case at all. A good set of aerodynamic wheels (aero is better than lightweight in all cases except uphill time trials) will bump up your speed a bit with the only strain being on your wallet. I’m going to talk about a few other ways to get faster and save a few dollars along the way.

Positioning – Remember the aero trumps lightweight comment, even when you are not in the aerobars on a time trial, the vast majority of your cycling effort is overcoming the wind. Developing an aerodynamic position that allows you to remain comfortable and put down some power will add lots of speed. Narrow and low is the direction you want to head, making sure you are still comfortable to maintain your power output. If you only ride on the tops and then switch to the drops during a fast ride or race, you are headed for trouble. Practice your aero position often and get some easy speed.

Body weight – Nobody ever takes into account the complete bike, rider and gear weight. How many times have you seen someone with the new super XLSSL featherweight bike loaded down with 3-4 waterbottles, laptop computer, seat bag with the entire Park tool catalog and 6-7 spare tubes, etc. roll up on a ride? I’m not even mentioning the fact that most of us can stand to lose a few pounds on our bodies. Saving 30 grams on your new seat is about one swallow of water. Think about this the next time you blame your lack of speed on the bike. If you are getting dropped on hills, your power/weight ratio is the key factor. This is the power/weight of the entire package, not your watts/naked bodyweight and advertised bike weight with no pedals. Load up for a ride and before you get on the bike, grab it and get your entire getup on the scale. Now chuck everything you don’t really need and see the difference. Free speed!

Power – The first two were easy, now we have to work a bit. This too is free unless you hire a coach who will help you get the maximum return for your training time investment. We have seen clients add 2-3 mph in less than a year to the average speed they are able to maintain by focusing their training time. The majority of our clients are regular people who have families and jobs and work hard to carve out 8-10 hours a week to train. This is plenty to get some good speed in and be faster than your friends, which is really all that matters.
In summary, if you have to buy something, get some aero wheels. I am a huge fan of the Zipp 404 with Powertap and use these as training and racing wheels. Drop weight from your gear and your body to help with your climbing. Focus your training and get a coach to help you if you are unsure, the investment will pay handsomely in a short period of time.

Good riding – Coach Kevin

Trek 2300 FOR SALE!

2008-03-17T13:50:00.001-04:00

TREK 2300 Full Ultegra - $1100.00

The perfect bike for somebody looking to get started cycling or even racing. This Trek 2300 is a few years old and hasn't been ridden in over a year (since I got my new bike). I've kept it around thinking I'd race it, or ride it in the rain, or set it up for my wife or... well, you know how it goes!

Anyway, it's just been hanging in my garage, so now I need some cash and it's for sale.

~2000 miles

Full ultegra

Upgraded carbon bars and stem (ITM with internal cable housings)

New drive train at 1500 miles

Paid $2000 new. Added $500 in upgrades. Asking $1100.
Email me for more photos or questions.

Bicycle Awareness

2008-03-14T22:14:00.001-04:00

As spring rolls in, watch out for the cyclists on the road!

This commercial is great...
http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

Ultracycling – training for long distance riding

2008-03-12T21:15:00.002-04:00

Ultracycling is the extreme end of the distance bicycle racing world with the RAAM (Race Across America) the ultimate challenge. 12 & 24 hour events as well as set distances of 200-500 miles are more common and manageable even for us mere mortals.

With so much information available about training, how to sort the wheat from the chaff to help you ride long distances fast? The Ultracycling world is dominated by riders 40 years of age and up. Go to an event and I guarantee you’ll see some gray hair leaving you in the dust. The speed that these animals can maintain seemingly forever is unbelievable. Just take a look at the results from the recent 24 hours of Sebring: http://www.altavistasports.com/results/2008results/bikesebring24hour021708.html

There is a lot more to training for this type of event than simply piling on the miles. If your goal is to simply stay on the bike for 12 or 24 hours, slap on a gel seat pad and some training wheels and try to stay awake. If you want to ride 200, 300, 400 or more, you need to have some speed along with your endurance. I’m going to share some of my own training for these events over the coming year as well as power data from specific workouts and races.

Winter Training – Averaging 8-9 hours/week does not seem like enough to be able to ride hundreds of miles in February but I managed to get in 309.9 at the Sebring 24 (17:15 in actual ride time, read the race report to hear about my nap) This averaged out to 18MPH in avg. riding speed, better than I had managed at any 12 hr race last year. I was hoping to have an average NP of 140 watts and was just above that.

Duration: 16:07:41 (18:13:02)
Work: 7199 kJ
TSS: 747.5 (intensity factor 0.684)
Norm Power: 144
VI: 1.15
Pw:HR: 6.44%
Pa:HR: -2.77%
Distance: 291.227 mi
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 637 125 watts
Heart Rate: 83 248 133 bpm
Cadence: 29 141 90 rpm
Speed: 0 29.5 18.0 mph
Pace 2:02 0:00 3:20 min/mi
Hub Torque: 0 277 46 lb-in
Crank Torque: 0 951 121 lb-in

You have to ride fast for short distances if you want to ride fast for longer periods of time. Think about that for just a second, If you find it hard to hold 20 mph for a while on a training ride, riding a century in under 5 hours is going to require one heck of a tailwind. Knowing this I spent most of the winter working on quality intervals from 20 sec max sprints to 10 min FTP range work (TT pace). Not making to time to ride lots of “base miles” as everyone would think, the last few years of steady riding were my base. 2-3 interval workouts a week with the vast majority of these teaching indoor cycling classes to my advanced disciples. This was a huge benefit in keeping my intensity higher than I would have with solo training.

In summary, I have been able to increase my FTP over the late summer high even though I am still only hovering around 220 watts. Aero positioning and pedaling efficiency cannot be overlooked at these longer distances as I am sure lots of people reading this are not averaging 18mph with 140 watts. Increasing my Spinscan #’s on the computrainer to around 80 has given me some free speed and allows me to stay fresh when I have to push on a climb.

If you are not doing any interval work, start today and you will get faster. Next post I will share a few of my favorite workouts as I get ready for Calvin’s Challenge 12 hour ride in May.

Good riding – Coach Kevin

Race Report - Sebring

2008-02-20T08:15:00.003-05:00

24 hours is quite a long time to do the same task. 3 normal workdays, 48 episodes of Family Guy, the list can go on. 24 hours on a bicycle is something most sane people cannot even begin to comprehend. As an early season challenge, I went down to sunny Sebring, FL to try my legs at a 24hr road race along with a few of our coached athletes. This is my (short) story…

Saturday, February 16th, 2008, 5:00 AM – Wake up in the RV to get ready for the race. I asked to be woken up at 6 since we were literally on the start line but Mike was simply too anxious. About 200 riders were going through their own race prep rituals to get ready for a long day in the saddle. Bottles being filled, lights being checked (sunrise was around 7:00 AM), tires being pumped, you know the drill.

6:30 AM – 3, 2, 1. GO! No sprinting from the gun but a strong pace was being set behind the pace car by the supermen of the Ultracycling world. I was in the drafting 24hr category since it was my first attempt at this distance and didn’t think I was ready to join the non-drafting, RAAM (Race Across America) Qualifiers. Three laps of the famous Sebring road course got us all moving and I managed to stay near the front group of riders as we left the track to head out into the countryside for our first 100 miles of the day.

8:41 AM – My little group which grew in size then shrank whenever we hit a hill reaches the turnaround point at 48 miles. Fill bottles and get going easy waiting for some help to catch. Feeling strong and trying to conserve, 22 hours to go.

10:29 AM – My new group of 6 riders hits the next rest stop where Lois from the Rotary club had the best tasting oranges on the planet! Fill bottles again and head into the wind for the last stretch on the big loop. Two of the guys in the group are pushing the pace on all of the climbs and I want to hang on even though it means 600+ watts for short bursts.

11:22 AM – 100 miles in the bank in under 5 hours, not a bad start. The top solo guys were already finishing some 13 mile afternoon loops riding like they were being chased. Another quick stop and ease into the slightly rolling loops, picking up a few riders here and there, trying to keep the speed in the 18+ mph range. Here is where I rode with Frank from Sarasota, a 20 something racing the 12 hour and heading for a new age group record. This was also Frank’s first century and he ended up with 180+ for 12 hrs!

6:04 PM – Finished my 8th loop giving me 205 miles in just over 11 hours. Time to put the lights on and head to the track. Sebring International raceway has a 3.7 mile pancake flat road course which would get us through the next 12 hours of riding. The RAAM guys were whipping around the track at unbelievable speeds, racking up huge miles. We gathered up a few riders and put together a small paceline cranking laps in the 11-12 minute range. Miguel and Maurizio had plenty of strength left and we would grab another rider or two every so often to share the work.

10:30 PM – Reality is starting to set in for lots of riders. People are of the bike in the pit area taking a nap, getting in some real food, contemplating whether they want to get back on the bike. I am still feeling good and have around 270 in. Mike had a spoke break which took some time to find the spare wheel and swap and he decided to grab a nap to come back out later and get the miles he needed to hit 300.

12:15 AM – The dream of 400 miles fading rapidly as fatigue caught up with me in rapid fashion and I started to have a hard time focusing on the turns. 290 in the bank and lying down for a bit is too good to pass up. At the RV, Mike is getting up to head out and I crash within a minute or so, failing to ask to be woken up. Mike has worked out that if he manages a steady pace of 15 min a lap or better he will have enough time to make up for a bad start and hit 300 miles. Miguel and Maurizio keep turning laps and both get 300+.

5:00 AM – The alarm goes off from the morning before and I wake in a panic. I just slept almost 5 hours of the race! I gingerly jump on the bike, take about half a lap to warmup and hit TT pace (about 17-18mph at this point) to get in as many laps as possible before 6:30. My legs still feel good and I am passing riders keeping my lap times in the 12-14 min range. I catch up to Mike with enough time to squeeze in 2 more laps and we ride together jumping on the wheel of a tandem. The sun is starting to break through as we finish up the last official lap at 6:24AM.

The final tally – 309.9 for me, 305.9 for Mike Abney who rode most of the night by himself. The other Two Wheels representative was Wendell Hyink who stopped after 10 hours with severe back and neck pain. Wendell’s legs were strong and he managed 167 in the non-drafting class, winning his age group of 60-64! Look for more huge numbers from Wendell and Mike in the future.

Just in case you want to know what it take to actually win an event like this, the top rider hit 503 miles! There were quite a few riders over 450 and the official results will be posted on http://www.bikesebring.org/. We are trying to put together a larger group to head down next year so mark your calendars for Valentines Day 2009!

A special thanks to the Rotary Club for putting on a great event. Miguel nearly ripped my legs off during the wee hours of the morning while Maurizio helped keep him in check and allow us to all get in big miles. Lonnie was our driver, support crew and all around do everything guy. A thankless task that helped us all reach our goals.

Get out there and challenge yourself this year, you just might be surprised by what you can accomplish. I'll have more info on the training and power data from the race later this week.

Good riding - Coach Kevin

Hour of Power and Strength

2008-01-10T08:06:00.000-05:00

In the book Racing and Training with a Powermeter, Andy Coggan and Hunter Allen reference a workout called the “Hour of Power”. If you have not read the book, this is essentially a steady ride for one hour where you gradually ratchet up the effort/wattage steadily through the hour so you are spending most of the time around your FTP (Functional Threshold Power), finishing above this number. This is a tough workout but great for stimulating a strong response to the training and getting you ready for hard efforts during races and fast group rides.

To help build this hour speed/wattage, I have an indoor workout that mixes in strength training and bike/trainer riding to maximize your power and build more speed on the high end (anaerobic) while also increasing your FTP wattage. If you are not currently doing strength training in the gym, build into this workout over a few weeks by starting with light weights and lower reps. If you minimize your rest breaks, this will take about 60 min and get you home in time for dinner with the family. As with all strenuous activity, listen to your body and stop if you feel dizzy, nausea, etc.

10 min progressive warmup on the bike (make sure you bring the HR/effort at the end of the 10 min to your FTP level.
3x30 sec work at 8-9 effort on 10 scale, 125-150% of FTP watts, 30 sec recovery. 2 min easy spin transition before Leg Press.
Leg Press superset with squat jumps – Leg press 20 reps with enough weight that 20 is failure. This means you can do 19 or 20 but not 21. This should not be easy to do, if it is, add some weight. Immediately do a set of 10 squats exploding to a jump at the finish. Use a medicine ball or similar weigh to increase the difficulty.
2 min easy spin on the bike followed by another set of 3x30 as above. 2 min easy spin before repeating Leg Press/squat jump superset.
You guessed it, repeat the 3x30 on the bike with 2 min easy spin to get ready for the next set. Keep it up, you are past the halfway mark!
Lunges with dumbbells or on a smith machine. 10 reps on each leg with a weight that takes you to failure. (for added difficulty, bring the opposite knee up at the finish of each lunge) Superset these with stiff-legged deadlifts. Keeping your knee soft and your back flat, lift a bar or dumbbell by hinging at your hip joint. 20 reps to failure, start a bit light and focus on the hamstrings.
2 min easy spin followed by 3x1 min at your FTP with 1 min recoveries (8 on a 10 scale) with 2 min easy before repeating the lunge/deadlift superset.
One more time with the 3x1 min at FTP (this should be really tough to do now, if not, add more weight and bump the wattages a bit) followed by a 5 min cooldown with some stretching and core work to fill up the 60 min.

Do this 2X/week and I guarantee you’ll be riding faster. After just four weeks of this, I was able to increase my FTP by over 10% and drop 45 seconds off my previous Computrainer 10K test time!

Good Riding – Coach Kevin

Static Stretching and Active Stretching

2008-01-03T21:19:00.000-05:00

After finishing an indoor cycling class this week I noticed a rather fit looking gentleman in the club getting ready for a run on the treadmill. After lacing up his sneaks, he proceeded to do some old school runner's stretches COLD! It made my legs hurt just looking at him.
There is plenty of evidence out there showing the benefits of static stretching AFTER your muscles are warm. Stretching with cold muscles is not only potentially dangerous but has also been shown to reduce the ability of your muscles to contract (less power).
Active stretching is something that many of us do during our warmup without even thinking about it. As cyclists, we tend to start pedaling easy with a bit of a lower cadence, gradually bringing up the effort as the blood starts to flow. If you add in some out of the saddle work along with some exaggerated pedaling action, you have just accomplished some simple active stretching of the muscles you will be using. Runners simply need to add some strides, skipping, knee raises and heel kicks to actively stretch the muscles. When strength training, doing an easier set with a lighter weight will take care of the stretch, just make sure you focus on a full range of motion with your active warmup.
These active stretches will make you feel stronger, allow you to get up to speed faster and help prevent injury all at the same time. Static stretching post workout is still a must to increase flexibility, just make sure the muscles are plenty warm first.

Advanced Indoor Cycling

2007-12-24T09:12:00.000-05:00

Incorporating HIGH intensity class instruction with elite level training techniques, our Advanced Indoor Cycling program will provide you with maximum training benefit in a minimum amount of time. Stretching the boundaries of standard cycling classes, this program is perfect for those members who take their training seriously, and are looking to take their fitness to new heights.

The program will offer:

USA Cycling certified coaches will provide instruction on proper technique and body positioning to maximize your comfort and efficiency.
Each class will combine structured training plans utilizing the latest endurance and power training principles, providing you with maximized results.
Progressing across 12 workouts, classes will provide you with a “building block” of advanced training to push you beyond your current fitness level.
Heart Rate monitors are REQUIRED* and testing will be performed to establish training zones. Class intensity will be relative to YOUR personal zones and allow you to measure your fitness.
Additional educational materials will be provided to extend your experience beyond the studio.

These will be STRENUOUS workouts and are not appropriate for members new to a training regime. You should be currently participating in a minimum of 3 cardio training hours a week, with the ability to ride comfortably on a bike for 60 minutes.

Classes are offered at $120 for 6 weeks, 2 classes per week, 75 minutes long and are offered on the following days and times.

Morning Track - Tuesday AND Thursday – 5:45am
Evening Track - Tuesday AND Thursday - 6pm

Don't delay, contact us today to sign-up. Be sure to specify your class track of choice.

Call ANYTIME FITNESS
317-733.4333

* Wide selection of heart rate monitors are available from Heart Rate Monitors USA your local Dicks, bike shop or simply search on-line.

The Best Winter Training?

2007-12-10T14:42:00.000-05:00

This question is the one I have been getting asked the most and the answer is not an easy one. Most of the information you read still focuses on building the aerobic base during the winter months. These LSD (long, slow distance) rides are incredibly boring but sometimes necessary if the endurance is not up to par. Working on speed in December seems crazy to most since you won’t be putting down the power in anger for a few more months, it’s just too early right?

WRONG – everyone we encounter wants to go faster. Whether that is dropping time off your best 40k TT or getting another MPH or two on your average speed for your favorite loop, going faster is fun. Now is the best time to work on this area and come out flying in the spring.

A very simple approach is to hit the gym twice a week for some basic multi-muscle group movements to build some strength. Squats, push-ups, pull-ups and the all important core muscles are the key movements you should work on. Better yet, get a trainer to work with you once a week to keep you on track. Stay away from the isolation exercises if possible and build up to some explosive, plyometric training.

In tandem with the strength training, intervals 2x/week should be done. You have to train fast to go fast. A mix of short duration sub-maximal intervals and some threshold intervals of 5-20 min will add speed in no time. Essentially the same type of training you should be doing in season.

Most of us are not and will never be elite athletes. Focusing on basic strength and speed building workouts will pay off huge dividends in the spring.

Good riding – Coach Kevin

Using PowerTap to Study Fatigue in Cyclists

2007-11-27T19:27:00.000-05:00

I found an interesting article today on the Saris website. It's about an "ambitious study to determine the effects of extended arduous work on muscle adaptations related to fatigue, fuel utilization, and performance".

Among the various data types collected over 2000 miles, Power was monitored using 20 Power Taps. Other data collected was gathered by good old biological samples including blood, urine, saliva, and muscle biopsies.

The full report has yet to be released and when exactly that will happen has yet to be determined. Keep an eye on http://www.soe.umt.edu/wpem/Giro%20Discovery_profile.html for updates.

For the original article and interview from Saris, click here:
http://www.saris.com/athletes/PermaLink,guid,8e5d9962-3a04-4ff5-9108-4eac5232eb53.aspx

Just starting with a Powertap...the benefit of your experience?

2007-11-12T22:03:00.001-05:00

I'm constantly monitoring a Google Group on Wattage. There was a recent post that had some really good info. I would usually just link over to the page, but it's member based. I've pasted some of the recent posts:

Is there any advice from the folk that are experienced with using a
power meter? Any do's and don'ts? Or is it just a case of collect as
much data as possible and see what needs to be worked on.

-------

I just started training with a power meter myself a month ago. Reading
"THE BOOK - Training and Racing with a Power Meter" by Hunter Allen /
Dr. Andy Coggan, browsing thru all the posts in this group and
clicking thru the cycling peaks website gave me a good start.
Now I'm in the phase of testing and collecting data and after each
session I can't wait to download the data to analyse my ride. The
only downside - for the moment I just got one of my bikes set up with
Ergomo. But I think this problem will be sorted out soon :)
Cheers
eri

-------

1) Read through all the Power 411 info at www.cyclilngpeakssoftware.com
2) Buy the Cycling Peaks WKO+ software -- it is infinitely better than the software that comes with the Power Tap, and well worth the price of 4 race entries.
3) Record and download ALL of your workouts -- they will feed into the "Performance Manager" -- don't worry about it too much at the start, but as you get comfortable with the basics, you'l want to start playing with it more. Having a complete training history is important.
4) Perhaps most important -- never forget that bicycle races are decided by the order of riders at the finish line, not by Functional Threshold Power, or Training Stress Score, or any of the other myriad of numbers that you can pull out of your power meter. Power is an important training tool, but there's a whole lot more to performing well in a bike race than having perfect training. It's easy to get caught up in numbers & loose sight of that basic fact.
Chris Fischer
Ohio State Cycling

-------

I would concur with Rich_SC as far as giving it time to work and being patient with the interval work. My first 2 months I was really just using the PT and WKO+ as a data recorder, getting a feel for what the numbers meant. I then purchased one of Hunter Allen's power-based FTP- building plans from TrainingPeaks.com and spent 2006 racing season using that plan and the power meter to "grow" my engine and to help with my weight-loss (from 205 in 2005 to 167 in 2007). I also spent a load of time on this forum and reading T&Rw/PM to learn as much as I could about the wattage levels, TSS, and then the PMC. Then I developed a TSS-based training plan of my own for the 2007 season, and had a very successful season overall.

-------

I would recommend, in approximate order:
1) ride for six weeks just learning the PM - download everything -
learn to ride some segments of your rides keeping the power in a +/-
5-10 Watt range
2) read as much of the previously mentioned sources of information as
possible
3) get WKO+ software
4) test for your FTP, input into WKO+ and then import all of your
prior data
5) train with power
6) race with power
7) did I mention download everything?
8) when you get the hang of training and racing with power, try to
learn even more
oh,,,and try to ween off the HR strap.
Best wishes.
Steve Palladino- training with power since Oct 8, 2002

Knowing when to say when

2007-11-07T11:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning I got up early motivated to do some hard interval training. As I warmed up on the trainer I noticed my power was really low. I continued spinning easy and thought I just needed to wake up a little more and get the blood flowing.

After 15 minutes I started my first interval. As I listened to the familiar sound of the wind trainer winding up and watching my power output creep up to 300 watts I quickly knew that today something was wrong. I just didn't have "it". I shut it down one minute into the planned two minute interval.

From there I decided to take advantage of the situation rather than being discouraged. I spun easy for another 10 minutes or so and got off the trainer. I went inside and cleaned up our kitchen and took care of a few other chores that had been neglected the night prior.

So why did I get off the bike instead of hammering through the workout? Two reasons...

I could tell that I wasn't myself. I was well rested, but just didn't have my usual power.
I knew that without giving it 100% on an interval workout the time would be wasted and minimal fitness gain would occur.

Today I woke up with a sore throat and stuffed up nose. I couldn't be happier with my decision to throw in the towel yesterday. Hopefully with some extra zinc and more rest I'll be back on the bike this weekend in good form instead of sick for two weeks because I over trained.

The Coach and his Trainer

2007-11-05T08:23:00.000-05:00

Teaching indoor cycling (aka "Spinning") classes keeps me around weight equipment most of the year. Chatting with a friend at a club last week brought about a very surprised look when I mentioned I was working with a Personal Trainer to keep me on a strength building program. "Can't you do that stuff yourself?" was her question to me. Of course I can, it is simply a matter of desire. Knowing what to do is only a small part of it. I am working with a trainer for the same reasons people hire us to work with them.

Motivation - There is really nothing better than having somebody plan your workout and help keep you on track. Take the brain out of the equation.
New Heights - Taking you out of your comfort zone is what a good coach/trainer will make sure you do to realize gains. It is easy to forego the last rep/set if you are training alone.
Schedule - Everyone is busy, knowing when and what you are going to be doing turns it into an easy to check off "appointment" with yourself.
Results - The coach/trainer needs to get results from you to keep more business coming their way. If you are not seeing results, you have someone to help you figure out why and change things up a bit.

There are certainly a bunch more reasons but my favorite is the fact that it simply makes things a bit more focused and fun. I still follow my own training plan using trainingpeaks and WKO+, just like we do with our clients. The added strength focus with the trainer is addressing some weak areas and allowing me to focus more on my cycling this winter. I know I'll be pushing new wattage highs very soon and flying in 2008.

t-max interval report

2007-10-31T22:22:00.000-04:00

I did my first interval workout today following the t-max plan. As expected, it was pretty hard. So here is what I took from it.

As I went into my first to sets I realized pretty quickly that fighting a gusty 30mph head/cross wind was not going to make this workout any easier. It was a challenge in itself to keep the wattage at 310.

I also noted on my first set that sometimes the county doesn't strategically place stop signs and round-a-bouts at 2 minute intervals. What were they thinking when the put in this intersection!?

Later this week I'm going to try the interval workout on a more controlled platform. The dreaded wind trainer.

After recovering for about 3 minutes I felt pretty good and ready to go into the next set. But with my t-max, I get a 4 minute recovery period. So I waited that extra minute following the plan.

I managed to squeak out 5 sets of the intervals. At that point I had a little bit of vomit in my mouth and shut it down to cruise easy back to the car. Soon my legs will look just like Jan 's (above).

Kirk out. (and off to bed!)

The Cycling Off Season

2007-10-31T14:08:00.000-04:00

If you live anywhere near me then the days are getting quite short and the wind is beginning to kick up while the temperatures drop. Sure the leaves are pretty and the occasional sunny day feels warm, but it's getting harder and harder to find a good time to ride.

Just this weekend we bagged a 50 mile ride because of cold, wet, rainy roads. Today as I look out my office window I can see my bike on top of my car waiting to be ridden. Just behind it, the trees are bent sideways in a 27mph wind from the South West. (hrrrm... If I could just get somebody to drive me about 40 miles south of here...)

So what are your plans for this off season? You could:

let your saddle sores heal up
see how big you can get your waistline by 2008
start trying to break in that new couch while watching the latest Greys Anatomy

Or, you could be productive even if you aren't out braving the elements. Here is my plan:

teach 2 spinning classes per week
do 2 short interval workouts on the trainer (60 minutes at most)
get 1 long ride outside each week (30-40 miles)

I also have some things I'm going to work on off the bike that I usually don't have time to do.

set cycling goals for 2008
work more on my blog!
plan a cycling vacation
tune up all of my bikes (including my wife and kids)

So what are you going to do!? Post your comments and let us know.

Check out Bike Snobs post about off season training.

1700 watts

2007-10-29T15:04:00.000-04:00

If you search around on the web or read magazines you might come across a mention of pro cyclists being able to top out at 1700 watts or more during sprints. If any of you have a powermeter, you know this is a big, big number. Most of the athletes we test will hit a max in the 700-900 watt range. We can also look at data and project what type of wattage you will need to be competitive at a particular level of racing.

So, how do you get to those magic high numbers? Assuming you have some decent genes and a few fast-twitch fibers in the legs, a combination of strength work in the gym and sprint training on the bike will yield some quick gains. Here are a few basic guidelines for becoming a faster sprinter:

Two sprint workouts per week max! More than this and you cannot recover and become faster. If you think you can do more than two, you are not pushing hard enough.
These workouts need to be MAXIMUM EFFORTS! Sprinting at 8 or 9 on a 10 scale is the quickest way to get beaten to the line. True sprints should leave you needing 5 minutes or more of easy spinning to get ready for another effort.
Gym work should be explosive and non-isolating. Heavier weights in the 6-20 rep range with every set taken to complete failure (use a partner for safety). Major movements (squat, leg press) are best with isolating movements (leg extension, leg curl, inner & outer thigh) only done to address muscle imbalance, if at all. You don't pedal the bike with hamstrings only, etc.
Sprint in a variety of gears and terrain. Work on increasing your ability to push a big gear and spin that gear quickly. Uphill and downhill sprinting are very different and you should be ready for any type of terrain. That's why you have all of those gears - use them.

In the next post I'll talk a bit more about how to measure and track your sprinting training progress.

Good riding - Coach Kevin

T-Max Time (re-test)

2007-10-25T14:38:00.000-04:00

Well, today I re-tested my T-Max time. This time I only used my PowerTap and the trainer.

The result? Much harder than last week.

After a 20 minute warm up I rode 3:16:57 at 310 watts. Here is some data from WKO+.

Duration: 3:17
Work: 61 kJ
TSS: 8.4 (intensity factor 1.242)
Distance: 1.332 mi

Min Max Avg
Power: 227 428 311 watts
Heart rate: 138 184 173 bpm
Cadence: 77 109 99 rpm
Speed: 20.1 26.6 24.3 mph

So, now I have my PPO and Tmax time. My intervals look like this:

Interval = .6 x Tmax or in my case .6 x 3:17 which is 1:58 (almost 2 minutes) at 310 watts
Recovery = 2 x Interval Time or about 4 minutes

The goal would be to do 5 - 6 intervals. We'll see how many I can crank out early next week. Tomorrow I teach Spinning and Saturday and Sunday are long endurance rides.

Client Testimonial - Fred Evans

2007-10-23T15:47:00.000-04:00

Matt,

As you may have noticed my weight is coming down nicely. The day we did the first prologue in mid September, I weighed 206 lbs. As you may recall over the next 2 weeks or so it ballooned up to 214 lbs. Of course some of that was edema which initially took some medication (over a 3 day period) to correct. But that accounted for maybe 4 -5 lbs.

This morning (October 23) I was down to 201.7 lbs. I've not been at this low a weight in over a year, maybe even 18 months. The workouts are doing good things for me. Prior to my being on those hormone cancer drugs for 2-years my weight was 180lbs +/- a couple of pounds.

I'm going to need to do an easy ride on the trainer today as I'm a bit tired from the last 3 days of biking. Things are looking up.

Even Bigger News -- During my last 3 rides my back pain has gone. The stretching exercises, the exercise ball work and weight reduction are sure helping me to drop back pain like a pesky drafter. Keep your fingers crossed on this point. Riding pain-free is a joy. As you know I've struggled with this back pain for about a year.

Fred

T-Max Time

2007-10-23T15:32:00.000-04:00

So I'm a little slow to post this, but I tried out my T-max test on Thursday while home at lunch.
I was talking to Kevin about the T-max intervals and he suggested trying them out on the CompuTrainer so that I could lock in the wattage at 310 and focus on just pedaling my legs off. Hrrrm... sounded like a good idea!

I hooked everything up and started to warm up. After 10 minutes or so I calibrated the CT and started adding some wattage on. Strangely, the CompuTrainer and my PowerTap didn't match up wattage. The PowerTap showed me about 30 watts lower than the CompuTrainer. Strange I thought. So I tightened up the resistance unit and re-calibrated. It was still off.

Well, I thought I'd go ahead and run the test anyway. So I cranked it up to 310 watts and waited for the pain to set in. I purposely didn't watch the timer when I started for fear of saying "5 minutes is pretty good and this is hard, so I'll shut it down".

After a few minutes I thought "this is actually pretty easy". I checked my PowerTap. 280 watts. Well, I know I can push this for quite some time. I've been doing it on the Nebo Ridge Trainer every Tuesday for an hour at a time. I attempted to wind it up a little to get the PowerTap in sync with the CompuTrainer. Ok, that was harder!

After what seemed like forever I was pretty spent and gave it up. Upon review of my data I spent over 7 minutes on the test. Well, that just can't be right.

Either I should be able to push more wattage in my PPO or I wasn't pushing out 310 watts for my timed test. I feel that the latter is the case.

My plan now is to retake the Tmax time test on my trainer just as I set it up when I did the PPO test. I hope to find some time tomorrow to do that test. We will see.

Until then... pedal on and be safe!

Interval Training - Power vs. Heart Rate

2007-10-18T10:57:00.000-04:00

Intervals are the key to breaking through training plateaus and achieving new levels of speed and fitness. At Two Wheels, we prescribe lots of interval workouts for our clients, based on their current fitness level and training goals. We have seen dramatic increases in performance for clients who are using power-based (wattage) training for their interval work over clients who are using HR or RPE (rate of perceived exertion). I want to briefly address the differences and touch on a few FAQ’s we receive.

- Measuring power for an interval workout gives near instantaneous information concerning the intensity of the effort. Measuring HR is practically worthless for most intervals unless they are 5 minutes or more and your HR has a chance to catch up to your effort and level.
- Repeating the interval effort is critical to increasing fitness. If wattage numbers are not available, speed can be used on the trainer or on the road (assuming the terrain and wind are identical). Speed/pace is how we will prescribe intervals for runners. A wattage based workout interval is hard to mess up – work for 30 sec. at x watts and recover for 30 sec. at x watts. No trying to guess at the RPE, either you hit the wattage or you don’t.
- How to determine when you have done enough? Typically we recommend the end of an interval session when you can no longer be within 10% of the target wattage for a work piece. If the goal is 60 sec work pieces at 300 watts and you only hit 270 after doing 5 intervals at 300, time to stop.
- What we find is most people tend to stop early (they could have hit 300 a few more times) because the effort seemed too difficult or they did not feel as though they recovered enough. Even more common is for someone to thrash themselves well beyond the point where they should stop. They typically do more intervals (because more is better right?) at intensity slightly lower than they need for maximum benefit. Repeated sessions of this type can quickly lead to overtraining.

The bottom line is if you are serious about making gains with a minimum amount of training time; get a power meter and a coach to help you utilize the data. As an alternative, leave the HR monitor at home on your interval days and go by feel (RPE) or use your speed.

Good riding – Coach Kevin

Peak Power Output Test

2007-10-17T07:20:00.000-04:00

This morning I got up early and threw on the bike shorts and headed to the garage for my Peak Power Output test.

I warmed up for about 8 minutes and threw in a little climb to push my HR up and get my legs used to the stress. I hit about 400 watts. I continued to spin easy for two more minutes then did another climb. This time I pushed it a little harder around 450 watts.

At 17 minutes in I cranked up the iPod and White Zombie told me to GO! Well... go at 100 watts for a minute. And then add 30 watts every minute there after.

Let me tell you. This test doesn't really take long. I sat there at 100 watts going... this is silly. Why not just start at 200? Well, at 220, 250, and 280 I realized this was getting pretty hard. I hit 310 and kept it there about 40 seconds and I was done! WHAT? I thought I'd hit 400 or something.

I decided to spin easy for 10 minutes and try again.

This time I did worse. I could barely get it to 300 and sure wasn't going to set it there for a minute or go up to 340. I thought to myself... "OK, this is my PPO!"

I hope to get my T-Max time figured out tomorrow or Friday. I teach Spinning on Friday morning, so that is a bit of a challenge.

Try T-Max Intervals

2007-10-16T22:24:00.000-04:00

I've been pretty busy recently with my home life and my training has taken a turn for the worse. Finding any kind of consistency has really been a challenge. Then yesterday on an easy recovery ride I was involved in a crash with a teenager goofing off. (perhaps that story will appear on another post in the future) Needless to say, I've continued to see my CTL drop on the Performance Management Chart.

So... all that said, tomorrow morning I'm going to fire up the Cycleops trainer and see where my Peak Power Output (PPO) sits. This is found by riding at 100 watts and increasing power by 30 watts every minute until you can't take it up any more for a full minute. My guess is that I'll end up somewhere around 500-600 watts based on a fairly recent Time Trial on the CompuTrainer.

I hope to get a day or two of rest, then fire up the trainer again to find my T-Max. The duration at which I can hold my PPO.

From there it's pretty simple math. Do intervals of .6 of your T-Max time at PPO. Double your work phase to find your recovery time.

So let's plot this out. If I push 500 watts tomorrow for my PPO and I hold my PPO for 6 minutes on Friday; then my "Ultimate Interval" will be 3.6 minutes at 500 watts followed by 7.2 minutes recovery. Then repeat as many times as I can! They say most people vomit and die after 5 or 6.

We'll see what happens!

T-Max Intervals

2007-10-06T09:09:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking about blogging a little about TMAX Intervals. I found this link this morning that sums it up pretty well. Sadly, it looks like this guy (Sean) was killed last month in an accident.

http://mtbjournal.blogspot.com/2007/09/t-maxtorture-to-max.html

Intro to Performance Management Chart in WKO+

2007-10-04T07:44:00.001-04:00

Have you ever heard the saying "You don't know what you don't know."? Nothing could be more true when talking about training with a power meter.

This season has been an eye opener for me even after 15 years of cycling. I've been using a PowerTap on my newest bike and learning quite a bit about WKO+. WKO+ is basically software created to log and analyze your data captured during training. The software was created by legends in the cycling world; Hunter Allen, Andy Coggan, and Kevin Williams.

Performance Management Chart
In WKO+ there are several charts and tools to monitor your performance on the bike. One of my favorites is the Performance Management Chart. I tell people this is my "feel good" chart because my mood is usually directly related to how much training I've been doing. This week, I've been pretty moody!

I'm going to attempt to break down the PMC (feel good) chart in plain ole english for those of you that are new to WKO+ or Power in general.

Out of the box, you can customize all of the charts in WKO+ to fit your needs. I've set my PMC up with the following additions:

NP60 - Normalized Power for 60 Minutes (top 10 instances)
NP30 - Normalized Power for 30 Minutes (top 10 instances)
Top 10 Max Power Outputs

These customized settings help let me know when I've done something on a ride that was a top 10 performance. Good to know!

The "standard" measurements on the PMC are:

TSB - Training Stress Balance (how "fresh" you are)
ATL - Acute Training Load (recent training loads)
CTL - Critical Training Load (overall fitness)

Now, it gets fun... Let's simply analyze one ride on the chart right now (click it to enlarge).

Notice on 6/10 the pink line spikes way up. That's my ATL. On that day, I did a really long and hard effort with a group down in Brown County. There were a lot of hills and it was a fast group. (I eventually fell off the back and limped home solo).

If you look at the yellow line in the same area, you can see that my "freshness" DROPPED the next day. Let me tell you, the chart doesn't lie. I was super sore the next day. You'll notice that days there after where the ATL is less, my TSB comes back up. When your TSB is at 0, you are ready to rock at maximum performance.

Another interesting note to point out is the blue line. My CTL or over all fitness jumped up with that ride. Just like a race or a tough training day, with proper recovery you WILL get stronger.

On the customized side of the chart, I show one of my top 10 power outputs that day at 1032 watts, an NP60 of 268 watts and an NP30 of 222 watts. Definitely an all around top 10 ride for me this season. One that clearly sticks out in my mind.

In my next blog, I plan on talking about training with a plan and what happens when you can't make the plan fit your busy lifestyle? I'm living proof of how much you can gain and the chart above won't lie!

The Hilly Hundred Blooper

2007-10-02T16:34:00.000-04:00

Well, our ad was placed in the upcoming 2007 Hilly Hundred 40th Year Celebration Catalog Photo Thingie. I got my copy in the mail just this weekend. I was quite excited to see our ad!

I shuffled through the pages and found our ad on page 33.... Uh.... what? This isn't our ad... there is surely a mixup!

Well, some how the art files we sent over weren't printed correctly. We are still investigating the whole matter.

What we can do is show you what it was supposed to look like! AND offer you the same great deal as seen in the ad. Mention the Hilly Hundred and sign up for 3 months of coaching and we'll throw in a 4th month for free!

Ride safe!

Training for cycling with Power

2007-09-28T22:25:00.000-04:00

You’ve heard people talking about it. It’s in all the cycling magazines. Many of the pros are doing it too. No, we aren’t talking about doping; we are talking about training with a power meter! As power meters become more common and buzz around training with power increases, Two Wheels is right there on top of the scene.

Why train with power?

Most athletes wouldn’t consider going into a gym to lift weights if they didn’t know how much weight they were lifting. Cycling is no different. How much work did you do climbing that hill? Or how much work did you do sprinting for that stop ahead?

Power output tells you what you are doing (stimulus)
Heart Rate tells you how your body is responding (response)

In order to train effectively you need to monitor both. Power data gives you objective and immediate feedback on your training or racing efforts. The basic principles of training have not changed through the years. You still have to work hard to achieve your goals. But with the addition of Power you can train smarter.

How Two Wheels Cycling utilizes power with clients

Two Wheels offers two packages that monitor clients’ success through power analysis (Power Package and Podium Package). We will run an initial assessment test (the Prologue) to see your over all fitness, position and pedal efficiency. We will also determine your Functional Threshold Power (FTP) and Maximum Power output. With this data, we will create a training plan customized to meet your goals or to help you train for specific events.

We will monitor your progress by Power data uploaded to the Training Peaks’ website. As your data comes in we will modify your plan to keep your training on track. We will also be in constant contact with you explaining what all the number and graphs mean specifically to you.

So, you already have a power meter?

But still don’t seem to be riding any faster
Aren’t really sure what the numbers mean

Two Wheels will help you understand the numbers and what they mean for you and create a path for you to follow to success.