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for Inside Triathlon Using the Indoor Trainer to Improve This Winter © 2005 by Ken Mierke Using an indoor trainer is an unhappy reality for many cyclists during the winter months. While riding outdoors is certainly more enjoyable, indoor trainer workouts can be extremely effective, offering the athlete the rare opportunity to be 100% in control of the workout. Every indoor trainer workout should have a specific purpose beyond just putting in the hours. While sometimes necessary, indoor trainers are not the ideal venue for building endurance. Improve Pedal Stroke The trainer is the perfect setting for developing more consistent power application through the 360 degrees of your pedal stroke. Without wind, hills, red lights, or corners, a higher level of concentration on pedaling skills is possible. The Spinscan program on a Computrainer is an excellent tool for monitoring power application. Learn to: Initiate the downstroke earlier and drive diagonally forward/down from 12 o’clock to 3 o’clock. Initiate the backstroke earlier, pulling the heel backward starting at 3 o’clock. Unload on the upstroke. Lifting the weight of the leg off the pedal as it rises improves sustainable power and efficiency dramatically. Powercranks are an excellent tool for improving this aspect of pedaling and single leg drills are another. Increase Cadence Most riders will improve, long term, from increasing average cadence. However, initial performance may suffer. Winter, without the pressure of racing, is the perfect time of year to train the skills of high cadence riding. Several drills listed in the sidebar work very well for developing efficiency at higher cadence. Increase Torque Increasing torque is a major winter priority. Building strength in the weight room is essential. Then add strength transfer training, extended sets (5-20 minutes) in mid zone 3 intensity at 40-60 rpm. Even though intensity is moderate, the low cadence increases watts per pedal stroke, or torque. See the tempo tension drill described in the sidebar. Increase Lactate Threshold Later in the winter, begin adding cruise intervals and eventually extended tempo sets at lactate threshold, zone 4, intensity. Cruise intervals are work segments of 4 to 6 minutes in duration at lactate threshold intensity with 1 to 2 minute recoveries between efforts. Add these workouts conservatively and build gradually. Max the VO2 Depending on where you live and when you want to peak, you may include aerobic capacity workouts on your indoor trainer. These workouts generally include efforts of 30 seconds to 3 minutes at zone 5b or CP6 intensity, the highest heart rate or wattage you can sustain for a single 6 minute effort with 100% effort. Generally use a 1:1 work to rest ratio for these workouts. Note that CP6 intensity for segments of 3 minutes will be hard, but not quite 100% effort. Many athletes attempting to perform aerobic capacity workouts combine zone 5b and zone 5c workouts. This is not as effective because riding at a wattage that is slightly too high reduces potential volume at CP6 intensity and demands too much recovery. If you aren’t using a powermeter, hold back just a little on early intervals, using perceived exertion to estimate the intensity you could use for a single 6 minute effort. Going harder has no aerobic benefit, but costs your legs and your mind big time. Save zone 5c (over CP6) intensity for shorter efforts with full recovery between. Use Videos Using videos produced by qualified coaches can add structure and science to your workouts, as well as being entertaining. Coach Adam Coon produced the Optimum Fitness Results indoor trainer video series in conjunction with both authors. These workouts were developed according to Training Bible principles and allow athletes to progress through the winter with correct periodization. More information about these videos is available at www.Fitness-Concepts.com
Sidebar: Pedal Stroke Drills Single Legged Pedaling: Using the easiest gear, clip one foot out of the pedal and rest it on the trainer. Pedal easily for the indicated duration, switch legs, and for the duration again. Recovery occurs while the opposite leg is pedaling. Concentrate on keeping the downstroke light and driving the knee up and forward quickly on the upstroke. Repeat for the indicated duration and number of repetitions.
Legspeed Tempo: In your easiest gear (or at 50 watts on a Computrainer), pedal at the highest cadence at which you can maintain smoothness and not bounce. If you begin to bounce, concentrate on beginning the backstroke earlier, making sure that you are not continuing the downstroke at 6 o’clock. If you continue to bounce, slow your cadence slightly. Record average cadence for future comparison.
Tempo Tension: In your hardest gear, pedal at 40-60 rpm. Maintain concentration on the described pedal-stroke phase. Use cadence (or wattage) that will plateau heart rate half way between the top of zone 2 and the top of zone 4.
Downstroke – Drive diagonally forward/down from 12 o’clock to 3 o’clock. Begin and end the downstroke early.
Backstroke – Begin to pull the heel backward when the pedal reaches 3 o’clock. Try to pull straight back through the bottom bracket and end the downstroke early. The downward action will continue despite your attempts, but you will push down at 6 o’clock less.
Upstroke – Lift the knee diagonally up and forward as the pedal is rising. Feel the effort in the hip flexors (front of hip and very upper thigh), not the hamstrings. concentrate on lifting the knee, not pulling up on the pedal.
Upstroke Concentration: For the duration of this segment, maintain 75-80 rpm keeping the downstroke extremely light. Concentrate on pulling the knee up toward the handlebar forcefully on the upstroke. Keep heart rate in zone 2. The hip flexor muscles in the front thigh should be burning moderately, but the quads and glutes should not be working hard. This provides a muscular endurance workout for the hip flexors and a basic endurance workout for the quads and glutes.
Ken Mierke is Head Coach of Fitness Concepts. Both Joe and Ken appear in the Optimum Fitness Results indoor trainer video series, available at www.Fitness-Concepts.com
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For VeloNews Winter Training © 2005 by Joe Friel and Ken Mierke Every cyclist wants to race better next year. A good winter is critical to making next season different. Winter is the perfect time to address weaknesses and make changes that are difficult to make mid-season. Follow these guidelines and be ready for spring next year.
Strength training Strength training is an important winter supplement for almost every rider. Strength training increases pedal stroke economy, enabling a rider to create more power without expending more energy. Important factors in developing a strength training program for cycling include the following:
Use relatively heavy weights. You are in the weight room to build strength. Except in special circumstances, don’t try to build endurance with strength training workouts.
Focus on the hip muscles. Cyclists tend to focus too heavily (pardon the pun) on the muscles of the thigh during strength training. The gluteus maximus is a primary power producer in the downstroke and the hip flexors are critical for unloading the pedal during the upstroke. These two muscle groups should be a primary focus of strength training.
Include core and stability work. While the prime movers in the pedal stroke need to be the priority, include work for the torso muscles and for the lateral tissues of the hips and thighs. This will create a more solid platform for pedaling and reduce the risk of injury.
Strength transfer training Strength developed in the weight room won’t help you ride better until you train the muscles to use this strength effectively in your pedal stroke. Arnold Schwartzenegger never won a bike race. Strength-transfer training, low cadence efforts which train the muscles to efficiently apply their weight-room strength to the pedals is critical to bridge the gap between the weight room and climbing. During base period, perform efforts of 5 to 20 minutes at heart rate zone 3 or CP 90 wattage and a cadence of 50 to 60 rpm. During build and peak periods, perform one low cadence LT workout, or one LT segment in a workout, each week. Pedal at 70 to 75 rpm to increase the muscles’ ability to produce force. While efficient riders generally use relatively high cadence in racing, specific low cadence training segments enable them to spin high cadence in a harder gear. Riders who are force limited may maintain strength transfer training throughout the year.
Improve technique With training volume and intensity reduced, and without the pressure of impending races, winter is the perfect time to make changes to pedal stroke technique. Pedal stroke economy is just as important to race results as the strength and fitness developed by hard training. The fastest riders are strong, but they are also efficient. A pedal stroke that creates power more evenly throughout the 360 degrees is more efficient, especially for climbing. Our testing shows that 84% of the time, efficiency explains more than half of the wattage differences between riders. If one rider produces 10% greater wattage at lactate threshold, 84% of the time the rider uses less than 5% more energy to do so, indicating greater efficiency.
Downstroke: drive forward and down Most riders initiate the downstroke at about 2 o’clock, driving straight down. This produces good peak power, but within a very short power zone. More efficient cyclists initiate the downstroke earlier, elongating their peak power zone. Try to start the downstroke early, driving diagonally forward and down from 12 o’clock toward 3 o’clock (Diagram 1). This optimally overlaps the peak torque of the hip extensors (glutes) and the knee extensors (quadriceps) creating a longer downstroke power zone. You’ll know you are pedaling well when you feel your toes press against the front of your shoes across the top of the pedal stroke.
Backstroke: start earlier Most cyclists continue to push down at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Obviously this doesn’t produce power effectively. Efficient riders end the downstroke earlier, transitioning to the backstroke before the bottom of the pedal stroke. When your heel gets to the 3 o’clock position, try to pull your heel straight back through the bottom bracket using the hamstring muscles (diagram 2). Obviously a rider can’t do this, but attempting to will end the downstroke earlier and make a smoother transition to the backstroke.
Unload on the upstroke Most cyclists rely on the power of the left leg’s downstroke to lift the weight of the right leg. Efficient cyclists lift each leg’s weight using the hip flexor muscles in the front of the hip (diagram 3). This is a critical aspect of efficient pedaling. Single leg pedaling drills and Powercranks are two very effective ways to improve this aspect of your pedal stroke. The hip flexor muscles should fatigue as much as the quads and glutes after long or hard rides.
Legspeed training Legspeed is just as important for a cyclist as a smooth 360-degree pedal stroke. Winter is a good time to work on turning relatively easy gears at high rpm. When working on legspeed the backstroke and upstroke are generally the rate limiting steps, but cyclists tend to focus solely on the downstroke. The following training methods are effective at improving legspeed:
Spin ups are short efforts of 20 to 30 seconds at the highest possible cadence in a very easy gear.
Legspeed tempo sets are 5 to 30 minute efforts in a very easy gear at the highest cadence that can be maintained smoothly. Ride just below your “bounce threshold” and work to develop relaxation at very high cadence.
Fixed gear riding improves legspeed, but tends to increase dead spots in your pedal stroke by pulling your leg through the dead spots. Include fixed gear riding in the winter, but always include work to help develop a 360-degree stroke when you include fixed gear riding in your program.
Summary Winter is not the time for high intensity riding, but working on strength and efficiency this time of year will pay big dividends next season.
Joe Friel is author of The Cyclists Training Bible and co-author of The Paleo Diet for Athletes. Ken Mierke is Head Coach of Fitness Concepts (www.Fitness-Concepts.com) and author of Training for Time Trials (due out 2006).
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