Cycling Training Tips
From the category archives:
When Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France back in 1999, he showed us a pedalling style with a very high pedalling rate, even in the mountains. Many experts have referred to this technique as one of the main reasons that Armstrong could beat his opponents so easily. With a high frequency it is easier [...]
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This article is a guest post from Shim Ravalia who studies a master in sports rehabilitation at the University of Kent (Gillingham, Medway). Now she is proposing a study on the effects of soy milk and semi skimmed milk in the recovery period after exercise on trained male cyclists by looking at the time to [...]
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Exercise-induced muscle cramps are common among cyclists in the end of hard races. Some riders seem to have more frequent episodes of muscle cramps than others, but most cyclists have experienced the phenomena. Your performance will be lowered if you have leg cramps, so there is good reason to learn how to avoid such.
It is often written that hydration with water and different electrolytes may protect riders from muscle cramps, since dehydration and electrolyte imbalance is very close related to these involuntary, painful muscle contractions. One of the potential risks is exercising in hot environment because of dehydration and massive loss of sodium, potassium, magnesium and other electrolytes. When this water loss is recovered with plain water, there will be a net loss of electrolytes. In old days hard working people who worked in mines died because of an excessive water intake that diluted the concentration of electrolytes. This was called ‘Minors Cramp’.
Scientists from the University of North Carolina have published an article in Journal of athletic training, June 2005: Influence of Hydration and Electrolyte Supplementation on Incidence and Time to Onset of Exercise-Associated Muscle Cramps.
In this study 13 men with a history of exercise-induced muscle cramps performed two tests that were made to provoke muscle cramps in the calves. One test was done with supplementation of water, carbohydrates and sodium, while the other test was done without any supplementation. The findings were that 9 people developed muscle cramps in the hydration/supplementation trial and 7 people did in the dehydration trial.
These findings do not indicate that hydration and supplementation with carbohydrates and electrolytes protect against muscle cramps. It tells us that there are other factors implicated in development of exercise-induced muscle cramps. However, in the hydration/supplementation trial, the time to onset of muscle cramps were prolonged (36.8 minutes completed before onset, compared to only 14.6 minutes in the dehydration trial.)
In my opinion, the study should have included a trial with plain water only. This should be done to see if it was the water or the supplementation that prolonged the time to onset of muscle cramps.
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Many heart rate monitors and bike computers has a feature to measure the energy cost of the exercise. But can we believe these numbers? I have always been sceptical to these calculations since they are based on very few variables (percentage of maximum heart rate and total time). I have always said to my riders that they can use these numbers for fun, but don’t count on them when they cook dinner. There is probably huge variability in the quality of calorie metres, some gives a rough estimate and some doesn’t.
Yesterday I found a study published in Medical Science of Sports and Exercise that tried to figure out how accurate the energy expenditure calculator of the Polar s-410 heart rate monitor was. They used three different calculations of the energy expenditure: 1) Polar s-410 using predicted values of VO2 max and maximum heart rate. 2) Polar s-410 using actual values of VO2 max and maximum heart rate. 3) Indirect calorimetry (You might have heard about this one in school…)
The results showed that the Polar s-410 did a quite good job for the men with no significant differences between the three calculation methods. The women’s numbers were overestimated when using predicted values of VO2 max and maximum heart rate. The estimation was better when they used the actual values but still overestimated with 12%.
Read the full article about Polar S-410
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German scientists have collected data from six professional road cyclist´s during a multi stage race. The riders used the SRM system to measure power outputs and heart rate monitors to record heart rates. This study got my attention, because it shows the benefits of using a power meter in the races instead of just a heart rate monitor. It was published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, January 2006. Before I start advertising more for using a power meter system, I will tell you a little about the study setup.
Before the stage race the six riders performed an incremental cycling test in the laboratory. Peak power output, power output, and heart rate at the lactate threshold and at a lactate increase of 1mM above the lactate threshold were assessed. Based on the test results there were made 3 different intensity zones for both heart rate and power output. Zone 1 was below LT, zone 2 was LT to LT+1mM and finally zone 3 was above LT +1mM. After the testing session the riders were ready to compete in the stage race.
The scientists analyzed the time spent in the three target zones during the 6 stages. There were five mass-starts where the riders averaged 220 Watts and one uphill time trial with an average power output at 392 Watts. This is not breaking news for experienced power meter users. In an uphill time trial riders prefer to ride with a slower cadence and are therefore able to maintain a higher average power output and they have to go fast all the time which also adds Watts to the average power output. In the mass-starts the heart rate monitors over-estimated the time spent in Zone 2, and I am not surprised at all. The heart rate monitors recorded that the riders spent 38% vs. 14% recorded with the power monitor. Heart rate monitors are still valuable, but it is important to know the physiology behind to understand how it works. There is a delay in the heart rate due to oxygen deficit or repayment of oxygen debt. A professional cycling race is either slow or very fast, there is almost nothing in between. But when they ride this stop and go way, the average heart rate will be somewhere in between, in this case this will say Zone 2. This could lead to the wrong conclusion that training in heart rate target zone 2 is optimal for preparation to stage races. Listening to the power meter makes more sense to me, since it tells me instantly what the power output is and therefore gives a much more precise description of the effort.
Reference:
Vogt S, Heinrich L, Schumacher YO, Blum A, Roecker K, Dickhuth HH, Schmid A.
Power output during stage racing in professional road cycling.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006 Jan;38(1):147-51.
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