The arrival of power meters sparked a new craze in the 1990s and they are now a part and parcel of the make-up of most pro riders.
 Power meters are invaluable tools for pacing control and interval sessions, and are especially useful for tackling time trials.


But the bottom line is that they are not absolutely necessary.

And you certainly don’t need one to tackle my training programs.


Interval sessions can be performed using just a heart rate monitor. In fact, it is clear that is what the majority of my readers do, and only one in seven tend to use a power meter like SRM or Powertap.


Of course, it is obvious that something as important as pace control is easier to do with a sophisticated power meter.

However in the majority of cases it is possible to learn how to find the correct pacing for sub-threshold /threshold/VO2 max intervals using a heart rate monitor.

Heart rate values are ever so slightly delayed and represent your physiological response to past training. In contrast, a power meter represents your current external workload.
 


Or you could simply do without both a power meter and a heart rate monitor – and just go with your gut feeling.

Some riders do – and this works just as well as a power meter.

Don’t forget that a few years ago many pro cyclists did all their interval sessions without any type of monitoring. And there are still some modern-day riders who turn back the training clock by cycling solely based on their feelings and instinct – because they know just how hard they should train.
 


But if you are a relative beginner or don’t have the benefit of experience of training 
20-plus hours per week for the last 10 years, it will certainly help if you at least use a cheap heart rate monitor to get some vital feedback on your physiological response to the training.

This may sound like common sense but if you have a specific goal or aim in life, it is crucial to organise and implement your activities in line with achieving your goal.

Imagine that deciding on your goal is the mental creation.

Well, how are you going to get there?

Unless you have a personal cycling coach or a mentor who is with you 100% of the time to motivate you, your motivation will have to come from inside YOU. This process can be referred to as the physical creation: giving yourself the tools and strength to achieve your goal.

If you want to make progress, you’ve got to take action to make things happen.

It is no big surprise.

But you know the feeling: You know what you should do to get better. But you just don’t do it. Something is stopping you.

You are scared.

Do you recognize this problem?

When you have a big goal then you also need to be committed for a longer period to achieve what you aim for.

You will have to train more hours, perform extremely difficult VO2 max sessions, train on your own etc. That’s incredible hard work.

So why don’t just stay in your comfort zone riding moderate distances, no hard interval training and group rides only?

And guess what happens if you step out of your comfort zone AND fail?

There ARE definitively reasons to be scared and not take action.

But that’s why you don’t achieve the goals you are dreaming about: You are so scared of stepping out of your comfort zone that you never take the necessary steps to achieve success.

So how can you step out of your comfort zone AND succeed?

As soon as you realize that it is you who are responsible for your own results then you will start to move.

I have seen several riders who have been fighting overweight for years and instead of doing what is obvious to everyone, they don’t take the necessary steps to get slim. Instead they do all they can to postpone stepping out of their comfort zones.

Obese people search the internet for advice about weight loss (without changing habits), they ask questions to several cycling coaches and weight loss experts hoping to find a magic training formula, they spend lots of money on nutritional supplements etc.

But they don’t take the necessary steps to achieve their goals.

I have also seen lots of riders who want take their performance to the next level, but feel unsure about riding more hours, training more intervals, using a different cycling training plan etc. Instead they decide to do things as they are used to – and achieve almost the same results as they are used to.

These riders are scared too. They are scared to fail (and maybe even scared to succeed).

It is important to notice that when you aim for a big goal then failure may be the outcome. That is just a part of the game.

But that shouldn’t stop you.

Be honest: What have you got to lose? What is the worst thing that can happen?

Here are some simple steps that will help you to develop some effective habits that make it easier and not-so-scary for you to step out your comfort zone:

1. Train with successful riders

If you train with successful athletes then you can be almost sure that they have already developed habits that help them to get their training done.

No magic intensities or intervals. No magic recovery drink.

The real secret is that they get they get their job done.

Sure, successful cyclists and triathletes have bad days and bad habits too. But they have developed strategies to achieve success. And they take the necessary action to make things happen.

2. Make a training plan (and a plan B as well)

Cancelling is not an option if you want to achieve really good results.

Take the initiative and proactively design an alternative plan for when you need it. Blaming the weather is definitely not a successful approach in the long run. But please don’t panic if you can’t keep up with your planned training due to bad weather or other complications.

That’s a part of the game. It happens to champions as well.

Just try to relax and remember your long-term focus.

Concentrate on what is possible and what is inside your influence ‒ not outside. It’s more important to get back into your solid training routine as soon as possible than starting a negative spiral where bad decisions lead to more bad decisions.

If you have a real target that is tangible to train for then every decision you make should reflect that target. You can ask yourself this simple question: “Will this decision take me closer to that goal, or move me further away from my goal?”

So be organised, manage your time efficiently and be proactive. Draw up a training schedule and stick to it.

Don’t be distracted.

If you do get distracted then make time elsewhere to do the training. This is a key point to ensure your cycling training program is a success because there will be days where something interrupts your plans.

3. Make it easy for you to stick to your training plan

If you want to achieve great results, you also have to give your training the attention and priority it deserves. When you give the highest priority to your daily training session, it’s also much more likely to be successful.

Scheduling your planned training session in your calendar is one way to secure that you get your training done. And if you do so, please remember to do what’s in you calendar (before checking emails, SMS, watching television etc.)

Television is probably one of the biggest time consumers in the modern world. However, there are others that might be your worst enemy for example internet surfing, mobile phones, social media etc.

Try to eliminate, or at least dramatically reduce, the time you spend on these tasks.

The more actions you take to improve your cycling performance, the more positive habits and attitudes you build, the easier for it will become for you to commit to a strong and ambitious training program.

But most riders will NEVER achieve their goals.

You can whine about it.

Or you can man up and start taking action today.

Choice is yours.

Here is a good place to begin:

http://www.training4cyclists.com/12-week-winter-training-program/

Here is one of the emails I have received recently:

“I have got my own personal experience over 20 years that clearly shows that I recover far quicker when I stretch than when I do not but perhaps that is just my particular physiological make-up?”

It’s clear that it is impossible for me to say what is right and wrong here. If your personal experience is that stretching really helps you (and you really don’t want to change your habits) then there is no need to read further.

So why isn’t stretching a part of my general advice?

First of all, it’s a short article with five practical tips you can use to optimize your recovery after training and cycling races. And these tips are time effective, too. No extra work by implementing these tips in your post-exercise routine.

Stretching your muscles take a while and from a point of time effectiveness, your overall performance would improve more with additional training and/or cool down pedalling.

Secondly, stretching is very undocumented. Actually there has recently been a comprehensive Cochrane review that concluded that there is no evidence that stretching reduce muscle soreness.

Ok, let’s take a look at why this article about effects of stretching is worth a read.

Well, a Cochrane Review is a database of systematic reviews and meta-analyses which summarize and interpret the results of medical research. The Cochrane Library aims to make the results of well-conducted controlled trials readily available and is a key resource in evidence-based medicine (reference: Wikipedia).

In this review the aim was to determine effects of stretching before or after exercise on the development of delayed-onset muscle soreness. Please notice that delayed-onset muscle soreness should be differentiated from the soreness that occurs immediately after exercise due to fatique.

Many riders stretch before or after (or before and after) road cycling. Usually the purpose is to reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness, optimize performance (flexibility) and/or reduce the risk of injury.

So how do you experience delayed-onset muscle soreness? In my younger days when I played badminton, it was almost sure that my legs were painful in the initial days following the first training session each season. It also happened in the first week or so after my first (and probably last…) marathon. My legs were stiff and walking down stairs was a night mare.

But I have almost never experienced this phenomenon following regular cycling training.

Why? Delayed-onset muscle soreness is usually caused by unaccustomed exercise – especially in physical activity that includes eccentric muscle contractions. So that explains why the initial weight lifting sessions always hit your legs like a train (Eccentric muscle contraction happens e.g. during lowering phase of squat or landing phase of running.)

Typically your legs begin to be sore within the first day after severe eccentric muscle work and peaks in intensity at around 48 hours.

Therefore, if you are a dedicated cyclist you will very likely discover this phenomenon if you switch to intensive running from one day to another or if you begin to lift weights. But if you are accustomed to running, e.g. a triathlete, you will not discover delayed onset muscle soreness unless you run at extreme distances.

But what really cause delayed-onset muscle soreness are only partly known

Micro-trauma on the muscle fibres result in local inflammatory activity and that is the most obvious part of the explanation. But there is probably also a neural component involved in this process. I believe this neural component can partly explain why triathletes are able to run without experiencing delayed muscle soreness like cycling-only athletes would.

Some riders stretch before riding as part of their warm-up routine. Most riders stretch after training sessions and cycling races to reduce muscle pain and speed up the recovery process.

There are different ways to stretch muscles:

• Traditional sustained stretch for 15 seconds or more (up to 90 seconds)
• Newer techniques where a strong musle contraction is followed by a short break and then a sustained stretch.

The best available evidence indicates that stretching does not reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness.

The biggest study included in the Cochrane Review showed a very small reduction (four points out of 100) in muscle soreness 48 hours after exercise. The other 11 studies were not able to provide any support for stretching to prevent sore muscles.

So the conclusion was that stretching does not reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness. And I would say that even if there was a very small pain reduction, like four points out of 100, it is still so small that in a mirror of time effectiveness, instead, you should focus on other parts of your training routine to optimize your performance.

Practical advice about stretching for cyclists

So yes, you can avoid running and weight lifting, and just say no when your friends ask you for help with relocation, gardening etc. And then there is no need to be worried about delayed-onset muscle soreness.

However, there are a few other practices you can benefit from. E.g. many riders experience that stretching (and/or massage) may give a transient relief of soreness IF delayed-onset muscle soreness eventually does occur. Also there may be arguments to implement stretching to reduce risk of injury. I believe very few cyclists should implement stretching just to optimize their cycling performance (only if flexibility limits their performance).

Many riders and triathletes do stretching as a ritual after exercise because they have been doing so for many years.

You may think “I have my own personal experience over 20 years that clearly shows that I recover far quicker when I stretch…”

Here is my advice to you:
If you believe you have a winning training routine: don’t fix it.

Though, the current evidence does not support any positive or negative effect of stretching on risk of injury, performance or well-being.

Finally, I have a little experiment for you to provide more knowledge about stretching: Try stretching your left leg and NOT the right leg after next hard training session. Did you notice any difference?

Please leave your comments and experiences below, thank you.

Reference: Stretching to prevent or reduce muscle soreness after exercise (Cochrane Review)
Herbert RD, de Noronha M, Kamper SJ

Here is a list of 12 blogs that I expect is worth a visit in 2012. Some of them are beautiful, some of them are quite scientific and some of them are… just about cycling in some way. I hope you will enjoy all these links and stay tuned for more updates here on Training4cyclists.com.

1. Bicycle Tutor A fantastic resource about repairing bicycles.

2. Chris Aarons Training tips collected from all over the world.

3. Daniel Carruthers Lots of pictures and good content about cycling. It’s a quite new website, but keep an eye on this one.

4. Wade Wallace Really cool bike pictures and cycling tips.

5. Joe Friel Legendary Joe Friel has his own blog with training tips.

6. Ross Tucker and Jonathan Dugas Comprehensive analysis of physiological aspects of endurance events etc.

7. Hunter Allen and Andrew Coggan The blog behind the popular book Training and Racing with a Power Meter.

8. Alex Simmons Insightful analysis of cycling training.

9. Marco Cardinale Another sport scientist that is worth following.

10. Jim Vance A tri-coach…

11. Brian Dewberry Follow his continued weight loss project in 2012.

12. The Sufferfest Downloadable cycling workout videos.

Before riders start doing high intensity intervals or pacing with a power meter, they should always begin by testing their physical performance. Remember: setting the right pace is absolutely crucial if you want to get the most out of high quality interval sessions. Performance tests give a great overall picture of your aerobic potential.

The 30-minute test

The simplest method is to take a relevant performance test and base your intervals on the results of your performance. A good example is a 30-minute max test to get a picture of your threshold power. The result from this test is closely related to your functional threshold power, so using it as a reference guide for threshold power intervals works well.

Functional threshold power is often the most determinant factor in road cycling and that is probably why you are reading this article: You want to learn how to increase your threshold power because that will make you a better endurance athlete.

In theory, this 30-minute max test could actually over-estimate your real, functional threshold power. But the bottom line is that you should base your sub-threshold and threshold power on your performance in the 30-minute max test and then just get the training done.

Don’t worry about the theoretical aspects and the arguments for and against certain performance testing. Remember this: getting your training done is what makes you better. If you “walk the walk” and not just “talk the talk”, then you are far likelier to achieve your goals and fulfil your potential.

One added bonus from taking a performance test is the ability to track your progress throughout the cycling season. As you get stronger, this will easily be measured by taking further performance tests as the season progresses.

When you have followed a training program for two or three months, it is really satisfying to see what difference all the hard work has done to your performance. It’s a great stimulus for your motivation when you can see that your 30-minute maximum power is up by, for example, 15 watts while your body mass is lowered.

V02 Intervals and the five-minute test

Before you start tackling high intensity VO2 intervals, it is strongly advisable to perform a five-minute all-out performance test. This will gauge your average power output (in watts) at maximum oxygen consumption.

This is the most reliable test and it can be done on a stationary bike or on the road if you own a power meter. The most important thing is you get a number for your average power output.

When you perform one of these tests, try to estimate how much power you can produce for, let’s say, five minutes and then keep a consistent pace. It might be necessary to adjust your pace throughout the test, but that’s how performance tests (and time trials) are.

If you use heart rate monitor as your main pacing tool then your average heart rate during the last 20 minutes of the 30-minute test is an excellent indicator of your threshold heart reate.

In my latest e-book, the 12-Week Winter Training Program, I discuss the merits of performance testing in much more detail. For example, in the training program itself, I recommend that you perform a 30-minute test and a five-minute all-out test in week one.

Track Your Performance in 2012

The New Year has arrived and this is the perfect time to set new goals and targets. So why don’t you challenge yourself with two performance tests here in week 1 of 2012? (in case you haven’t performed these tests recently).