Archives for October 2009

Inspiration for Your Winter Training

October 31, 2009 by Jesper Bondo Medhus 8 Comments

MTB is a great alternative for regular road training when is cold.

Now it’s time to begin your winter training if you are a serious cyclist and live in the Northern Hemisphere. There are several old posts here on Training4cyclists that can be relevant for you when you plan your winter training:

Off-Season Cycling Tips – It’s offseason, so read this post before you start to plan your next season.

Winter Cycling Tips – Here are some winter cycling tips that optimize the success rate of your winter cycling program.

12 Week Cycling Winter Training Program – Here is an excellent winter training program that can inspire and develop a solid performance.

Weight lifting is a controversial topic for cyclists. Here is a post about weight lifting for cyclists and why the squat is the king in weight lifting.

Despite global warming, it’s very unlikely that you can go through this winter without doing indoor cycling. So here are some tips on how to achieve better results with spinning.

Review: Indoor Training for Cyclists

October 26, 2009 by Jesper Bondo Medhus 1 Comment

David Ertl has made an ebook about indoor cycling training to provide you with tips and tricks for your indoor training sessions. Ertl is a USA Cycling Level 1 certified coach. This is the highest level of education as a coach offered by USA cycling.

Now let’s take a closer look at what Ertl has written about.

The ebook starts talking about the differences between indoor and outdoor training. Indoor training is not enough if you want to be a strong cyclist.

Ertl doesn’t try to hide this fact, though he illustrates the situations where indoor training can be helpful/adviseable. I think that is a fair presentation of the benefits and limitations of indoor training.

The following chapter looks at different ways to train indoor cycling (spinning, ergometer bike, rollers etc.)

Most cyclists are probably already able to train at least one place indoors, but for inspiration, you can read about different alternatives to your preferred indoor training solution. This chapter is not the most interesting, but I think it’s a mandatory chapter in an ebook about basic principles for indoor cycling training.

50 Different Indoor Training Workouts

After reading the first introductory chapters, you will probably find the section about workouts much more enjoyable. Fifty different workouts are done specifically for indoor training.

I think several great programs can be completed within 1hour of effective training. I like that. The workouts are themed, so you can pick precisely the activity you are looking for.

E.g. If you want to do threshold intervals, pick one of the threshold workouts, and you will have a great and time-effective training session.

Pros: There are more than 50 different indoor training workouts in this ebook, including recovery, leg speed, endurance, tempo, threshold, anaerobic, strength and power workouts.

The training programs can be performed using either a heart rate monitor, power meter or just by perceived exertion. That’s great.

Cons: It seems a bit odd to recommend a submaximal test (for healthy reasons) when 2 of the six training zones are performed above this training intensity. The layout could be more user friendly. I would have preferred some graphic illustrations for the workouts.

Conclusion: This ebook is a cheap way to get some inspiration for your indoor workouts. The workouts are themed, so you can pick precisely the workout you are looking for. Click here to buy Indoor Training for Cyclists now.

Reader Question: Why Should Cyclists Train Like Weight Lifters?

October 12, 2009 by Jesper Bondo Medhus 5 Comments

Should Cyclists Train Like Weight Lifters? - Image by Eric McGregor

Why do you recommend cyclists to train like weight lifters (few reps)? Wouldn’t it be better to train for strength endurance with 8, 12 or more reps?

Maintaining low body weight is essential in road cycling and mountain bike (Watts per Kilogram) since carrying extra pounds (dead weight) decreases your performance. That is the same situation for a weight lifter competing in a weight class. If the weight class is

It is correct that the rep range is often used in power sports, but the people interested in additional body mass (bodybuilders) work much more in the rep range from 5 to 12.

Sets of few reps apply very little damage to the muscle fibres (protein degradation). This damage usually is one of the parameters responsible for stimulating the muscle fibres to grow. By avoiding this protein degradation, we can minimize the stimulus to hypertrophy. Also, there is a couple of other ways to reduce or completely avoid additional body mass but still get stronger.

If you decide to strength train this winter, I highly recommend you read my series about how you can get stronger without adding additional muscle mass.

Ps. It’s not certain that cyclists have to lift weights at all. Most riders will benefit more from extra bike training.

Review: Continental Grand Prix Supersonic

October 7, 2009 by Jesper Bondo Medhus 1 Comment

Continental Grand Prix Supersonics are incredibly lightweight tires that might be interesting to use at time trials or criteriums. Supersonic 23mm tires weigh only 155g, and that is so low that I thought it was worth taking a closer look at them. Light tires lower the overall weight and improve cornering significantly (softer materials means better grip).

Why you should buy Continental GP Supersonic

The performance is absolutely world-class. These tires are extremely fun to ride. When you corner with Supersonics, you will feel an incredible good grip. That is the best thing about the Supersonics and what surprised me most. If you look at a formula 1 race, you will see the same picture. Soft tires give the F1 pilots the best possible grip, but these tires have to be changed one or two times during the race.

Lightweight components are always attractive. I have previously shown what additional weight can do on your finishing time during climbing. It’s great to know that you use lightweight components, but it’s impossible to feel a weight saving of 120g. Still, you might very well make a significant difference in your performance.

Why you shouldn’t use Continental GP Supersonic all the time

Extreme optimizing weight and rolling resistance mean a higher risk of punctures and a shorter lifetime of tires. That is absolutely a serious reason to give it an extra thought before you mount Continental GP Supersonics. I think the Supersonics can be ridden for app. 5-700km depending on road conditions and your body weight.

Conclusion
Continental GP Supersonic is the perfect lightweight choice for time trials and criteriums. Use them at special events and accept the higher risk of puncture. It is pretty challenging to find these tires, but there is now a newer version for time trials available with almost the same advantages as mentioned above. You can purchase fast tires from Continental GP here.