tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2437384678099080370.post1822837736875664199..comments2023-12-01T09:13:26.545-07:00Comments on Bicycling Blogger: Time Efficient Totally Effective Cycling Training ProgramCoach Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12424333753858820944noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2437384678099080370.post-36230201532981119492009-09-24T00:59:17.535-06:002009-09-24T00:59:17.535-06:00VO2max and Wmax are the two frequently used measur...VO2max and Wmax are the two frequently used measures of athletic endurance ability. A good spotter should conduct him or herself at all times as though the lifter is on the verge of total failure. Your training partner can also lend a gentle touch that allows you to complete a rep you'd normally miss. Athletic endurance is a very essential factor for a professional cyclist.<br /><a href="http://www.cyclingmind.com/measuring-athletic-endurance.html" rel="nofollow">Cycling Mind</a>Cycling Mindhttp://www.cyclingmind.com/measuring-athletic-endurance.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2437384678099080370.post-85175721141355698012009-07-29T22:27:40.072-06:002009-07-29T22:27:40.072-06:00My opinion on all cyclist that want to enhance the...My opinion on all cyclist that want to enhance their ability is that an effective strength training program should be as important as time on the bike. VO2max and Wmax are the two frequently used measures of athletic endurance ability. <a href="http://www.cyclingmind.com/measuring-athletic-endurance.html" rel="nofollow">Bike Reviews</a>Bike Reviewshttp://www.cyclingmind.com/measuring-athletic-endurance.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2437384678099080370.post-4130593463792699282009-02-10T11:44:00.000-07:002009-02-10T11:44:00.000-07:00Usually, recovery from a hard effort will take bet...Usually, recovery from a hard effort will take between the same amount of time you were working hard, up to about twice the amount of time. If you are structuring intervals, a good rule of thumb is to simply double the time of your interval and use that for your recovery.<BR/><BR/>You have glycogen stored not only in your muscles but in your liver as well. Your blood circulation needs some time to get it out to your working muscles. Refueling during your rest will continue to help you add more intervals. The ultimate bottleneck in the refueling is how long your digestion process will take.<BR/><BR/>Incidentally, high-end efforts recruiting Type IIa and ultimately Type IIb fibres create not simply lactic acid, but the energy-cycle process also spews off hydrogen atoms. Those increase the pH of your blood, and it's that rise in pH that ultimately causes the fatigue that stops you from going hard any longer. Your body needs to buffer out the acid, which is also part of the recovery process.<BR/><BR/>Studies have shown some athletes can withstand an extremely acidotic blood profile (levels so high, if they showed up in an Emergency Room you'd expect them to be dead!), which has led many physiologists to believe this is the limiter to athletic performance, and not simply an athlete's raw VO2Max number.<BR/><BR/>Training doesn't <I>add</I> muscle fibres; it either makes what you have bigger, or converts them from one type to the other. So yes, genetics determine the <I>number</I> of fibres you have; training will determine what you can do with them. <BR/><BR/>Too much low intensity training will increase your population of Type I fibres <I>at the expense of</I> your Type II fibre population, meaning you'll have endurance, but no high-end "snap".<BR/><BR/>Strength training (be it resistance training with weights, or low cadence/high resistance training on the bike, or uphill running or running with a weight dragging on the ground behind you) will increase the size of the Type II fibres, convert some of your Type I fibres to Type II, and simply train bundles of your Type II fibres to work better in a more coordinated fashion to handle the load. All good things if you want to go faster. In the end, specificity of the motions are important. Train with weights to get things going, but on bike/on run training is ultimately needed to get things working right for you.<BR/><BR/>Really, to go fast for long, you need to develop the Type IIa fibres. They have the most versatile use of energy, and are capable of very strong force contractions.Coach Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12424333753858820944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2437384678099080370.post-53384619454865325302009-02-10T10:44:00.000-07:002009-02-10T10:44:00.000-07:00In your experience, how long does it take for Type...In your experience, how long does it take for Type II fibres to recover their glycogen? Can it be done during a baseline rest phase (that is, refueling while still jogging?). Along a similar vein (no pun intended) how about training versus muscle growth? Or has it already been established that one's body has a set number of muscles fibres and you don't really grow new ones through exercise, you can only train the ones you have (genetics)?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2437384678099080370.post-35542487724629909032009-02-08T18:33:00.000-07:002009-02-08T18:33:00.000-07:00Yes, certainly that's more or less the essence. "J...Yes, certainly that's more or less the essence. "Jogging" is all about Type I muscle fibre use - and those guys have lots of endurance because the are really good at burning fat <I>and</I> glycogen for fuel. The real key to keep going for a long time at a low effort level is simply to keep yourself fueled with incoming glycogen - thing about carbohydrate drinks and gels for that (your body converts those to glycogen for ultimate use by your muscles). Your basic stored fat levels really take care of most energy needs, with the incoming carbohydrate simply "topping things up."<BR/><BR/>"Sprinting" requires the use of Type II fibres, and those guys aren't so good at using fat - in fact the Type IIb fibres really can only use glycogen. The IIa's can use fat (besides their preferred glycogen), but must be trained to do so. Get those guys working when you haven't much glycogen left available, and they start to adapt to using fat.<BR/><BR/>Incidentally, while raising your effort level to use the Type IIa fibres, the Type I's don't turn off, but continue to be fully utilized. So every workout effort is always training those Type I's. You need sprint intervals of some form to work on the Type II fibres, and that's the only way you'll ever train to go appreciably faster.<BR/><BR/>Your "baseline" effort will ultimately increase because you are now trained to go faster using all of your Type I muscle fibres <I>as well as</I> the increased power available from your Type IIa fibres. <BR/><BR/>The Type IIb fibres only come into play during absolute all-out efforts. Be careful with them, because once the stored glycogen is gone, the IIb's are done until you've recovered.Coach Kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12424333753858820944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2437384678099080370.post-58917321783003002112009-02-08T08:09:00.000-07:002009-02-08T08:09:00.000-07:00Interesting indeed. Would you say that the "backgr...Interesting indeed. Would you say that the "background" effort is the baseline "jogging" and the "dropping the hammer" parts are the sprints? Then to improve performance, you add more frequent and longer duration sprints? At the same time, raising the baseline rate?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2437384678099080370.post-56939677763493253472009-01-30T07:44:00.000-07:002009-01-30T07:44:00.000-07:00Thanks for this informative post! As a cyclist, I ...Thanks for this informative post! As a cyclist, I found this really helpful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com