Monday: Off
Tuesday: 20min warmup, 2x20min (5min rest in between) @ ~FTP, 10min cooldown
Wednesday: Weights
Thursday: 1:00h Indoor Z2 ride
Friday: Off
Saturday: Pilates lesson
Sunday: Off

Total Bikescore/TSS: 115

Total Training Time: 2:15h bike+1:15h Weights+1:00h Pilates

Weekly Summary

After 6 weeks of hard training, it was time for some well earned rest and the perfect opportunity to hang the bike for he weekend and enjoy the beautiful life outside of a frame with two wheels. Even though it was a free weekend, I took a surprise Pilates lesson and it was one of those ‘wow moments’

So what did I do last week(end)…

Pilates for Cycling

Some very brief background on Pilates. It bears the name after its creator Joseph Pilates. It’s a physical fitness system focusing on six fundamental principles: concentration, control, center, flow, precision, and breathing. When you put the six of them together, it means performing the motions in a very controlled manner with full awareness AND control of what each muscle involved in the motion is doing, without extra wasted energy – the way mother nature designed us to move. Joseph Pilates has published 3 books quite some time ago (1930s…). All are just about 50 pages so I am looking to finding a copy and reading them. I will post what I find on the pages of this blog. Not wasting energy and being efficient is never a bad thing for any sport, cycling included!

So even after just a single 1h lesson I discovered:

• My right gluteus maximus (butt muscle) is lazier (weaker) than my left one, very noticeably so. It’s not a strength thing, it’s an awareness of my brain to send signals to get it to work 100%. I unclip my right foot at traffic lights and I ALWAYS start on my left leg after coasting etc. Now I had an explanation of why. Even as I am writing this summary, I am quite aware of my right butt cheek being ‘asleep.’ This might be relevant due to the fact I am thinking switching to the Stages powermeter (which measures and doubles the power you produce with your left leg to get the total value).
• My leg alignment and such was pretty ok, further confirming that the Body Geometry Fit I had some time ago was well worth it. Now I am even more reluctant to change shoe brand manufacturer; though that could be a good thing so I would save money from buying new cycling shoes=)
• The core strength/stability I have been working on has certainly helped quite a bit. Incorporating the 6 principles of Pilates would take the exercises to the next level.

As a conclusion in the words of the Mike Spracklen:

You can always get better

The Dream is Alive!

Image: Source

You can find explanations of the terms here together with explanations of the Training Zones.

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The post Weekly Summary February 10 – February 16, 2014: Pilates or Things I Did Over The Weekend appeared first on The Tall Cyclist.

Monday: Off
Tuesday: 20min warmup, 2x20min (5min rest in between) @ ~FTP, 10min cooldown
Wednesday: Weights
Thursday: 1:00h Indoor Z2 ride
Friday: 1:00h Indoor Z2 ride
Saturday: 20min warmup, 2x20min (5min rest in between) @ ~FTP, 10min cooldown
Sunday: 2:00h Indoor Z2 ride

Total Bikescore/TSS: 310

Total Training Time: 6:30h bike+1:15h Weights

Weekly Summary

Plateau?

Whether it has been the heavy weights with lower reps or some accumulated fatigue, or unexpectedly losing some weight, I seem to have gotten into a plateau as far as improvement.  My power doesn’t seem to go up…or…down.

But…

Moments like that are normal, yes they are and it is important to stay motivated. One more week of this training block and I am going to change things a bit, for one I am going to start riding my TT bike little by little. One more week and then,  I am going to take a weekend away from cycling and afterwards do an FTP Estimation Test to see where my condition has gone and get out of the plateau. One more week…!

Rush

Everyone’s Driven by Something

It has been a while since I watched something with this much suspense.  A documentary of one of the greatest rivalries on the Formula 1 race track – the 1976 Grand Prix season – Niki Lauda vs James Hunt or in short the movie Rush. In a sport with no margin for error, how fast are you willing to go? How much are you willing to risk? Truly captivating plot, played by a great cast and no need for embellishment – just a true story.

One of the many lines that stuck with me form the movie

And then one day, the doctor came and said, ‘Mr. Lauda, may I offer a piece of advice? Stop thinking of it as a curse to have been given an enemy in life. It can be a blessing, too. A wise man gets more from his enemies than a fool from his friends.’ And you know what? He was right. Look at us. We were both a pair of kids when we met. Hot-headed jerks in Formula 3. Disowned by our families. Headed nowhere. And now, we’re both champions of the world. It was not bad, huh?

We are all in the same game; just different levels. Dealing with the same  hell; just different devils.

Rush – highly recommended for watching on and off the trainer.

The Dream is Alive!

Image: Source (All images are copyrighted to their respective owners)

You can find explanations of the terms here together with explanations of the Training Zones.

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The post Weekly Summary February 3 – February 9, 2014: Feel the Rush! appeared first on The Tall Cyclist.

Monday: Off
Tuesday: 20min warmup, 2x20min (5min rest in between) @ ~FTP, 10min cooldown
Wednesday: Weights
Thursday: 1:15h Indoor Z2 ride
Friday: 1:00h Indoor Z2 ride
Saturday: 20min warmup, 2x20min (5min rest in between) @ ~FTP, 10min cooldown
Sunday: 2:00h Indoor Z2 ride

Total Bikescore/TSS: 320

Total Training Time: 6:45h bike+1:15h Weights

Weekly Summary

First Signs of Fatigue

It was bound to happen one day and the first signs of fatigue for the 2014 season are a fact. After a week of quite amazing workouts, on Saturday I couldn’t hold the power on the second 20min interval. Quitting is never an option so I just dropped the pace by 15-20W and finished.

A bad workout is the one that didn’t happen!

It is never a single factor, however, I suspect my upset stomach after eating something not so easily digestible on Friday, certainly played a role. In addition I have lost some weight and I am in the 86ish kg (189lbs) range which is lower than my 86-87kg (192lbs) racing weight from last season. (I weigh myself every 2-3days for signs of over/undereating etc.). Therefore, it is a good wake up call to pay more attention to my body. Overtraining is a cruel mistress that shows up when your body spends more time in catabolic rather than anabolic state; in simple terms your body eats itself since it doesn’t have enough time/nutrients to rebuild from the training stress.  I must eat more and certainly I must include more protein in my diet. So yes I have a goal to gain at least 1kg (2.2lbs) back.

I am repeating myself that it is not a matter of simply not eating enough, however, the cold weather makes the body burn up more energy to stay warm which is a massive calorie drain. Winter is NOT the time to be losing weight and it is asking for some health problems when cold and flu germs are flying left and right.

The Dream is Alive!

Image: Cadel Evan Tired after Stage 12 of the 2011 Tour de France (Source)

You can find explanations of the terms here together with explanations of the Training Zones.

A drop of support means an ocean of gratitude.

If you find motivation and value in the content of TheTallCyclist, consider making a donation.

 

The post Weekly Summary January 27 – February 2, 2014: First Signs of Fatigue appeared first on The Tall Cyclist.

Monday: Off
Tuesday: 20min warmup, 2x20min (5min rest in between) @ ~FTP, 10min cooldown
Wednesday: Weights
Thursday:  1:15h Indoor Z2 ride
Friday: 0:45h Indoor Z2 ride
Saturday: 20min warmup, 2x20min (5min rest in between) @ ~FTP, 10min cooldown
Sunday:  2:00h Indoor Z2 ride

Total Bikescore/TSS: 310

Total Training Time: 6:30h bike+1:15h Weights

Weekly Summary

Featured Again

I was happy to see that all of a sudden my site traffic jump. It was coming from no other place, but my home country – Bulgaria. One of the active members of the local cycling forums (koloezdene.com) really liked the blog and posted a link to it in the racing section. It created quite some buzz and I got some nice emails. I am glad the content and my travels in the world of cycling are providing value for others=)

Let it Snow, Let it Snow

The long awaited winter is finally here! Yes you read that right, I am happy that it is 10 below freezing, snowy, icy and absolutely not suitable for training outdoors! In a way I had gotten myself mentally ready to spend months until mid-March on the trainer. The unusual for the season mild weather, has made it difficult for me to get motivated for spending yet another training ‘going nowhere’ on the trainer. Yet it was cold enough for black ice to form on some roads, making it too dangerous to risk falling and breaking something (bike or myself). I can honestly say by the time the weekend rolled around and the sun was up in the cloudless sky, I really wanted to be out on the open road, rather than in front of my computer watching another movie/series.

Speaking of which….

Breaking Bad

You have probably heard some of your friends mention it, and/or occasional reference to the series titled: Breaking Bad. After quite some people around me saying it was the ‘latest and greatest’ thing, I caved in and got the first season. Well it wasn’t the latest (the series started in 2008), however, although I am not going to call it the greatest, it is certainly unique.

How often do you get a story of a high-school chemistry professor, with a wife and family, teaming up with the local dealers to cook some of the purest methamphetamine? I am not going to comment on the ethical/moral values of the series, however, Breaking Bad fits all of my criteria for ‘something to watch while on the indoor trainer.’ – the plot is engaging enough with enough suspense without too many dramatic scenes causing ups and downs and the episode length is logn enough that I watch one episode and a good part of a second one

That brings me to…

What to Look For in a Movie/Series for Better Indoor Training

Boredom and monotony is what throws a great number (almost all) of people from training indoors. Finding a suitable distraction can and will make it a more pleasant experience. Watching a movie is one of the best distractions and I have found a couple of things that consistently work and make time pass much much quicker.

Subtitles

Whether it is a movie in a language you are not fluent in or something in your native tongue – subtitles do 2 things.

• One: they make you focus on something in front of you (crucial when riding rollers)and your mind is occupied with something ELSE other than the fact you are not going anywhere, yet pedalling quite hard
• Two:  if you happen to have a noisier trainer (any magnetic trainer…), you don’t have to blast the volume on top of the whirring/buzzing sound you are inevitable making while spinning indoors. Your significant other, neighbours, children will thank you. For some reason reading subtitles are less mentally taxing than listening to a turned up TV….

Plot

There are as many preferences on genre and plot as there are people in the world, therefore I am not going to advise on how to ‘pick your poison.’ However, some general tips.

Avoid stories with a lot of time warping – slowing down, stopping, speeding of time. The Matrix is a popular example where time is in a way changed and a scene that seems to take 10minutes is actually 2-3min long, you don’t want the illusion you are spending less time while you are not. It gets demoralizing very quick. Ask me how I know…

Very disturbing/surreal/engaging plots (The Vengeance Trilogy and Jagten (The Hunt) are a couple that come to mind right away) might get to the point you are so fed up, so annoyed, so angered by the story/characters that you have to get off the bike and stop the movie. Unfortunately it doesn’t end there and your training afterwards is also a bit ruined.

Length

Imagine watching a very engaging movie that lasts for 1:40h while you have to do a 1:30h workout. Coincidentally while you are the most tired you are the most motivated to see if the character is going to make it.

With series it is a bit more complicated since they range from 20 to 50min per episode.

For a typical workout of ~1:00-1:30h that means

• 3-5x20min episodes (Friends, Seinfeld, etc.)
• 1-2x50min episodes (Breaking Bad, CSI, X-files etc.)

Why is it important?

For the most part each episode is self-contained so it seems as if you are starting and stopping a couple of times, the equivalent of your training startign and stopping. In addition watching end credits is not a lot of fun. The shorter series like Friends and Seinfeld are usually 20ish episodes long per season; during a typical trainer workout you can get though nearly a quarter of a season which in some cases is a lot of stuff happening and in my opinion just too much to take all at once sometimes.

I prefer my workout to finish while in the middle of an episode so it gives me an excuse to do a 5-10min cool-down, rather than immediately going to the shower with my heart rate still high.

Hence as I noted above, series like Breaking Bad are perfect for making the hours tick while on the trainer.

Music

Music is another option for getting through an indoor workout. My music taste is very mood dependent, so it is too variable to have something lined up that would give me enough motivation for more than an hour. The big positive though with music I can use an iPhone/headphones and cut out what is around me.

The Dream is Alive!

You can find explanations of the terms here together with explanations of the Training Zones.

A drop of support means an ocean of gratitude.

If you find motivation and value in the content of TheTallCyclist, consider making a donation.

 

The post Weekly Summary January 20 – January 26, 2014: Let it Snow! appeared first on The Tall Cyclist.

Monday: Off
Tuesday: 20min warmup, 2x20min (5min rest in between) @ ~FTP, 10min cooldown
Wednesday: Weights
Thursday:  1:00h Indoor Z2 ride
Friday: Off
Saturday: 20min warmup, 2x20min (5min rest in between) @ ~FTP, 10min cooldown
Sunday:  2:00h Indoor Z2 ride

Total Bikescore/TSS: 260

Total Training Time: 5:30h bike+1:15h Weights

Weekly Summary

Steel is Real – The Chris King Stainless Steel Driveshell

Almost 3 years of riding in the rain, snow, salt and dust, my Chris King classic hubs have seen 2 pairs of rims, lots of kilometers, and they haven’t skipped a beat.Unfortunately, one thing that has bothered me for a while was  that my Shimano 10 speed cassettes have started digging in the aluminum freehub body.

From a slight wiggling needed to convince the cogs to come off, it has gotten to the point where I couldn’t remove the gear cluster without some serious leverage, hammering and scraped fingers. Chris King offers a stainless steel driveshell as a standard upgrade for heavy load applications – tandem riding, mountain bike trials etc. It costs extra and adds 50grams as compared to the already ridiculously light aluminum version. The stainless steel driveshell is also recommended when you would use cassettes with separate cogs – i.e Shimano Tiagra and other cheaper alternatives which are perfect for training. Even with gear clusters (Shimano Dura Ace, Ultegra, 105) where the large cogs are together on a carrier, you still get notching in the gears which are not together (see picture), therefore the steel freehub body is quite a sensible upgrade for worry free cassette changing.

Back to my case…I am larger than average person (86-95kg/189-210lbs) and while not weak, I can only dream of being able to put out the power of a tandem team, hence why I never considered the aluminum freehub body to be something I would have to replace. In addition in order to transfer my bearings in a new empty driveshell I would need the special Chris King Hub Tool, or buy new bearings already installed – both options are not cheap – high quality comes at a price. So what to do?

One of the reasons I chose Chris King above any other manufacturer was the outstanding customer service; just like many others before me I was more than happy I picked them!

I got in touch with Chris King using the online contact form and after sending in some pictures of my rear hub, I got an email saying that I would be getting a new driveshell. Although aluminum freehub bodies are considered a ‘wear item’ (and not covered by warranty) since they have to withstand the wear from much harder steel components, Chris King sent me a brand new stainless steel driveshell with bearings already installed!

All I needed was 2x5mm allen wrenches to take out my old driveshell and install my new one. I guess because it was so easy together with the fact that my cassette didn’t explode off my rear wheel as I was expecting (I really was!) right before the Tour of Bulgaria and the months afterwards, the stainless steel driveshell just stood in my parts bin until last weekend. After letting the chain on my trainer bike get so worn and stretched and a rear shifter cable unravel almost irreparably inside the shifter,  I guess it reeeeeaaaaally was time to do some maintenance checks on my equipment. Ten-ish minutes later (most of which were me marveling at the precision Chris King component rather than doing any work) and 50grams heavier, my wheelset just got another point in bomproofness.

Thank you Chris King for the amazing customer service!

Pain is Real and The Matrix

Doing two weekly sessions of 2x20min FTP intervals is new to me so it was going to be a challenge for sure. With that in mind even though I have just added Friday as a training day, I wanted to be fresh for Saturday’s intervals. Interval 1 – no problem, Interval 2…boy did it hurt…15min in and it was all willpower and no cycling power. I suspect it was the pumpkin soup with toast I had for dinner the day before, it just didn’t have all the stuff which a regular solid dinner contains….lesson learned.

Also if you ever considered watching The Matrix and sequels while on the trainer, I will strongly advise against it. While the fight scenes and the plot are quite inspirational and taking your mind away from the monotonous indoor workout, they create an illusion that time passes quickly…

Well it doesn’t….

What seemed like a 10min fight scene was only 1-2minutes in my non-Mattrix dimension. The whole movie is one crazy special effects scene after another and after 10 of them, the workout clock had barely moved past the 10minute mark. This was very VERY demoralizing. Oh well…more movies to choose, now that I have heard that emperatures will plummet into crazy cold after Wednesday.

The Dream is Alive!

You can find explanations of the terms here together with explanations of the Training Zones.

A drop of support means an ocean of gratitude.

If you find motivation and value in the content of TheTallCyclist, consider making a donation.

 

The post Weekly Summary January 13 – January 19, 2014: Steel is Real appeared first on The Tall Cyclist.

Total Bikescore/TSS: 243

Total Training Time: 5:35h bike+1:00h Weights

Weekly Summary

2x20min vs 1x40min FTP Interval

Doing long sub FTP/threshold workouts has been a staple in my weekly training routines. It has done me wonders for 2 seasons. Physiologically doing intervals at or close to FTP does wonders as far as developing capillaries and other nice changes with your cardiovascular system to feed your muscles with oxygenated blood and such; of course I am oversimplifying, however, once i get started on physiology it’s difficult to stop=)

In addition getting used to pushing hard for extended periods of time, really helped me with doing TTs; 40-45min is a looong time if you start out too hard, so with some trial and error I started to figure it out. The one drawback is that such long intervals for week after week and season after season seem to have gotten into the “Do I have to do this AGAIN” category. So what to do?

While searching for some training tips for the track pursuit, I came across a presentation of training guru – Andrew Coggan (Track Applications of a Powermeter, Google it). In short even track pursuiters get most of their training on the road in the first part of season. He suggests twice weekly sessions of 2x20min @ ~FTP together with long Z2 rides in order to build a solid endurance base in the first parts of season. The idea is not very much different than what I have been doing up to now. What I really like is that 20min pass much quicker and since it is a shorter duration the average power is higher. More power, more training stress, more improvement. Also doing such workouts 2 times a week would definitely be a nice challenge. I am starting with just one 2x20min session for the first 2-3 weeks and see where it takes me. I like to keep things interesting.=).

P.S. I did only a 15min warmup for the 2x20min workout, which didn’t feel enough so from now on I will be back to the tried and tested 20min warmup.

Bring on the Big Weights!

Muscle Memory continues to amaze me. After the 4 introductory weeks of Weight training and 1 recovery week, my body was able to push on big weights with good form. I have to dig out my training logs from last season, however, I am pretty sure  am close to what I was able to do back than; and I am just starting with this 6 week training cycle! Another positive is that I was only slightly sore for just 2 days afterwards. Now is the time everybody is waiting, lower repetitions and heavy heavy stuff around. Bring it on!

Training Every Day

I have gotten the most I could with 5 training days a week. I am not going to lie, it was nice to be almost fully recovered for each training session. It started by  taking the Friday off in order to get prepared for some big outdoor weekend rides outside. I kept it as another day off and my progress has been extremely good. Now it is time for the next level…

Avoiding the possibility of getting extremely bored with long rides on the trainer, adding one more training is a logical step. From now on, I will only have Monday (THE official cyclist’day off) as my recovery day.

Welcome to Rob McCarty

Couple of weeks ago I mentioned I would be adding a Track Cycling section on the blog (The Track Corner)  following my exploits with one gear, no brakes and steeply banked riding surfaces. I got an email from a fellow cyclist in Canada – Rob McCarty. Just like me, he is a big guy and while riding primarily on the road he does quite some track cycling during the winter. He has quite some first hand experience which a lot of you, myself included, are probably wondering: what kind of bike, what gears, riding etiquette at the velodrome, and probably much much more. He has offered to write articles as a guest writer for – The Track Corner, so stay tuned for some great info on (starting) to ride on the velodrome. His first article – “Anatomy of a Track Bike” is coming shortly!

The Dream is Alive! Picture: Source

You can find explanations of the terms here together with explanations of the Training Zones.

A drop of support means an ocean of gratitude.

If you find motivation and value in the content of TheTallCyclist, consider making a donation.

 

The post Weekly Summary January 6 – January 12, 2014: Bring on the Big Weights and Welcome to a Guest Writer appeared first on The Tall Cyclist.