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OTHER CYCLING : Coaching Advice : Paddy Doran Last Updated: 19 Jul 2021 - 7:26:24 PM

JANUARY AND FEBRUARY - GETTING IN THE MILES
By PADDY DORAN
30 Dec 2004,

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THE FOUNDATIONS FOR SUCCESS IN 2005
JANUARY AND FEBRUARY - GETTING IN THE MILES
FOR 2ND AND 3RD CATS, AND JUNIOR RIDERS (MALE AND FEMALE)

JAN-FEB; If you have followed the advice in my previous article 'Foundations for success in 2005 November - December' you will now be in good physical shape. You should now be ready to move on to more specific training to increase your specific fitness and training base for the 2005 competition season.

Training usually becomes more specific at this time. Saturday and Sunday club training groups are organized, with a gradual increase in the distance of training sessions (getting in the miles)

The majority of this training is carried out on low to medium sized gears (90 - 100 rpm) The training should be mainly carried out at comfortable speeds on flat to undulating roads. To receive maximum training benefits the group must be disciplined with no big battles on the road. The place to prove your ability is in the races.

Getting in the miles with a good well disciplined group. The Ravens cycling club, preparing for the 2004 season


Note how they are well wrapped up in warm clothing and all have drinks on the bikes to keep the muscles fuelled throughout the session. They are also cycling at a comfortable speed.

HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF TRAINING BY?

The maximum increase in the amount of training should be ten percent in any week. If you are leading a sporting lifestyle your body will adapt to these increases. Higher increases than ten percent increases the risk of over training

The ten per cent rule also gives you an opportunity to plan your training according to your current fitness.
EG if you are only capable of doing two hours now there is not much point in doing four hours with your local group. It is much more sensible and beneficial in cases like this to gradually increase the amount of training over a longer period using the ten percent rule.

If you have followed the November and December programme you can aim to have your longest sessions about the middle to end of February. If you are only beginning to train now and have had a long lay off from training you will need to have a longer build up.

MAXIMUM DURATION:

This depends on what your aims are; some riders that I train (professionals - elites) do as much as seven hours for their long sessions. However it has taken them a number of years of very intelligent, progressive disciplined training to reach these levels.

Four hours should be a reasonable target for most riders who wish to participate in a domestic racing season.

INCREASING THE GEARS AND INTENSITY:

Even though the long steady miles is the basis of all the cycling disciplines and will take up the majority of training time for endurance riders, as fitness improves some fast efforts on higher gears, will be progressively included during the training spins. These efforts will progress from long efforts (10 - 30 minutes) at 75 to 90 % heart rate to shorter sprint type efforts in the last few weeks before your first race.

Also some hillier routes will be used (to improve strength endurance) for a small percentage of the training during this period.

Other training activities will be continued midweek until the evenings become bright enough to go out cycling. The main emphasis is on specific training. Gradually reduce the amount of general training as the brighter evenings and weather allow.

WARNING:

You need a reasonable conditioning period before you introduce the more intensive sessions. In other words if you have not trained since the end of last season and are only getting back on your bike now you need at least two months of steady training to prepare your body for more intensive efforts.

WEEKEND TRAINING SESSIONS:

For the amateur rider the weekend is where the bulk of the training hours occur. So it is very important to get the right balance on this. Try to get your longest spin in on Saturday in case that you are unable to get out on Sunday because of weather conditions. You can then do some alternative training on Sunday if unable to get out on the road.

CONTROL THE TRAINING INTENSITY:

Control of the training load is very important if you are to gain full benefit of the training.
Sometimes these sessions are a big burn up rather than a proper endurance training session, riders are scattered all over the countryside and come home shattered. While the training should not be too easy, the burn up is probably the worst scenario and does not produce good bike rider.

PLANNING THE INDIVIDUAL TRAINING SESSION:

Pre - training preparation.Prepare for all training sessions the same way as you would (or should) for a race

- Get adequate sleep and rest
- Have optimal nutrition before - during and after training
- Keep your bicycle equipment in good condition
- Have some goals for each session (you should know exactly what you wish to achieve for each session
- Warm up and Cool down at the start and finish of each session

ADAPTATION TO TRAINING:

If your training is correct, many changes will take place in the body as it adapts to the demands of training. For example:

- The heart gets bigger, stronger
- Blood volume increases
- Muscles get stronger
- Energy stores within the muscle increase
- Neuromuscular efficiency increases

SO HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE GETTING FITTER?

If your training is correct in terms of health profile, amount, intensity, training principles, rest nutrition etc. You should

- Feel good,
- Be enthusiastic about training
- Be stronger,
- Cycle further
- Faster
- Recover quickly from sessions / races
- Sleep well,
- Have a good appetite
- Resting heart rate lower
- Training heart rates targets are easy to achieve.

TRAINING DIARY:

A training diary will help you monitor how you are responding to training, and can help you to identify what works best for you and also pick up problems before they become chronic.

TRAINING TIPS FOR THE PREPARATION PERIOD:

- Get advice and a written personal programme from an experienced coach before starting out on a training plan.
- Try to keep a balance in your life, sport, work, family life, relaxation, rest, etc
- Train with a reliable, disciplined group.
- Progressively increase the distance and gears as fitness improves.

One rule I try to get riders to follow during this period is that they NEVER arrive home exhausted from training sessions. You would expect to be tired but you should be fairly well recovered within a few hours or by next day, if not you are more than likely training too hard.

- Be patient, let your form come to you slowly it will last longer then, do not force things.
- Go to bed for an hour or two after your long spins Saturday and Sunday
- If the weather is extremely cold or the roads are icy , shorten or cancel the road sessions, supplement with home trainer, gym jogging etc or it may be possible to participate in some cyclo cross or mountain bike training.
- Give full commitment to each training session.

SIMPLE RULES TO FOLLOW:

Training sessions and recovery should have a rhythm according to your current state of fitness, lifestyle, time available for training and recovery.

For example if you are a beginner you might begin by training one day and resting / recovering the following day. Over a period of months or years this might progress to two to or three days training where training loads are high with one or two days recovery.

RECOVERY WEEKS:

Have a recovery week following every 2 /4 weeks training depending on how difficult the training and your job, lifestyle etc is at different times. A 30 - 40% reduction in training volume and intensity will allow the body to absorb and overcompensate following the previous weeks training.

SOME EXAMPLE GRAPHS ARE SHOWN BELOW:

NOTE: The graphs are only one example of how you might approach training they are not definitive ways of doing things. This will vary for individuals according to work or study demands

GRAPH A - This shows an example of how the training loads are progressively increased over a number of weeks for an athlete who works or studies. Full time athletes will obviously train for more hours per week (Up to thirty hours for mature International elite athletes)


You might be surprised at only five training days per week in the weekly training graph, however in my experience four or five days of focused training for an athlete who is working or studying will produce better results than six or seven days where the athlete has not enough recovery and is training tired a lot of the time.


GRAPH B - This is an example of how you might plan your weekly training. Showing how intensity varies from session to session


SPECIFIC ISSUES FOR FEMALE RIDERS AND JUNIORS

---- FEMALES ----

MOVING BEYOND STEREOTYPES:

There were and still are stereotypes of women and sport such as, women are weaker than men. Women should not train hard.

Research has disproved most of this. The facts are that pound for pound (of lean body mass) women are equally as strong as men and can make the same adaptations to training from strength and endurance.

While women are well suited to difficult endurance sports there are a few areas that they must take care of.



RISK OF LOW IRON LEVELS:

Some women are more at risk from low iron levels and this can seriously impair your ability to train and compete.
Women should have blood tests to determine their haemoglobin (carries oxygen to the muscles) and iron (produces haemoglobin) status and also have well balanced nutritional habits which includes portions of red meat (the best source of iron) a number of times per week to maintain iron levels.

You should also take fortified breakfast cereals, which is another good source of iron as well as giving you good carbohydrate for fuelling the muscles. If you take fruit juice with the cereal the vitamin c will help with the uptake of iron.

Iron supplements should only be taken under medical supervision

OSTEOPOROSIS:

Women are at more at risk of osteoporosis (a decrease in bone mineral content), which can manifest it in later life as women age, in fractures. A sporting, healthy lifestyle can reduce the incidence of Osteoporosis in later life for women.

Exercise and Calcium intake is very important to maintain bone status. Calcium is stored in the bones up to about 30 - 35 years of age and after that gradually declines so it is extremely important to ensure that you get adequate calcium in your diet in the years prior to 30 - 35 yrs of age when there is a good uptake from the bones.

Calcium intake can be a problem as there are quite a few myths out there about milk and dairy products not being good for athletes. This is usually rubbish. Dairy products are an essential part of the diet and are loaded with very important nutrients.

You may also need to ensure that you get some weight bearing exercise as well as cycling to stimulate bone growth.

---- JUNIORS (male and female) ----

Strength training needs to be very progressive and according to your fitness levels, junior riders or younger must be very careful with strength training. Their bones and tendon attachment points especially are not fully formed and can be injured by very high loading.

Juniors should not do very high load, low cadence specific strength training sessions on the bike. A more moderate version of this training is acceptable and will be beneficial to juniors.

Learning good pedaling technique and development of high cadence pedaling is more important at the junior age.

Select your training groups very well.

Work with a knowledgeable coach or mentor.



Paddy Doran
Latest Headlines
Paddy Doran — R.I.P.
How to Recover and Get Major Benefits from the Ras
PEAKING FOR THE EASTER STAGE RACES
SAFE RACING
Deliberate Practice The Flanagan Brothers s Super Session

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