Strength | Stronger Cyclist

compact cranks can make you weak

posted on August 23rd, 2011 in Cycling, Cycling Tips, Reviews, Strength Training by Stephen

We have several conversations with clients about compact cranks that tend to come on new bikes.

Recently we had a strong client at the studio that was loosing a block of time in the bike portion of this Triathlon. After looking at his VO2 max and wattage numbers in spin class, we asked him to bring in his bike, sure enough he was on compact cranks – he was actually spun out during his race! Granted this won’t happen to everyone, but this is a case where to race to his potential compact cranks were holding him back!

There are good reasons for compact cranks, and there is debate for why people should or should not ride them.

The PROBLEM with compact cranks is that too many people use them for too long and then end up relying on the ‘bail-out’ gears more and more on the same hills until they slowly loose strength since they no longer challenge the leg muscles, but rather transfer the workout to the lungs via spinning.

Train your weakness and Race your Strengths! However, the problem with compact cranks is that you ‘CAN’ end up training yourself into muscle weakness. As a racing buddy Kent Bostick used to say, if you don’t race the small chainring, why train in it? This from a guy that at 45, was an alternate for the US cycling Olympic team in 1996.

If you were doing a workout to get stronger, would you add more resistance or would you just do the reps faster – and then expect to be stronger?

During the Spring, I would do my climbing on a grade that did not allow me to spin easily. I would have to mash the cranks to get to the top of this climb, I did this because I know it would make me stronger! It was training. Mashing is something that I avoid during a race or big ride, but when I would start the season, I would make myself mash some hills! Mash now, so You can spin a bigger gear when it counts!

If your training is periodized as it should be, there is time to gain strength & a time to gain speed.

This blog post is not a new one for this site, I wrote about this previously here

PEP BootCamp

posted on August 1st, 2011 in Cycling, Cycling Tips, Reviews, Strength Training by Stephen

Want to get stronger, faster, and leaner this year?

Then you need Preparation for Endurance and Performance (PEP)

PEP Bootcamp is a fitness program that includes top notch fitness instructions, nutritional coaching and motivational training all designed to get you in the best shape of your life in the shortest, safest possible time regardless of your current fitness level.

PEP is a workout that:
• will develop CORE strength

• be able to recruit more muscle fibers

• is based on intervals rather than reps or weight

• teaches your body create more power

• teaches your Heart Rate to quickly drop between intervals = faster recovery!

• prevents over-use injuries through variation of exercises

• creates stability of all muscles and joints

• increases functional strength that applies to sports

• improve flexibility with advanced foam roller techniques

PEP is a workout that will challenge every muscle in your body and get
you ready for the upcoming race season!

PEP is an endurance workout that affects the whole body with continually challenging exercises.

This promotes a greater release of growth hormone and increased levels of lactic acid
production, which will enhance the body’s ability to remove this waste product when
competition arrives.

Don’t let the next 6 months be the same as the last 6 months. Do something about it.

You CAN do this. The Unstoppable Fitness Formula can work for you. All you have to do it let me “prove it ” to you over the next month

if you sign up right now, I am dropping the price by $50 – this week only.

Classes are: Tuesday/Thursday 7:15am-8 and @9:00am-9:45.
Where: Athletic Training Services – 3872 Roswell Rd. – Suite A-9 – Atlanta, GA 30342
-about a mile from Chastain park

P.S. 30 days from now you’ll either be a month older and possibly a few pounds heavier, or, you can be a 5-10 pounds lighter and 30 days closer to your fitness goal. You decide which on you would rather be one month from now. Make sure you make the right choice

call for a PEP Introductory session

FOR MORE INFORMATION, email STEPHEN using the Contact page

How to decipher Body Signals

posted on June 28th, 2011 in Cycling, Cycling Tips, Ride Reports, Strength Training by Stephen

Tip: Listen to your body, pay attention to the signs/signals. Sometimes these signals come from different places.

The other day, I cycled out to meet up with the in-town Atlanta Tuesday night hammer group. As I was riding over, each hill seemed taller and steeper than necessary. I was looking for more gears than the bike has available…. and I started to realiz this was not going to be a hammer night for me. Maybe I’m just not warmed up yet – it has happened before – I feel rough for 10-20 miles, then suddenly the muscles warm-up and are ready to go to work.

As I rode up another climb, I attempted to shift to an easier gear – I was in the easiest…. I peeked at the Heart Rate (HR) monitor and sure enough I was about 15 beats lower for the effort that my body felt like it was at. This was a sign that my HR was not responding to the effort that my body was attempting to put out. Was my central nervous system suppressing the Heart? Or is it that the heart muscle was too fatigued to move the amount of blood that my body normally needs for this effort. Either way, it wasn’t there.

I spun easy for a few more miles and started up another rolling hill – still my HR was reaching the normal numbers, and my legs were grumpy about the strain I was putting them through. So, instead of meeting up with the group, I made the turn to go along the same route ahead of them, and spin much easier.

Your body sends you signals about what is going on, it is your brains job to interpret what those signals mean. For me, I did trail work on Saturday, I did a 5 hour ride on Sunday, Monday was off. My HR wasn’t getting to the upper range (zone 4) like it should have for the effort I was putting out.

The night before I happened to check my HR as I was ‘trying’ to fall asleep and it was about 5-7 beats high.

All of these added up means that I needed another day of rest, and since I was already on the bike, I did an easy, active recovery spin. There is no gain in stressing your body when what it needs to get stronger is recovery.

When you pay attention to the signals that your body is giving you, it becomes much easier to put them together to realize what they all mean.