Training | Stronger Cyclist

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.

Mountain training

posted on March 27th, 2011 in Cycling, Cycling Tips, Ride Reports, Strength Training by Stephen

So after I got the results from my VO2 Max test, Tony & I went over what the prescription to increase those numbers would be. I’m not a fan of Time-Trialing. But I am a fan of being a Strong cyclist. So, to get the training started I went to the North Georgia mountains and did a ride known as the gaps – well, a variation of the gaps. Climbing the mountains will allow me to get my Heart Rate in my zone for the prescribed period of time and allow my legs to increase strength by climbing these mountains!

I drove up and parked at the Turner’s Corner store and headed up Neels Gap – aka Blood Mt. I haven’t ridden my bike in the gaps for at least a year now & it showed on the first ‘warm-up’ climb. I seemed to be in my largest cog almost as soon as the climb started. There is no cheating the Mountain, The mountain can make a bad day worse.

I was hoping that after the warm-up/re-introduction to climbing that my legs would loosen up and feel good for the 1st actual climb – Nope… wrong again. I basically played mental games against my body, for about half of the climb up the mountain – brain saying we have to keep doing, keep pedaling, at least get to the top…. the body was on defense. Stop, hold it right here, I need a break.

I was suffering and I was hurting, and honestly your reading this blog and this test was part of what kept me going to the top. Each subtle relief in the terrain is a test – do I take a relief from the pain, or do I keep my heart rate at the prescribed intensity?!

I wanted a 12×25 cassette to make the climb more bearable – I usually always start my training season on that cassette then switch to a 11×23 later in the season as my legs no longer needing the 25. And my brain was angry for not finding it this morning, and the body was paying the penalty.

Out of the saddle through the hairpins, flop back down in the saddle on the straights. I keep my Heart Rate between 165 & 170 for the duration. The body is again in conflict, it is burning fuel & creating lactic acid & now must flush it out as fast or faster, as it is creating it. This is the prescribed workout.

Slowly I dragged myself upwards until I could see the sign for the AT (Appalachian trail) – only a 1/4 mile to go. I get to the top and soft pedal as I catch my breathe and check out the view.

I hydrate, and ingest some fuel as I debate going home or pushing on to climb another gap, taking me further from the car. I finally decide to attempt the next gap, Wolf-Pen. This is a climb that is always tough for me. For me it is a little deceiving. At first the switch backs seem to allow for some acceleration, but the next section feels a little steeper each time. The uphill sections keep my heart rate maxed out. Slowly I make my way to the top.

There is a section on this climb that always ‘seems’ like it should be easier than it is – but today, although it is tough, I am taking it steadily. Slowly crawling my way up. There isn’t much speed involved, but that is ok, I’m going purely off of Heart Rate today. 1 switch-back at a time.

If you watch old stages of the Tour De Georgia, about the only reason you know this is a climb is they are out of the saddle…. not me. I’m in anguish in these hills, however there is the other side of the coin today, the downhills will be my REWARD!
After reaching the top, and take a brief break, I turn around and descend what I just finished climbing.

Thanks to my buddy ‘HillBilly’ for the video:

Now, I still have 1 more climb to make it back to the car, back up Blood Mountain. On this climb, I am feeling better, the body is working more with me, but I also feel fatigued. I do what I can, and stay in my target HR range and make my way to the top.

Although I can feel the fatigued setting in, I am trying to keep up with the gel & hydration. The legs are responding fairly well, and this climb actually seemed easier than I had thought it would be. This is only the 2nd or 3rd time I had climbed it in this direction. It seems to kick hardest early on, then mainly level off more than the other climbs. With a little speed to keep the HR up, I can now kick little with each incline – then settle back into a decent pace.

View 3 Gap! 2011-03-23 1 in a larger map

After the final descent I do a little exploring on some roads that were fairly early in the ride. I always seem to be curious what is around the next bend.