Some sportsmen seem to have misconception about enhancing strength training because it might lead to increase of their body weight. A rise in body mass need not diminish cardiovascular performance. Practical experience shows that strength training increases aerobic capacity of the practitioner and strengthens the leg muscles for pedaling on the bicycle. The main advantages are developing bone mineral density, improving connectivity in muscle tissues, enhancing lactate threshold and preventing injuries due to over exertion.

A cyclist has to do the circular motion of his legs on the pedals for long distances and hours. Certain muscle groups are not properly toned to take the stress and they give way leading to injuries. The muscle imbalance results in the hip region and thighs due to the pedaling by the legs. This imbalance is corrected when the cyclist performs strength training, which concentrates on the hamstring muscle group. Thus a proper strength ratio and optimal joint stability are maintained. It is the bone in the body that is responsible for weight bearing activities.

MTB Training

Run Training

The cyclist should lie flat on his back with his knees bent and feet flat on the ground near the buttocks. By pressing the hands on the floor and contracting the pelvic muscles, the back is raised up to two inches above the floor and returned back to the original position for many number of times. In the raised position of the back, the alternate foot is raised few inches and lowered. This exercise is repeated 10 times with each foot. In the same raised position of the back, instead of raising the foot, it is straightened alternately in the same number of times. With one knee held near the chest, the other leg is stretched to the maximum and the exercise is repeated by interchanging the legs. The number of repetitions is tentative and depends on the individual’s endurance of pain.

This exercise is slightly difficult but has more advantages for the back muscles. The practitioner lies on his stomach with his arms stretched above his head. Here, he has to raise opposing arm and leg (left arm- right leg) for 5 seconds and lower them. He has to change position of the limbs. The next exercise will be to stand on the two hands and knees and repeat the earlier workout. Crunch exercises improve abdominal muscles. The cyclist has to lie on his back with his hands folded below his head. Tightening his abdominal muscles, he should raise his head and shoulders a few inches above the ground and slowly lower. This can be repeated as many times as possible by the participant. This exercise can be slightly varied to improvise the tone of the muscle groups.

Home Training

The sportsman can benefit from the following exercises classified under flexibility training. He must plan before starting these flexibility training exercises with the help of an instructor. He must collect the records of his previous injuries and the treatments including surgery. He must consult a specialist regarding the fitness condition of the operated portion of his body. He must be in knowledge of any part of his body showing signs of stiffness during the exercise. He must note down about any deformity in his body. He must ensure that his posture is correct by observing his image in the mirror from all sides.

Sitting on a stationary bicycle, he must observe his positions during various movements in cycling. He has to record certain positions which give him pain and discomfort.

The cyclist has to exert flexible movements to his spine like flexion, extension, bending and rotation and note the position where the spine lacks flexibility. For example, standing with legs apart and arms at ease on the sides, the participant should bend at right angles at the waist. Back to his normal position, he should lean back as far as possible and note the angle at which he feels impossible. He can bend on the right and the left side and observe if he has problems in doing this action.
The cyclist can hold his arms parallel to the ground while standing. He should lift them above his head and swing them behind him. He can swing his right arm from the parallel position to the ground to above his head and to his left across his body without bending. The same workout can be repeated with the other hand.
With the two hands parallel to the ground, the participant can bend one hand at the elbow and touch his back between his shoulders with the palm. He can try with other hand and repeat as many times as possible.

The leg and thigh muscles can be strengthened by raising alternate knee to the waist height. The participant can raise his leg by standing on the other in such a way for example: if he stands on his left, he can lift the right leg slowly to the right side balancing on the left and vice versa. After this exercise, he can rotate his hip in both the directions. A careful study of the above details reveals as to which part of the cyclist’s body is susceptible to injury and needs flexibility training.

Most of us lead a sedentary lifestyle, which contributes to heavy strain on our body. We do not want to do exercises regularly, until our health condition forces us to do so. However, it is equally dangerous to start heavy workouts suddenly without preparing our body. This is because, strenuous exercises cause more strain on our back and contribute to severe body pain. Hence, it is advisable to start any workout after doing some stretching exercises.

Quadriceps Stretch

Hamstring Stretch

Cycling requires you to keep your hamstrings in a shortened position constantly. The forward bent position over the handlebars leads to increase the tension in your hands, back and shoulders. If there are bumps on the road, you will feel the stress that shocks through your body. This makes your body more vulnerable to injuries. As you need to keep your head in upright position, your neck muscles may prone to severe strain. However, you can minimize the chance of injuries and body pain by stretching regularly.

Achilles & Calf Stretch

While stretching, you should remember that it must provide you ultimate relaxation. Stretching is not a mater of how fast or how far you can stretch. You should do stretching for preparing your body and mind. This helps to enhance your performance. You never feel muscle fatigue, if you set off for cycling after spending a few minutes in stretching. If you want to climb up the hill, you can select some other types of stretching exercises, which strengthen your leg muscles.

Stretching provides you number of advantages, which include relaxing your body before starting any high intense activity. It increases your endurance by increasing your pedal power. It helps to avoid injuries, as your body is well prepared. Stretched out muscles give you increased range of movement.

Lateral Stretch

There are various ways to measure the cycling performance but the two most common methods are laboratory and mechanical testing. There are lots of things that go on in professional cycling.

Graph

Without any interference of gas analyzing equipment with the cycling performance, Maximal oxygen Uptake(VO2max) can be determined easily in liters per minute from Wmax, using the regression equation proposed by Hawley and Noakes(1992)

VO2max=).01141*Wmax+).435

Blood Lactate can be obtained from blood samples (25 micro liters) taken from a hyperemized earlobe after each workload. Lactate measurements are done in these samples. When lactate concentrations are plotted against the exercise intensity, the graph of lactate curve is obtained. The LT is identified on each cyclist’s Blood Lactate concentration-power output plot as the exercise intensity that obtains a one mmol per liter increase in Blood Lactate concentration. The exercise intensity that corresponds to the OBLA is identified on the Blood Lactate concentration power output curve by straight-line interpolation between the two closest points as the exercise intensity obtaining a BL concentration of 4 mmol per liter.

Wind tunnel testing is used in routine testing by most of the cycling teams. The cyclist’s drag coefficient can be determined. This is also known as aerodynamic efficiency coefficient or Cx. This is the proposed measure of aerodynamic efficiency.

The endurance level of a cyclist depends on oxygen uptake or VO2max and a high lactate threshold or WOBLA. VO2 max determines the maximum work that can be performed. The lactate threshold decides on the cardiovascular capacity. Endurance is calculated using the formula

VO2max *LT

This gives rise to efficiency, which is nothing, but the percentage of energy used up by the body in the form of mechanical work.

Work Energy=Mechanical work/energy used

Mechanical work can be measured using ergometer. Energy used by the body with respect to its oxygen consumption at submaximal workloads could be measured. The oxygen consumed can be converted to a standard measure of energy like calories. Same can be done for work.

Work/time =power

Power is measured in watts and it is the measure of workload intensity.

The mechanical testing on roads is Why Fitness Testing Is Important for a Cyclists done in the form of road races. This is a mass start endurance event, which lasts for 2 to 3hours. Here the cyclists are tested on a variety of terrains ranging from leveled roads to uphill terrains and even on filthy surfaces like dirty roads. This way individual performance can be monitored and fitness regime can be improved.

SRM Bike Test

Thanks for photos from sports-coaching.com

The cyclist can wear bulky clothes to protect himself from severe cold. Increased clothing can increase drag on the bike. He may get sweating during exercise in the cold. This in turn can increase heat loss when the body wants to preserve heat. Over sweating may freeze on any of the clothes and increase the wind chill. Eventually, this may cause significant reduction in body temperature, which would lead to hypothermia. Hypothermia is a condition, in which the body temperature is reduced below the normal level.

Jerseys

The cyclist can get enough information on exposure to cold environment through the wind chill chart. The cyclist needs to create a wind around himself and so wind chill char is indispensable for him. However, he needs to remember clothing can affect the equivalent temperatures shown in the wind chill chart.

Under Vests

It is important to remember to use different amounts of clothing to get sufficient amount of protection. The cyclist however requires maintaining the comfort level while selecting the protective clothing. In the standard measurement unit, “clo” is defined as the clothing insulation. The cyclist can refer to it to get ultimate protection.

It is advisable for the cyclist to wear several layers of light and insulating garments, which help to avoid becoming over chilled or overheated. It is important to check whether the garments are made up of breathable material. The fabric that wicks moisture away is considered best for the cyclists. Cotton or wool retains moisture and it is not advisable to wear garments made up of such materials while cycling. Sympatex or Gortex material is excellent to allow sweating and to prevent chilling from wet clothes. It is also important to pay attention to clothing on the cessation of exercise. This is crucial, as the wetness in the clothing may increase the risk of rapid cooling.

Care should be taken to protect the feet of the cyclists. Wet feet can increase the risk of cold injury. The cyclist should therefore wear a pair of windproof and waterproof shoes to prevent himself from extremely cool conditions.

Dehydration may increase the fatigue of the cyclist and so he should keep himself hydrated in cold climates. He can store fluids in insulated bottles and drink at regular intervals. It is recommended to take hot or warm water at the beginning of the ride.

Warming up can also help to raise the temperature of the cyclist, before exposing to cold. Moderate-intensity warm up is best when the temperature is too cool.

Short Sleeve Jerseys

Muscular endurance can be achieved in cold environment with the help of high-intensity exercises. High-intensity exercises let the performer make repeated contractions. The cooling of muscles can offer wonderful benefits to muscular endurance. The performer can achieve lower maximal power that can be sustained for longer period. Decreased metabolic rate in the muscle reduces the drain on any anaerobic energy systems.

If the temperature of muscles continues to fall in cold environment, it can decrease muscular endurance. This condition can occur, when the temperature is below 27 degree Celsius. The strength of the muscles and the maximal power are reduced at low muscle temperature. The reduction in muscular shortening velocity is the main reason for lower muscle temperature. The slow down of chemical reaction in the muscles also contribute to increase in muscle viscosity.

We all know cold environment can reduce the capacity of exercising. However, it is not due to the decrease in the temperature. There is some other reason behind this. According to a study made by Galloway and Maughan, the oxygen uptake and minute ventilation of cycling are responsible for reducing the exercising capability. They observed the oxygen uptake and minute ventilation of cycling at various temperatures and they concluded that they tend to increase while exercising at 4 degree Celsius.

The increase in minute ventilations and oxygen uptake are due to the increased muscle tone, which would be caused before shivering starts. Sometimes, increased muscle tone may also happen at the time of shivering itself. Shivering is actually supported by the muscle glycogen stores and blood glucose. Increase in ventilation typically means that the respiratory system demands more during exercise in the cold environment. Sometimes, this may result in cold induced asthma. The problem may be severe, if the person is already suffering from asthma.

Cold environment tends to decrease maximal heart rate as well. The fall in the level of oxygen causes reduction in oxygen uptake. The fall in maximal heart rate and oxygen tightly bonded to hemoglobin level in the blood are the main cause for the fall in oxygen uptake. This in turn may reduce the maximal cardiac output, which decides how much blood is delivered to the muscles that are working while performing. Hence, fall in the cardiac output may result in less blood and less oxygen is delivered to working muscles.

In cold environment, hemoglobin binds the oxygen molecules and so less oxygen is delivered to the working muscles form the blood.

Elite cyclists undergo training in three camps before entering the competitions. Lucia et al in the year 2001 have noted that professional road cyclists rode their cycles as high as 35,000 kilometers every year for training purposes and compete in as many as 90 sport events per annum. Their racing starts during March and end up in October when the World Championships are regularly held. Isn’t it a season long enough for a cyclist? National and professional participants improve in overall fitness within three months of base training and cross many fitness plateaus. Coaches have to be smart enough to induce their students in altitude training after three weeks of resistance training before six weeks of base training. They should end up doing three weeks of high-intensity training before participating in racing.

Altitude training is divided into two options. In the first option, which is named ‘live high, train high’, the cyclist takes on altitude training camp for 4 weeks at 1500 to 2700 meters after resistance training. Here, he tries a novel overload. Though the cyclist would have adapted to the challenge of the resistance training, more challenges encounter him at altitude training. At high altitudes, the cyclist can exhibit lower power output for getting high cardiovascular response. More rigorous schedules can be arranged at the early-season altitude training sessions.

In the year 2000, Brosnan et al did extensive research on the enormous stress produced during altitude training and monitored the physiological changes observed in the team of Australian National female road cyclists. The participants were required to perform at the normobaric and hypoxic simulated altitude chambers that produced environments of 2100 meters above sea level.

Cyclists were asked to decrease power output at the threshold intervals and reduce their high-intensity intervals by 6% of their intensity at sea level conditions. It is interesting to note that the heart rate, blood lactate and cardio-vascular response were identical in both conditions of high altitude and sea level trainings. It was difficult to decipher effects of altitude training for longer periods to equate sea-level power outputs. Such adaptation may be ideal to achieve but reports of cyclists and swimmers reaching great training intensities at high altitudes that is the same as achieved at sea level.

Coaches take interest in altitude training camps for enhancing the training volume and intensity early in the season. National team coaches in different types of sports like swimming, rowing and cycling constitute aggressive training schedules for accomplishing very big training volumes accumulated during the year. In the year 1998, Gore et al observed that the Australian track cycling team used very high distances combined with frequent high intensity work for their competitors.

This type of workout represents a somewhat more advanced entry into our training arsenal, but one that all riders, regardless of experience, can safely and easily incorporate into their own programs.  It is one of the most effective methods for building cycling strength, speed and stamina, and as such, should become a mainstay in your training plans.  While there may be no replacement for those weekly long rides that are of course critical in every rider’s race preparations, intervals will help make even those miles fly by faster and easier.

This report builds upon the training foundations that we’ve established in our “Base Training Guide“.  Here, we will concentrate on the main types of interval training, explain the benefits of using intervals, and most importantly, we’ll show you how to incorporate them into any new or existing training regimen for maximum effect.

The full report in PDF format is available completely free; only for our Newsletter readers. If you are still not in the list, subscribe right now here…

For instance, a cyclist who climbs at the rate of 400 watts would experience more difficulty, as his body temperature increases to dangerous levels. The risk would be doubled on a sunny day. The cyclist can avoid such risks by responding to the body’s temperature. The cardiovascular system redirects the blood flow to the skin, as soon as it receives neural signals from the body’s temperature control system.

There are four types of heat loss and retention mechanisms to dissipate heat to the environment- Conduction, convection, radiation and evaporation. They help the body to respond to overheating and prevent the body from heat loss.

Conduction is the most important heat loss and retention mechanism that dissipates heat. It is the heat loss and the rate of such loss depends on the temperature inclined between the surrounding environment and the skin. Conduction is responsible for two percent heat loss in body and the cyclist can gain it, if the temperature in the environment is high.

Convection is typically the air movement, while cycling. The heat loss through this mechanism while cycling normally depends upon the speed of the warm air removed by the body and the speed at which it is replaced by cool air.

Radiation is yet another heat loss and retention mechanism, in which the energy waves are emitted by one system and absorbed by another. Normally, the human body is warmer than the environment and the heat is therefore transferred to the environment from the body. Heat loss is not considered by this mechanism. If the environment temperature is higher than the body temperature, radiation will not happen.

Evaporation takes place when the sweat is evaporated off the skin. This is quite common, while performing outdoor sport like cycling.

It is vitally important for a cyclist to maintain body temperature through heat loss and retention mechanisms. In fact, the temperature sensitive nerves around the human body sense any change in body temperature and sends information about such changes to the brain. The messages are then sent to the body properly through these four mechanisms. Heat can be then dissipated to the environment by the cyclist to avoid any risks. Therefore, the effectiveness of these four mechanisms is more in cycling.

Dealing with regular heart rate variability

Here are few ways in which the HR varies:

• Consecutive days of rigorous workout decrease the glycogen level which affects the HR.

• The consecutive high intensity programs increases the blood plasma which is directly correlated to a low HR.

• Trainings should be conducted in a lower altitude zones because places on higher altitude increase the HR.

• Medications like albuterol, antihistamines can lift up your HR & beta-blockers (hypertensives) can do the opposite.

• The HR can also increase if an athlete is on a rest during a season.

• Fatigue or tiredness out of trainings or races can influence your HR also.

• Addiction of caffeine can also increase the athlete’s HR.

Variable zones can assist you greatly. After determining zones you can control the HR for all intense trainings. Zones are enabled with buffering system which allows limited variations in HR. You can also use intensity indicators while training.

For example –If the workout intensity of 7 or 8 in RPE scale raises your HR then drop down immediately to compensate your HR level. One of the best ways to control your HR is by analyzing its response for few days over training sessions & environmental changes. Your study of the correlation between heart rate and RPE will make you aware of your HR variability.