Improving your fitness during the winter months
The Midwest offers some challenges to road cyclists during the winter months; temperature, snow, ice, unplowed roads to name a few obstacles that may prevent continuity in training for the spring road races in early March. If cyclocross was not a part of your fall racing or training plan of 2010 then fitness for the spring road series should have started in November. Regardless of your level of racing or fitness; twelve weeks of training would be required to enter the spring road series with aerobic fitness to compete. Sixteen weeks would allow for enough structured training time to be able to exploit some anaerobic (i.e., attacks, sprints) portion in the first road races of the season. During the time from November until the end of February, there will be times when riding outdoors will not be possible or recommended. There will be snow storms that leave accumulated snow on the side of the road and there will be times when temperatures drop to zero, after all this is the Midwest. The question is, “do you have alternative training activities planned into your winter training schedule?” The periods of time when a cyclist cannot get out to train on the road due to weather is not a time to hit the local pub! It is a time to add intensity, cross-training and maybe a little excitement to the portion of the year where there is little opportunity to race but high motivation to train. This article will focus on how to continue to improve fitness during the winter months when the weather turns for the worst.
First, let’s identify some of the planning techniques for setting up your training throughout the year. During the planning of a racing year there should be periodicity of training, a macro and micro training schedule. Periodicity is a term used to describe the ebbs and flows of a yearlong training and racing schedule so that it can be structured to peak and recover at specific times throughout the year. A macro approach (months) to the entire year with times to train and times to race and a micro approach (weeks) where training is focused for improvements, to peak for a specific event or recover. An example of a macro schedule would be; January to April road training, May to July road and crit season, August to September road and crit championships and October to December cyclocross. An example of a micro schedule would be a twelve week training plan from December through February on improving overall fitness (aerobic capacity) by ramping up time and intensity over the twelve weeks with periods of anaerobic training. Each day of training during this micro period is devoted to the overall objective of the macro portion of the schedule.
Outdoor Training
Here is where you need to know your body and be smart about riding during the winter months. During these twelve weeks is when you will need to build time on the bike for the upcoming season, but when the temperature drops, riding long periods of time outside may not be recommended for obvious reasons (frost bite). However, breathing in cold air for extended periods of time may not be perceived by the cyclist as a health risk factor but is not recommended, particularly if the intensity of the work is zone 3 (tempo) or higher. Typically, this level of effort requires that more cold air will be pulled in to the lungs for use as oxygen in the muscle. Utilize your mountain bike or cross bike when road riding may not be possible depending upon the build-up of snow on the ground. The mountain bike will be great for increasing cadence and improving fitness while riding at slower speeds (wind chill) in areas with less exposure to wind (provided you have areas with trees to ride in and not just corn fields). Riding the cross bike on the bike trail or mountain bike trail may provide an alternative when there is snow on the roads.
A twelve week winter program should focus on increasing time (aerobic) and intensity (anaerobic) – how do you do that during the winter months? Try to find a weekend riding group that schedules a ride for the same day and time each week so that you can plan accordingly. Based on nights getting dark around 5 pm during this time of year it will be the weekends where longer miles will be logged. Try to train with a teammate or buddy – this will promote some peer pressure to attend and to participate in the scheduled workout. Lastly, consult a training specialist or coach to help with the development of a training plan so that all of your 2011 goals can be achieved. An example of this plan may be to increase your weekend mileage and intensity alternating each weekend for small increments in mileage (time) or intensity. The urge will be to add mileage in big chunks early to maybe make up for the holiday buffet tables but recommendations from the experts is to incorporate the 10% rule. Small increments may be as little as 10% improvements monthly for most athletes; maybe weekly for the highly trained category 1-2 rider. Additionally, during this twelve week plan the weekdays should focus on quality not quantity. Concise workouts to meet the objectives of the training plan; an example may be for a 60 minute workout to include warm up with 6 five minute intervals at anaerobic threshold (AT) with 3 minutes active recovery between intervals or 3 fifteen minute periods of steady state with 10 minutes of high cadence recovery between sets. All workouts that can easily be transferred to the indoor trainer if need be based on weather. There should always be scheduled days for rest; periods of time when the body needs rest to recover and grow from the workouts of the week. I know that concept may be foreign to some cyclists but recovery periods are key to a successful training program.
Indoor Training
This is a perfect time of year to invest in rollers or in one of the many types of indoor trainers (e.g., magnetic, fluid, wind) offered at local bike shops or to dust off the one you purchased in previous years. Training on the indoor trainer can be quite mundane to some which is why this type of training should be anticipated for and planned when you set your workouts for the twelve week period. Specific workouts that are continuous with your training goals so that nothing is lost and improvements can be made for you to pick up right where you left off when you can get back out on the road. As with road training, indoor training may require the “group” mentality….get your friends or cycling teammates together to maximize your workouts. One great advantage of a group indoor training session is the removal of the “spikes” in wattage typically associated with a group of mixed category riders (i.e., cat 1 to 4) on the open road. Depending upon your level of fitness, workouts on the trainer may vary from 45 to 120 minutes. Having people suffering with you helps to pass the time, additionally, music, DVDs or television may also help pass the time. If you are training by yourself and do not have a workout to follow a good way to pass the time may be using a television to ride tempo during the television show and recover during commercials. If you are listening to your iPod then increase 50 watts for each of two songs in a row then recover for the third song and repeat. There are all sorts of ways to combat the winter weather and still get your time in on the bike. You may be able to get an hour outside when the roads are clear but the temperature is below freezing and then get in an additional 60 minutes on the trainer. Be creative, ride steady state or tempo in the morning and perform short intervals in the evening.
Lastly, a little bit about hydration and nutrition for riding in the winter months. Most outdoor riding this time of year may require hot coffee or hot chocolate in your insulated water bottle to keep the insides warm; however your body will need to be re-hydrated with water and electrolytes during and after your workout. Remind yourself to drink every 15 to 20 minutes while riding in the cold. Your muscles will not only be using energy to generate the power necessary to pedal at 20 mph they will be involuntarily contracting (shivering) to generate heat to keep the core temperature elevated while riding in the cold. Thermoregulation during cold temperatures will require lots of energy (calories) that will need to be replenished during and after the workouts. High caloric snacks will need to be consumed periodically during the ride. Additionally, a supplement, high in protein content (15 g or higher per serving), may be what is needed after a ride to replace needed energy stores to help in rebuilding process.
It is never too late to employ a structured training plan but the winter months, with no local road races, is as great a time as ever to start. The first races of the Midwest road season will kick off in late February or early March, if you find yourself just not able to focus on training then contacting Next Level Athletes may be just what the coach prescribes.
Brian M. Roche, PhD
Are Lactate Threshold and Oxygen Consumption Meaningful Terms To A Cyclist? Part 1
For those of you that have completed a successful cyclocross season, congratulations, for those of you that did not compete in cyclocross, welcome back from Plan B; either way it’s time to start planning the 2010 road season. Since we live in a state where the only thing predictable about the weather in wintertime is that it is unpredictable, most, not all, but most of the next couple months of training will be done indoors. And since this is a natural “down” time in competitive cycling seasons, this may be your opportunity to have your oxygen consumption and lactate threshold tested.
What is oxygen consumption (VO2); this is the body’s ability to take in oxygen, transport the oxygen in the blood to the working muscles and have the muscles use the oxygen. So, VO2 max is the highest rate of oxygen consumption. Oxygen consumption is the measure of “aerobic” metabolism or fitness and is expressed as milliliters of oxygen consumed per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min). You may be asking what level of oxygen consumption is good. An average male college student is typically in the mid 40’s and his female counterpart is slightly less than that. An Olympic cross-country skier may have values in the low 90’s. Elite cyclists, for the most part, will have VO2 max values in the upper 70’s low 80’s. What goes into determining your VO2 max? Simply finding a reputable testing facility in the area (labsinlife@cosi, Carmen Swain 292-5959, swain.78@osu.edu) and scheduling a time to be tested. The test should allow you to ride your own bike or use a compu-trainer (testing bicycle) which, for the most part, can be adjusted to the dimension of your road bike. The test will be programmed for you to “fail” (due to exhaustion) between 8 and 12 minutes of effort with the pedal resistance (watts) increased every 1 to 2 minutes. You will be outfitted with a mouth piece to breathe through to measure your inspired and expired oxygen during the test. This is a maximal effort test and you should give it your all for best results. The testing facility will capture all the data during the test (i.e, respiratory rate, tidal volume, heart rate, watts, etc) and your coach will be able to explain what they mean. This is your opportunity to ask your coach; what is my VO2 max? How much air do I breathe in per breath? What is my power output (watts) at VO2 max? Your coach will use this data as a starting point for your training with the understanding that most of your oxygen consumption is based on genetics and training. Someone who is aerobically fit will have a high VO2 max with little room for improvement, where as someone who is not aerobically fit will see larger changes in VO2 max with training.
We are leaving out one important variable………..lactic acid production. This too can be measured at most exercise testing facilities during your VO2 max test. What is lactic acid or lactate threshold? Lactic acid is the by-product of “anaerobic” energy metabolism of carbohydrates. Simply, carbohydrates are used as fuel for the muscle cell and when the cell breaks down the carbohydrate, lactate is produced. We have all experienced lactic acid in one form or another. The pain in your legs when you are sprinting, pain in the biceps when you finish a set of arm curls in the gym or the pain in your arm when you are holding something over your head for an extended period of time. The pain is lactic acid production from the muscles doing the work. Lactic acid is produced all the time; however it accumulates when the intensity of exercise increases and carbohydrates are the predominant fuel source (anaerobic exercise). When exercise intensity requires the muscle cell to metabolize (burn) carbohydrates and not fat lactate acid accumulates. When you exercise aerobically carbohydrates are metabolized at a rate where lactate can be converted to pyruvate and does not accumulate. Lactate threshold can be measured during a maximal exercise test and it is the point at which you require carbohydrates as the energy source and start to accumulate lactic acid. Remember that aerobic and anaerobic energy metabolism occur at the same time, it is the intensity of the exercise which determines which system supplies the energy. Why is it important to know your lactate threshold? Because increasing your lactate threshold is how performance is increased once a plateau in VO2 max is achieved.
I often ask people, “do you know the pace of an elite marathoner?”. If you do the math on a marathon runner that runs a 2 hour 10 minute marathon, on a mile per hour basis, it’s 12 mph or 5 minute per mile pace. If I then ask you to go run a single mile at a 5 minute per mile pace, will that mile be aerobic or anaerobic for you? For most of us, a 5 minute mile will be an anaerobic event and we will fail due to lactic acid production resulting in us slowing down just to finish. But why can an elite marathoner run twenty-six 5 minute miles in a row? Do they have a higher VO2 max than you? Probably not, if you are aerobically trained. They have a higher lactate threshold, they are working as close to their VO2 max as training and genetics will allow, probably around 95%. Think of it, if you match two cyclists with similar VO2 max values but one of the two has a higher lactate threshold, the higher lactate threshold cyclist will be able to produce more power (higher watts) without accumulating lactate (working anaerobically).
This is the proposed theory behind building your aerobic base and then adding anaerobic training. Once you have raised your VO2 max you then need to focus your training on increasing your lactate threshold.
Part 2 will explore the effects of raising your VO2 max and/or your lactate threshold.
Brian M. Roche, PhD
What is oxygen consumption (VO2); this is the body’s ability to take in oxygen, transport the oxygen in the blood to the working muscles and have the muscles use the oxygen. So, VO2 max is the highest rate of oxygen consumption. Oxygen consumption is the measure of “aerobic” metabolism or fitness and is expressed as milliliters of oxygen consumed per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min). You may be asking what level of oxygen consumption is good. An average male college student is typically in the mid 40’s and his female counterpart is slightly less than that. An Olympic cross-country skier may have values in the low 90’s. Elite cyclists, for the most part, will have VO2 max values in the upper 70’s low 80’s. What goes into determining your VO2 max? Simply finding a reputable testing facility in the area (labsinlife@cosi, Carmen Swain 292-5959, swain.78@osu.edu) and scheduling a time to be tested. The test should allow you to ride your own bike or use a compu-trainer (testing bicycle) which, for the most part, can be adjusted to the dimension of your road bike. The test will be programmed for you to “fail” (due to exhaustion) between 8 and 12 minutes of effort with the pedal resistance (watts) increased every 1 to 2 minutes. You will be outfitted with a mouth piece to breathe through to measure your inspired and expired oxygen during the test. This is a maximal effort test and you should give it your all for best results. The testing facility will capture all the data during the test (i.e, respiratory rate, tidal volume, heart rate, watts, etc) and your coach will be able to explain what they mean. This is your opportunity to ask your coach; what is my VO2 max? How much air do I breathe in per breath? What is my power output (watts) at VO2 max? Your coach will use this data as a starting point for your training with the understanding that most of your oxygen consumption is based on genetics and training. Someone who is aerobically fit will have a high VO2 max with little room for improvement, where as someone who is not aerobically fit will see larger changes in VO2 max with training.
We are leaving out one important variable………..lactic acid production. This too can be measured at most exercise testing facilities during your VO2 max test. What is lactic acid or lactate threshold? Lactic acid is the by-product of “anaerobic” energy metabolism of carbohydrates. Simply, carbohydrates are used as fuel for the muscle cell and when the cell breaks down the carbohydrate, lactate is produced. We have all experienced lactic acid in one form or another. The pain in your legs when you are sprinting, pain in the biceps when you finish a set of arm curls in the gym or the pain in your arm when you are holding something over your head for an extended period of time. The pain is lactic acid production from the muscles doing the work. Lactic acid is produced all the time; however it accumulates when the intensity of exercise increases and carbohydrates are the predominant fuel source (anaerobic exercise). When exercise intensity requires the muscle cell to metabolize (burn) carbohydrates and not fat lactate acid accumulates. When you exercise aerobically carbohydrates are metabolized at a rate where lactate can be converted to pyruvate and does not accumulate. Lactate threshold can be measured during a maximal exercise test and it is the point at which you require carbohydrates as the energy source and start to accumulate lactic acid. Remember that aerobic and anaerobic energy metabolism occur at the same time, it is the intensity of the exercise which determines which system supplies the energy. Why is it important to know your lactate threshold? Because increasing your lactate threshold is how performance is increased once a plateau in VO2 max is achieved.
I often ask people, “do you know the pace of an elite marathoner?”. If you do the math on a marathon runner that runs a 2 hour 10 minute marathon, on a mile per hour basis, it’s 12 mph or 5 minute per mile pace. If I then ask you to go run a single mile at a 5 minute per mile pace, will that mile be aerobic or anaerobic for you? For most of us, a 5 minute mile will be an anaerobic event and we will fail due to lactic acid production resulting in us slowing down just to finish. But why can an elite marathoner run twenty-six 5 minute miles in a row? Do they have a higher VO2 max than you? Probably not, if you are aerobically trained. They have a higher lactate threshold, they are working as close to their VO2 max as training and genetics will allow, probably around 95%. Think of it, if you match two cyclists with similar VO2 max values but one of the two has a higher lactate threshold, the higher lactate threshold cyclist will be able to produce more power (higher watts) without accumulating lactate (working anaerobically).
This is the proposed theory behind building your aerobic base and then adding anaerobic training. Once you have raised your VO2 max you then need to focus your training on increasing your lactate threshold.
Part 2 will explore the effects of raising your VO2 max and/or your lactate threshold.
Brian M. Roche, PhD
