Whether they work with a coach or train independently, triathletes rely on their training log to tell them when to push harder and. The Cyclist's Training Bible. The Cyclist's Training Bible is the bestselling and most comprehensive guide for aspiring and experienced cyclists. Joe Friel is the most trusted coach in the world and his proven cycling training program has helped hundreds of thousands find success in the sport.
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Facebook Email Print Twitter Pinterest. Chapter 7 provides an overview to the planning process. Chapter 8 describes the step-by-step procedures of planning in a workbook format.
By the end of this chapter, you will have determined where you're going in the race season and how you will get there. Chapter 9 puts the cap on the process by showing you how to schedule workouts for the season and, more specifically, on a week-to-week and daily basis. It also suggests workouts. If you're doing a stage race during the season, be sure to read Chapter 10 before completing your Annual Training Plan. Chapter 11 offers examples of other cyclists' Annual Training Plans with discussions of the thinking behind their design.
You may find in Chapters 8 and 9 that skipping forward to this chapter for examples is helpful in designing your plan. Part V addresses several other aspects of training that affect the annual plan. T h e importance of strength training for cycling and how to follow a periodized plan is explained along with illustrations of exercises in Chapter Chapter 13 shows how stretching can benefit cycling performance.
Training concerns specific to women, masters, and juniors are detailed in Chapter If you are in one of these special groups, it may help you to read this chapter before beginning the planning process in Chapter 8. The importance of keeping a training diary is the topic of Chapter A sample journal is provided that complements the weekly scheduling described in Chapter 9.
T h e discussion of diet in Chapter 16 presents a different way of thinking about eating. Also included is information about supplements and ergogenic aids. Chapter 17 provides guidance for how to deal with training problems common to cyclists—overtraining, burnout, illness, and injury.
Chapter 18 discusses the most important, but most neglected, aspect of training—recovery. Before beginning, I want to offer this note of caution: This book is primarily meant for cyclists who have been training and racing for some time. If you are new to the sport or considering starting to train, you should first have a medical examination. This is particularly important for those over age 35 who have been inactive. While I believe this book will help most cyclists improve, I do not pretend that it will make everyone a champion.
It takes something more than just inspiration and guidance for that. No training program is perfect for everyone. Consider my ways of training critically and take from this book what will benefit you now. I hope you will use it as a training reference for years to come. As you can see, The Cyclist's Training Bible is quite methodical.
I hope that you don't feel as some do that analyzing the process of training detracts from the fun of riding and racing. I don't believe it does. Being on a bike is most enjoyable when every starting line is a challenge and every finish line is jubilantly crossed with arms held high.
Let's start. Another important fact to remember is that adoption of a correct training program will not produce overnight results but must be followed religiously for a period of time. In fact, athletic champions are seldom, if ever, developed with less than several years of constant training and experience. The correct conditioning program can and will improve anyone's ability but cannot, of course, guarantee that everyone will become a champion, as there are hereditary factors plus an element of luck to be considered.
A correct training program can be likened to proper care of a car, the proper care insuring maximum efficiency, performance, and endurance.
Pantani, Virenque, Riis, Escartin, and Jimenez—all in the top 1 0 of the general classification—and then me. I was hanging. I was there with these guys for the first time. It's easy to have big dreams and set high goals before the racing starts. But the true test of a commitment to better racing results is not in the talking, but in the doing. It doesn't start with the first race of the season—it's all the things you do today to get stronger, faster, and more enduring.
Real commitment means days a year and 24 hours a day. Talk to the best riders you know. Ask them about commitment. Once you probe past all of the "aw, shucks" stuff, you'll discover how big a role cycling plays in their lives. The better they are, the more you'll hear about life revolving around the sport. The most common remark will be that each day is arranged around training. It's a rare champion who fits in workouts randomly.
Racing to your potential cannot be an on-again, off-again endeavor. It's a fulltime commitment—a passion. Excellence requires living, breathing, eating, and sleeping cycling every day. The greater the commitment, the more life is centered around the basic three factors of training—eating, sleeping, and working out.
Eating fuels the body for training and speeds recovery by replacing depleted energy and nutrient stores. Sleeping and working out have a synergistic effect on fitness: Each can cause the release of growth hormone from the pituitary gland. Growth hormone speeds recovery, rebuilds muscles, and breaks down body fat. By training twice daily and taking a nap, the dedicated rider gets four hits of growth hormone daily resulting in higher levels of fitness sooner.
It's the product of three ingredients: stress, rest, and fuel. Table 1. In fact, there comes a point at which each of us has to check our "want to" against our "have to. Even the pros must consider other aspects of life. Those elements that contribute to making you a great cyclist may detract from your being a great employee, mother, father, or spouse. Realistically, there have to be limits to passion; otherwise we'd soon alienate everyone who wasn't equally zealous and be reduced to slobbering zombies.
Change What can you do to improve your fitness and race performances? The first thing is to make small changes in your life. Balance can be hard to achieve, but remolding daily activities by 10 percent in the direction of better cycling doesn't take much and can bring noticeable improvement.
How about committing to hitting the sack thirty minutes earlier each night so that you're more rested? Another small daily change that could bring better results is healthier eating.
Could you cut out 10 percent of the junk food every day, replacing it with wholesome foods? What you put in your mouth is the stuff the body uses to completely rebuild and replace each muscle cell every six months. Do you want muscles made from potato chips, Twinkies, and pop; or from fruits, vegetables, and lean meat?
What can you change? The Cyclists Training Bible can help you make some small changes that will bring big results. But what are the most important changes needed for success? What makes a champion a champion? Much of this book is based on answers to the first question, but the second is no less important.
Often the top athletes are ahead of science when it comes to knowing what works and what doesn't. Exercise scientists become interested in some aspect of training because it seems to work for some athletes. Their studies are designed to determine why it's beneficial. If we eliminate their individual abilities and boil the remainder down to the most basic elements, what is left are the attributes that bring success to the champions.
I believe there are six such attributes: ability, motivation, opportunity, mission, support system, and direction. There are some obvious examples: Tall basketball players, huge sumo wrestlers, small jockeys, and long-armed swimmers are but a few. Such athletes were born with at least one of the physical traits necessary to succeed in their chosen sport.
What are the physical traits common to most of those who are at the pinnacle of cycling? The most obvious are strong, powerful legs and a high aerobic capacity V0 max. There are other physical traits that aren't quite as obvious.
In order to climb 2 hills, muscular power is another key trait. We can't see power in a rider in the same way we can see body mass or long arms. There are other physiological traits that define ability in cycling, including lactate threshold and economy see Chapter 3 for details. These are somewhat determined by genetics, but they may also be improved by training.
So how much natural ability do you have? How close are you to reaching your potential? No one can say for sure. The best indicator may be how you've done in the sport in the past relative to your training. Good results combined with mediocre training usually indicate untapped potential. Excellent training with poor results is also revealing of potential.
If you are new to the sport with less than three years of racing, your results may not tell you much about your ability and potential. In the first three years there are a lot of changes happening at the cellular level—changes that will eventually reveal a rider's ability. This means that even if someone new to the sport is successful, he or she may not continue to dominate. Other beginners may eventually catch up to and surpass the most successful novices.
This is often due to the different rates at which the human body responds to training. Some people are "fast responders" and others are "slow responders. Others take much longer, perhaps years, to realize the same gains. The problem for slow responders is that they often give up before reaping the benefits of training. Figure 1. Motivation The highly motivated cyclist has a passion for the sport. Passion is generally evident in how much time is devoted to riding, caring for the bike, reading books and magazines about cycling, associating with other riders, and simply thinking about the sport.
Those who are passionate about the sport also frequently have a well-developed work ethic. They believe that hard training is what produces good results. Up to a point that is a valuable trait to have, as success does indeed demand consistency in training. These riders just can't stop riding. If they do, their sense of guilt can become overwhelming. For such athletes, training interruptions—such as injuries, business trips, or vacations—are emotionally devastating.
This is because their training pattern may be disrupted, but their obsessive motivation is still intact. This obsessive-compulsive trait is most common in riders who are new to the sport. They believe that they discovered the sport too late in life and need to catch up with others by training a lot.
They also fear that if they stop training for even a few days that they may revert back to their former, unfit selves. No wonder overtraining is rampant among those in their first three years of racing. Regardless of when in life you started or how burning your desire is to be good, it's critical that you view excellence in athletics as a journey, not a destination. You will never arrive at the point where you are fully satisfied with your performance.
That's the nature of highly motivated people. So obsessive-compulsive training in order to achieve racing nirvana—where you can finally back off—is not going to happen. Once you realize this and take a long-term approach to training, your breakdowns from overtraining, burnout, and illness will diminish, allowing you to achieve training with greater consistency and better race performances.
You will also experience less mental anguish and frustration when the inevitable setbacks occur. Cycling is a life-long sport to be enjoyed for what it brings to your life—superb fitness, excellent health, enjoyable times, and good friends. It is not an opponent to be subdued and conquered.
Right now, sitting in front of a television somewhere is this person born to be the world champion in cycling and to dominate the sport as no one ever has. At birth he was blessed with a huge aerobic capacity and all of the other physiological ingredients necessary for success. The problem is that he never had the opportunity to discover his ability, even though the motivation may have been there at one time. Maybe he was born into poverty and forced to work at an early age to help feed the family.
Maybe he lives in a war-ravaged corner of the world where staying alive is the number one priority. Or perhaps cycling just never caught his attention and he instead found success in soccer or piano playing. We'll never know what he could have been because the opportunity never presented itself. The lack of opportunity need not be so extreme to hold back your growth as a cyclist, however. The greater your desire to excel, the more important it becomes to mold your lifestyle and environment to match your aspirations.
More than likely, it is winning the Tour de France. Why do you think of that? Probably because these athletes had a passion for winning the Tour that was, and is, evident for all to see. Their motivation to succeed was exceptional. Approaching the peaks of their careers, riding was highly important in their lives. Everything else became just the details of life. What you can learn from these champions is that motivation and dedication are paramount to achieving your dreams: The greater the dreams, the bigger the mission.
Neither this book nor anyone else can help you choose dreams and become more dedicated. Only you can do that. I can tell you, however, that without passion, without a mission, you'll always be just another rider in the peloton. Support System The greatest rider with the biggest dreams will never become a champion without a support system—others who also believe in the mission and are committed to it.
Surrounding champions are family, friends, teammates, directors, coaches, soigneurs, and mechanics, all of whom are there to help the champion attain his or her dream.
The rider becomes immersed in the we-can-do-it attitude. The mission is no longer singular—it becomes a group effort.
Once this is achieved, success is 90 percent assured. Do you have a support system? Do those around you even know what your goals, let alone your dreams, are? Is there a mentor or close friend with whom to share your challenges and vision? Again, this book can't help you develop a support system.
Support systems start with you offering to help others, perhaps teammates, attain their highest goals. Support is contagious. Give yours to someone else. Direction Champions don't train aimlessly. They also don't blindly follow another rider's training plan.
They understand that the difference between winning and losing is often as slight as a cat's whisker. They know their training can't be haphazard or left to chance. Merely having a detailed plan provides confidence. It's the final, and smallest, piece in the quest for the dream. Without a plan, the champion never makes it to the victory stand. This is where The Cyclist's Training Bible can help you. While this book offers the reader individualized, results-oriented, and scientific methods, following its program won't guarantee success.
But if you already have some ability, the opportunity has presented itself, a mission is well-defined, and the support system is in place, you're practically there.
This just may be the final and decisive element. Why are there others who excel at an early age, fizzle, and eventually drop out of the sport before realizing their full potential? Those who persevere probably had talent all along, but it wasn't immediately evident. More than likely, the young athlete had a parent, coach, or mentor concerned about the long term.
They probably wanted to see their protege in full bloom, so they brought the athlete along slowly and deliberately. The successful athlete's workouts may not have been the most scientific, but a sensible training philosophy was established early in his or her career.
In contrast, the young cyclist who failed to make it as a senior may have been driven too hard by a parent or coach whose intentions were good, but whose techniques left something to be desired.
When I begin to train athletes, I start by getting to know them fairly well—but it still takes weeks to determine exactly how they should train. There are many individual factors to consider in developing an effective training program. There are simply too many unknowns for me or anyone else to advise you on how best to prepare for competition.
After all, right now no one knows you as well as you do. Only you can make such decisions. All that is needed are the tools. Systematic Training This book is about systematic and methodical training. Some riders think of that as boring and would rather work out spontaneously. They prefer to train by the seats of their pants—no planning, no forethought, and minimal structure. I won't deny that it is possible to become a good rider without a highly structured system and method.
I have known many who have been successful with such an approach. But I've also noticed that when these same athletes decide to compete at the highest levels, they nearly always increase the structure of their training.
Structured systems and methods are critical for achieving peak performance. It won't happen haphazardly. But it should also be pointed out that the system and methods described in this book are not the only ones that will produce peak racing performance. There are many systems that work; there are as many as there are coaches and elite athletes. There is no one "right" way—no system that will guarantee success for everyone. There are also no secrets.
You won't find any magic workouts, miracle diet supplements, or all-purpose periodization schemes. Everything in this book is already known and used by at least some cyclists. No coach, athlete, or scientist has a winning secret—at least not one that is legal.
Many have developed effective systems, however. Effective training systems are marked by comprehensively integrated components. They are not merely collections of workouts. All of the parts of effective programs fit together neatly, like the pieces of a complex jigsaw puzzle.
Furthermore, there is an underlying philosophy that ties the parts together. All aspects of a sound program are based on this philosophy. The Overtraining Phenomenon Is there a relationship between fatigue and speed? Does starting workouts with chronically tired legs somehow improve power and other aspects of race fitness? I pose these questions because so many athletes tell me that there's no improvement unless they feel at least a little sluggish all the time.
But when I ask these same athletes why they train the answer is always, "To get faster for racing. Recently I did a Web search of the sports science journals to see if any research has found a positive relationship between fatigue and athletic performance. Of the 2, studies I came across on these subjects, not a single one showed that an athlete performed better if he or she got tired often enough.
All of this leads me to believe that athletes who keep themselves chronically tired and leg weary must be making a mistake. Either that or they have a training secret. But I doubt it. More than likely the reason for their excessive training is a combination of an overly developed work ethic and obsessive-compulsive behavior.
In fact, there are a few athletes I have been unable to train for this reason. When I allow them to rest in order to go into a hard workout fresh, they interpret the lack of fatigue as a loss of fitness and become paranoid. After a few episodes of their putting in "extra" intervals, miles, hours, and workouts, we part company.
My purpose in coaching is not to help otherwise well-intentioned athletes keep their addiction going. I'd like to see them race faster, not just be more tired. On the other hand, I have trained many athletes in a variety of sports on a program of less training than they were accustomed to. It's amazing to see what they can accomplish once they fully commit to their actual training purpose—to get faster.
When riders go into hard workouts feeling fresh and snappy the speeds and power produced are exceptional. As a result, the muscles, nervous system, cardiovascular system, and energy systems are all optimally stressed. Once they have a few more days of recovery to allow for adaptation, we do it again. And guess what—they are even faster. I have found, however, that if it is followed, serious athletes improve. Here is my training philosophy: An athlete should do the least amount ofproperly timed, specific training that brings continual improvement.
The idea of limiting training is a scary thought for some. Many cyclists have become accustomed to overtraining that it seems a normal state. These racers are no less addicted than drug users. As is the case with a drug addict, the chronically overtrained athlete is not getting any better but still can't convince himself or herself to change.
Notice that it doesn't say "train with the least amount of miles. What this means is that there are times when it's right to do higher volume training, but not necessarily the highest possible. This is usually in the Base general preparation period of training. There are also times when high volume is not wise, but faster, more race-specific training is right. These are the Build and Peak specific preparation periods. Periods are explained in Chapter 7. While it seems so simple, there are many who can't seem to get it right.
They put in lots of miles when they should be trying to get faster. And when they should be building a base of general fitness, they're going fast—usually in group hammer sessions. So what do you use to gauge your progress—how tired you are or how fast you are? If it's the former you're doomed to a career of less-than-stellar racing. Once you figure out that fatigue gets in the way of getting faster and you make the necessary changes, you'll be flying.
The 10 Commandments of Training To help you better understand this training philosophy I have broken it down into the "10 Commandments of Training. Your results will also improve regardless of your age or experience. Commandment 1—Train Moderately Your body has limits when it comes to endurance, speed, and strength.
Don't try too often to find them. Instead, train within those limits most of the time. Finish most workouts feeling like you could have done more. It may mean stopping a session earlier than planned. That's okay. Do not always try to finish exhausted.
Muscles will only contract forcefully a certain number of times before they refuse to pull hard again. When glycogen, the body's storage form of carbohydrate energy, begins to run low, no amount of willpower can fuel the body.
Slowing down is the only option. If such limits are approached frequently and over a long enough period of time, the body's ability to adapt is exceeded, recovery is greatly delayed, and training consistency is interrupted. The biggest mistake of most athletes is to make the easy days too hard, so when it comes time for a hard training day, they can't go hard enough.
This leads to mediocre training, fitness, and performance. T h e higher your fitness level, the greater the difference between the intensities of hard and easy days. They believe that willpower and strength of character can overcome nature and speed up their body's cellular changes.
Don't try it—more hard training is seldom the answer. An organism adapts best when stresses are slightly increased. That's why you've often heard the admonition to increase training volume by no more than 10 percent from week to week. Even this may be high for some. By progressing carefully, especially with intensity, you'll gradually get stronger and there will be time and energy for other pursuits in life.
An athlete who enjoys training will get far more benefits from it than one who is always on the edge of overtraining. T h e self-coached cyclist must learn to think objectively and unemotionally.
It should be as if you are two people—one is the rider and the other is the coach. The coach must be in charge. When the rider says, "Do more," the coach should question whether that's wise. Doubt is a good enough reason to discontinue the session. When in doubt—leave it out. Do every workout conservatively, but with a cocky attitude. When the coach stops the hill repeats at just the right time, and the rider says, "I could have done more," stopping is not a loss—it's a victory.
Commandment 2—Train Consistently The human body thrives on routine. Develop a training pattern that stays mostly the same from week to week—regular activity brings positive change. This does not mean do the same workout every day, week after week. Variety also promotes growth.
Later in this book you'll see that there are actually slight changes being made throughout the training year. Some of the changes are seemingly minor. You may not even be aware of them, as when an extra hour is added to the training week during the base-building period.
Breaks in consistency usually result from not following the Moderation Commandment.
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