THANKS FOR ALL YOUR GOOD WISHES: There are several good things about my recent abdominal surgery. One is that I’ve had some time to work on newsletters and plans for the rest of the Spring. Another is that I’ve had such nice messages from so many of you. Thank you, I mean it. I enjoy being a cycling instructor and personal trainer because of the relationships that I am able to form. So your good wishes have been a wonderful tonic to me. There has also been some sarcasm. In response to my musing that an appendectomy was considered an adolescent illness, I’ve received several suggestions that acne or mono may be next.
I am planning to resume my normal schedule on Monday, February 13th and look forward to seeing you in classes beginning then. Same for my personal training clients who receive this newsletter.
VIDEO: Promise me that you will look at this video and send it to any sedentary friends or relatives. Spread the word. It speaks for itself. Cut and paste the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aUaInS6HIGo#!
HOW TO USE YOUR HEART RATE DATA IN TRAINING: This is one more in a series of articles on how to use your heart rate monitor in designing and executing your own training plan. I know that some of you are interested in this and so I am trying to pull together a lot of information in a way that will make sense and be usable to you.
BUT... if this is more material than you want right now and you just want to come in and ride your bike, please do. There is nothing in any of this that will make your experience any less pleasurable or meaningful. There is always room for everyone. Do not feel like you have to understand this to come to class, or that you will enjoy class any less, or that class will become a science lecture. Really.
On the other hand, some of you want to push farther into the science to improve your performance, so here we go. If you have taken the steps from newsletters #61 and #62, you should have a theoretical idea of your heart range zones. The week of February, 20, we will work further in class to sharpen these zones to your unique physiology. In the meantime, I want you to keep playing with your heart rate monitor to see how you feel at different intensities.
As you know, we have divided your heart range into four zones. (Again, see #61 and #62 at http://billroachblog.blogspot.com if this is unfamiliar.)
Z1 - Recovery: everything below T1 (BR 48-115)
Z2 - Easy Aerobic: the lower half of your aerobic range(BR 115-130)
Z3 - Tempo or Threshold Aerobic: the upper half of your aerobic range. (BR 130-145)
Z4 - Anaerobic: everything above T2. (BR145-160)
I’ve included my own ranges above to give you an idea. But as you look at your numbers remember that comparisons are tricky and often counter-productive. How many beats can you pump is only part of the formula. Also, how much volume of blood can you pump per beat? How many watts can you create? How long can you sustain a high-volume work output? What is your power to weight ratio? All these things matter too. So know your numbers, but don’t get hypnotized with them. Play with them.
As you become more familiar with each of these zones and how they feel to you, we will begin to put them together into a special “stew” for you. Like much cooking, this stew requires a basic recipe but it will also require some ability to adapt or customize ingredients to make it perfect for your taste.
How you combine your work in each one of these four zones will determine your success in reaching your goals this summer. This is the opposite of doing the same thing time-after-time in class. Repetition, particularly mindlessly hard repetition, is the road to boredom and injury. The “stew” is the road to real improvement.
The stew recipe has four ingredients, each of the four heart rate zones. The amount of time you spend in each zone depends in part on your goals and will fluctuate during the year. It will also vary in regard to the timing of your chosen events. But, importantly, all the ingredients are needed in some proportion for top performance.
Zone 1 (Recovery) is like the base of your stew. The “roux” of butter and flour into which you layer flavors. It is necessary to come back to recovery after any hard training period. You get stronger NOT when you are going hard, but when you are giving your body a chance to rebuild itself after going hard. Time spent here varies, but think maybe 20%.
Zone 2 (Aerobic) is like the vegetables in the stew. Most of the goodness is here, and most of the volume is too. There can be variety in the levels of work and type of work. It is not the “long-slow-distance” training of the past. You won’t be going anaerobic but neither will you be riding at a constant boring pace. Maybe 50% of your time.
Zone 3 (Tempo or Threshold Aerobic). This is the meat in your stew. It adds flavor and the strength of its protein. You don’t want too much meat in a healthy stew however, right? Big results can be achieved here, but you can’t be here all the time. Time: about 25%. (Apologies to my vegetarian friends but the analogy works best this way.)
Zone 4 (Over Threshold/ Anaerobic). This is the strong spice. You may not need any, or you may want some to give the dish “kick”. But too much will destroy the dish and make it inedible. Time: 5% or less for most.
We will use these zones as we move into the next phase of mindful training which is periodization.
CYCLING PERIODIZATION SPRING PLAN: It is well-known in exercise science that doing things in a particular order gets the best results. To that end, Spinning/cycling classes should be taught with purpose. It occurs to me that, while I have always explained my purpose in each class, I have not laid it out for you in writing. This year I want to become a better instructor, in part by making you aware of my plans further in advance. I think seeing the bigger picture will be important to you as you design your own individualized programs.
The building blocks of this plan are put together in a particular order for the most effectiveness. Especially when combined with improved knowledge of your heart rate zones, the resulting plan becomes a very powerful tool for your success.
It is important to understand that, while these elements are intended as a progression, it is possible to start at any time, or to miss class when necessary. New riders, or riders who have missed, will always be welcomed.
More later on what each of these building blocks mean. But for now, here is the outline.
Week of :
February 13 --- Gratitude ride: a time to focus on our blessings, particularly our good health. I am going to be grateful for being back riding with you. For riders at the YMCA Healthy Living Center, this will particularly be a time to think about the Partners Campaign and how our contributions provide the opportunity for health to those less fortunate than ourselves. We will also play with heart rate zones in anticipation of our more structured effort to identify zones the next week.
February 20 --- Heart-rate zone identification. A variety of heart rate intensities will be used to help you identify your zones.
February 27 --- Base Endurance I. (Sub will be needed for some classes.) Z2, some Z3. Note: this does NOT mean long and boring, I promise.
March 5 --- Base Endurance II. (Sub will be needed for some classes.) Z2, some Z3.
March 12 --- Base Technique I. Z2 and Z3.
March 19 --- Base Technique II. Z2 and Z3.
March 26 --- Base Strength and Wattage I. Z2 and Z3.
April 2 --- Base Strength and Wattage II. Z2 and Z3.
April 9 --- Base Mixed I. Z1-2-3.
April 16 --- Base Mixed II. Z1-2-3. Graduation from base training.
QUOTE: “Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.
RESOURCES: Recent past issues of this newsletter are available at http://billroachblog.blogspot.com
Thank you.
Bill Roach, NASM-CPT, CEx
Star 3 Lifetime Certified Spinning Instructor
Certified Personal Trainer, National Academy of Sports Medicine
Corrective Exercise Specialist, National Academy of Sports Medicine
bill.roach@mchsi.com
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