INDOOR CYCLING NEWSLETTER #80:

REMINDER TO INSTRUCTORS: You have until Midnight tonight to register for the Indoor Cycling Association Online Summit and still get the $100 discount.  The live sessions start tomorrow.  If you want more information go to: http://www.indoorcyclingsummit.com/?ap_id=billroach

CHANGE IN SCHEDULE: Many of you know that I’ve dropped my early morning Friday class.  This was done with some real sadness because I will miss regularly seeing students who have become friends.  But, as a retired person, the lure of a regular three-day weekend was irresistible.  In the meantime, I have picked up a new class at 9:30am Thursday’s at the Waukee YMCA.  Come out and join me there if you can.  I start regularly in May but I taught there this week and it looks really promising with a good core group of students.

MORE ON HOW TO FIGHT THE MONKEY: Last time we discussed the mind-body connection and how the proper use of it can improve your cycling. Like with meditative exercise such as Yoga or Tai Chi, I believe vigorous aerobic exercise can stimulate the connection between our consciousness and our physical selves.

This mind-body connection is mutually helpful. The physical exercise enhances the mind. The proper mental concentration enhances the physical exercise. This is a learned skill, not something with which we are born.  

The obstacle to this learning is our  “monkey brain”, the part of our brain that gets bored very quickly. The term comes from Buddhism and means an unsettled or restless state of mind.   When you let the “monkey brain” win the battle for your attention, you lose the intense experience of the mind, body and spirit all working together. You lose the best part of the experience.

Last time we discussed that one way to learn this beneficial engagement is to practice fully engaging your mind to the task. Break down your riding into component parts and practice each of them consciously: pedal stroke, posture or breath. I think this is the most obvious technique but there are variations on it that you might find helpful.

One is to close your eyes and focus on a very specific thought or technique. Each time your mind wanders, you open your eyes, refocus and then close them again.  Indoors, of course.

Another specific idea is to repeat a mantra on each exhale. This helps you integrate your breathing to your riding but it also is an almost hypnotic way to repeat a positive idea such as “smoothness”, “softness” or “roundness”.

See if those ideas help you concentrate your focus on the small parts of your riding in order to make the whole better.

While concentrated self-focus is an important element to this mind-body connection, so is letting lose a bit through guided self-observation.

By guided self observation I mean that sometimes, instead of looking deep inside ourselves, we need to observe ourselves from afar. When I was competing in cross-state and 24 hour races, I would deliberately alternate my thinking between “specific association” and “non-specific imagery”. Here’s what I mean.

By specific associative thought, I mean that I would go through periods where I would break down my riding into its component parts and think each one of them through in turn. The problem was that I couldn’t do that for hours at a time. (Remember that in class it can be hard to do for one minute at a time.)

So when I wasn’t consciously focused on the details of my riding, I switched over to what I thought of as “non-specific imagery”. I gave up on the small picture of each part of my riding and tried to be more aware of the entire act as a whole. I looked for the generalized feel of riding smoothly. I tried to picture myself on my bike as if I was watching a movie. I brought up memories of great riders and how smooth and strong they appeared.

Timothy Gallwey discusses this in his landmark book, “The Inner Game of Tennis”. He talks about Self 1, the conscious mind, and Self 2, the subconscious. He argues that Self 2 is a very powerful learner - if Self 1 will get out of its way. Think of the golfer who has memorized fourteen parts to his swing and looks mechanical (Self 1 dominating) versus the golfer who swings with a natural rhythm (Self 2 dominating.).

I think it takes both. You learn and improve by doing things the “right way” through conscious concentration. If you don’t, your practice is just reinforcing your bad habits. But then you shift to the subconscious and practice trusting your Self 2. You let it learn the “feel” of all the parts working together doing what they should.

There is a saying that “practice makes perfect”. In fact, practice makes permanent.  Practice of the wrong actions just makes them feel more natural and permanent. You must practice the right things to get better. But, at some point, you also must let go and work with broad visual images rather than a jumble of separate thoughts.

This letting go of the conscious mind also takes work and practice. It is not achieved while your mind wanders through unrelated issues or conversation.  (Class talkers take note.)  It is learned when your body and mind are allowed to work together in harmony.

Thich Nhat Hanh, writes that meditation is just that when you're doing the dishes, you do the dishes. For cycling, he would say, when you ride the bike, you ride the bike.

So ride the bike. Spend some time thinking about it and then some time feeling it.

YOU CAN LEARN YOUR HEART RATE ZONES:  April 6th the YMCA began offering monthly lactate threshold field testing (LTFT).  I was unable to lead the session (my wallet and cell phone were stolen right before the session was to begin) but Jessica O’Mara, Kris Muldrum, and Robin Wastenay conducted them.  Thanks!

The tests will be conducted on the first Saturday of every month at the YMCA Healthy Living Center in the cycling studio.  The sessions in the future will be at 10:30am.  (No longer at the 11:30am time we had originally promoted.)  Sessions are open to members of any Des Moines metro YMCA branch for a $10 registration.  Non-members are also welcome for a $25 registration.  Register at the welcome desk or by calling 515-226-9622.

The test will give you a good estimate of your own unique training zones as measured by both heart rate and watts.  You can then use those zones to make your training more specific to particular benefits.  The next article addresses how to use the zones in more detail.

HOW TO USE YOUR HEART RATE TRAINING ZONES: This article is to give you an idea of what you will get from this test and how you might use it in your training. Here are some of the principles you need to understand to design your own unique plan using your own unique numbers.

At the end of the test, you will know the heart rate and power values you will use to define each of your respective training zones.  In class we use a four-zone system for simplicity.  For the purpose of this test, we use a five-zone system adding a bit more specificity.  Those zones are
∙ Zone 1.  Recovery.
∙ Zone 2.  Base Aerobic.
∙ Zone 3.  Tempo.
∙ Zone 4.  Threshold.
∙ Zone 5.  VO2 Max.

These zones represent the levels of intensity of your training.  Now add that knowledge to the following list of possible training goals.  These are the bicycle-specific qualities that can be improved by training.  All of your training, including your indoor cycling classes, should specifically address one or more of these qualities:

1.   Basic Endurance.  The purpose of this work is to build the foundation for all your training. Do not neglect it.  Training here will build your cardiovascular system, developing the capillaries and mitochondria needed to transmit blood throughout your body.  It also teaches your body to use fat for fuel instead of gylcogen. Training for basic endurance consists of long low-to-moderate efforts done mostly in Zone 2.

2. Basic Strength.  These workouts increase leg strength.  Typically they involve hill training or training using high gears.  Weight training also fits here.  On the bike most of this work is done in Zone 3.

3. Basic Speed and Technique.  As in our classes, these workouts strive to improve form and posture as well as stroke technique.  This is done with cycle specific drills in Zones 1 and 2.

4. Advanced Strength Endurance.  Later in the season, you may begin to combine endurance work and strength training.  The result will be better performance on long hills or in headwinds.  The training is done mostly around your lactate threshold or Zone 4.

5. Anaerobic Endurance (Optional).  Anaerobic training is optional.  It should not be mandatory in any class.  It will improve your ability to sustain high intensity work for prolonged periods.  It is accomplished by longer efforts in high Zone 4.

6. Anaerobic Sprints (Optional).  Not everyone needs to develop this skill.  Do you need to sprint? Training to improve sprinting means improving your ability to generate very high amounts of power for short periods.  This means doing powerful sprints in Zone 5 with full recovery after each.

So, short and sweet, you pick your most important goals and then adapt your training to increase the time within the appropriate parameters determined by the test.  Next time, I will offer some thoughts on how you put these principles into a weekly training schedule, including the need for recovery.

QUOTES:

“I've never met a workout I didn't like at the end.”  Cycling class student.

Bill Roach, NASM-CPT, CES.
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