CLASS
CHANGES - PLEASE NOTE:
With the coming of winter,
the Y is making some changes
to better accommodate member
schedules. Here are the
changes that affect my
classes.
- SATURDAY
WAUKEE CLASS MOVED TO
8:15AM EFFECTIVE
IMMEDIATELY.
Saturday Cycling at
Waukee will move from its
traditional spot at 8:00am
to 8:15am. (We had
previously announced this
starting time as 8:30am,
but it has been adjusted
to 8:15am by member
request.) The new 8:15am
takes effect immediately.
In addition a new class
has been added at 7:00am
taught by Jason Wulf.
- LACTATE
THRESHOLD FIELD TESTING
MOVED TO WALNUT CREEK.
Lactate Threshold Field
Tests will still be held
on the first Saturday of
every month but they will
now be held at 10:30am at
the Walnut Creek YMCA. We
hope to maintain this time
and place on a year-round
basis. This should offer a
more central location to
all members and a more
convenient time. This
change takes effect in
January.
- ADDITION
OF A NEW NEURO WELLNESS
CYCLING CLASS ON
MONDAY’S. I am
proud that we are adding a
second Neuro Wellness
Cycling class on Monday’s
at 1:15pm at the Healthy
Living Center. I will
teach this class and turn
over instruction of the
Thursday night class to
Jennifer Voorhees. This
change takes effect in
January.
My regular class
schedule remains in play. I
still teach at HLC on
Mondays at 4:30pm with a
repeat at 5:45pm. (My
Monday classes are followed
by a new class at 6:30pm as
taught by Chantelle Smith.)
At Waukee I teach at 9:20am
on Thursdays, and 8:15am on
Saturdays.
MY
THANKS AT THANKSGIVING:
I have so much for which
to be thankful. My
blessings include my many
friendships with Y
members, cycling students,
and personal training
clients. These people add
richness and diversity to
my life and they inspire
me nearly every day.
Speaking of
Thanksgiving, we all worry
about how to balance
indulgence and restraint on
this food holiday. My
thoughts: (1) exercise that
morning, the Y will be open;
(2) eat breakfast so you
aren’t starved when dinner
comes; (3) watch portion
size; (4) don’t overly
stress out about what you
ate on this one day of the
year.
LAYING
THE FOREARMS ON THE
HANDLEBARS (TRIATHLETE
STYLE): I see a
lot of this in class and
it is difficult to
dissuade triathletes from
their characteristic
position. As we move
indoors for winter, let me
try once more.
Using the aero position
on an indoor bike freezes
your upper body. When you
ride outdoors, your upper
body stays relatively calm
because the bike is moving
under you. But indoors, the
bike doesn’t move, so your
body needs to move to
release that energy.
Freezing your body in the
tri position on an indoor
bike tenses your neck and
back - something no one
needs. And worse, those
tensed muscles require blood
and nutrient flow. Fuel is
diverted from the working
muscles in your lower body
limiting your main goal -
the production of power by
your legs.
“But I want to practice
the aero position.” Yes,
there is a value in
practicing your bike
handling in the aero
position but why do you do
that on a bike that doesn’t
handle, turn or balance?
In addition, reaching
for the aero bars on an
indoor bike hyper-extends
your back. On a TT or tri
bike, the seat tube is
nearly straight up and down.
But on a road bike, or
indoor bike, the seat angles
backwards. If you try to
ride an indoor bike in the
“aero” position, your arms
will be far forward and your
butt far back due to that
seat tube angle. This sets
you up for back problems and
it is not the position you
will be racing in. So why
spend the winter practicing
there? Why train in a way
that restricts your ability
to produce power - the thing
you should be working on?
Indoor bike
manufacturers put aero bars
on bikes for marketing
purposes despite the fact
that they are useless, at
least in my opinion. I have
never once instructed
students to ride in the
“aero” position. It is a
contra-indication in indoor
cycling and no instructor
should ask you to do it.
My recommendation:
during the winter use your
indoor bike to work on
endurance through sustained
power production. By doing
this you are increasing the
number of watts you can
create at a given heart-rate
or work level. This is best
done from the traditional
position. You can then work
on your positioning and
handling in the Spring on an
outdoor bike that will truly
duplicate the position you
will really use.
AGING
MUSCLES: I love
the writings of Joe Friel,
author of “The Cyclists
Training Bible” and other
works. He is widely
regarded as perhaps the
best authority in the
nation on exercise science
as it relates to bike
performance. As an aging
athlete himself, he
recently began a series of
articles on aging and its
effect on athletic
performance.
Friel notes that for
years scientists have said
we inevitably will lose
muscle mass as we get older.
This can be as much as a 40%
to 50% loss by age 80.
This is depressing news.
But there is hope. Newer
studies conclude that the
reported muscle loss is due
to disuse more than the
calendar. The older
research never really looked
at what is happening with
older athletes. Comparing
masters athletes to
sedentary people of the same
age the new research shows
that although body fat
increased with age,
quadriceps muscle mass and
strength were similar across
all ages if the subjects
trained four or five times
weekly.
While this research is
not conclusive, it does
raise questions about the
inevitability of muscle loss
with aging. And it gives
new support to the adage of
“use it or lose it.”
Friel says, “It could be
inevitable that you will
eventually lose some muscle,
but it may be insignificant
for decades if the more
recent research is to be
accepted at face value....
Remaining active through
strenuous exercise may well
be the best thing you can do
to hang onto your muscle
mass as you age.”
A Canadian study found
that this concept relates
only to the muscle motor
units actually being
exercised. You can’t
maintain upper body strength
by running, for instance.
These researchers found
that older runners had about
48% fewer motor units in
their arms than the young
runners and about the same
as the older sedentary
persons. Exercise only
maintains those muscles that
are strenuously trained.
This new research is not
completely conclusive and
needs to be continued with
different sample groups.
But Friel believes that
aging has some affect on
muscles mass, but that the
greater cause of muscle
decline is lack of use.
CELEBRATE
ALL VICTORIES: I
have previously written
about the inspiring group
of students I teach in
Neuro Wellness Cycling.
These members are making
use of research showing
that forced pedaling can
reduce the symptoms of
Parkinson’s disease.
One of the things I have
learned from the group is
concept of appreciating and
celebrating all life’s
successes - small as well as
large.
Last week class member
recently presented me with a
sticker “Celebrate All
Victories” produced by the
Davis Phinney Foundation.
(Phinney is a former world
class cyclist who is now
battling Parkinson’s and
helping others with their
own battles.) Thanks,
Vicki, for keeping me
focused on this important
message.
And then I saw this
quote from world-class
runner, Kara Goucher:
“Acknowledge all of your
small victories. They will
eventually add up to
something great.”
MOUTH
BREATHING VERSUS NOSE
BREATHING: I
recently had a student
whom I observed obviously
holding his mouth closed
despite exercising
aerobically. I slid over
to him in class and
suggested that using both
mouth and nose to exhale
gets the most air out of
his lungs and therefore
creates the biggest vacuum
for the entry of new air.
In reply he felt that
holding his mouth closed
and using only his nose
was more effective
breathing. His reply
intrigued me and I thought
further about it.
I consulted Deanna
Reiter, a running coach,
breath-work instructor and
fitness author in the Twin
Cities. Deanna’s book
“Running A to Z” is on my
most recommended list and
she is coming out with a new
book on breathing. Put her
on your reading list.
Deanna’s answer is
instructive and quoted below
(the bolding is mine):
“Ideally, we want to
breathe through the nose as
it decreases toxins entering
the body, warms and
humidifies the air we take
in, maintains a more even
temperature for our body,
reduces the amount of
moisture leaving the body
with exhalation and produces
nitric oxide for use in our
bodies. It is better for our
dental hygiene, strengthens
our lungs and is more
calming.”
“However, there are
times when it is good to
breathe through the mouth:
1) on the exhalation
during ab/pilates work as it
gives us a more forced
exhalation and aids in
muscular contraction to
provide more effective
results with our
compressions;
2) when our activity
level heightens our body's
requirement for more oxygen
- this can be aerobic or
anaerobic;
3) when we have a
stuffed nose from a
cold/sinus issue;
4) anytime we feel
we need more oxygen, we feel
we are suffocating, etc. due
to anxiety, stress...”
“If someone can maintain
his/her oxygen requirements
by breathing through the
nose, it is fine to keep the
mouth shut, however in cases
of high intensity exercise,
it is unlikely.”
So, nose breathing has a
place. But at some point
you really have to breathe
through your mouth. You just
reach a certain point where
respiration through the nose
just won't cut it. Thanks
to Deanna. (Her books are
on Amazon or available
through NETA, the National
Exercise Trainers
Association.)
QUOTES:
“It is not the mountain
we conquer but ourselves. ~
Sir Edmund Hillary.
“Your why has to be
bigger than your excuses.” ~
Leah Newman from her
newsletter Wish to Will.
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