Thrills, Spills and Bills

This past Tuesday I took part in the Midweek Cycling Club season opener criterium in Missassagua. My thinking was to use this weekly series to supplement my existing interval workouts I performed while at the same time, curb my appetite for racing and maybe save a few bucks from travelling across Ontario. At this event, typically two races are held. An early race for those wanting a slower pace, new to the sport and mandatory for all first time attendees, and a late race for those who have done well in the early race and have been promoted. Due to the limited day light as I later discovered, a single race was had. Although I had no immediate issues with a single race, the first few laps would be crucial as slower riders are shelled out the back. Positioning towards the front would be important.

The hour + 15 lap race began at a modest pace but soon picked up speed on the back stretch of the 1km circuit. With only two corners to contend with, it was not a technical course but due to the elevation changes and direction of wind, speeds in excess of 60km/h could be reached very quickly yet slow down just as fast. For the most part I felt really good during the race. I maintained my position towards the front, negotiated the corners and held the wheel in front of me well, and at times, put a few efforts off the front for fun. The sensations I felt brought me back to the days I use to ride on the track. I was having a blast! With one lap to go, we approached the first right hand corner at speed. Later I would learn we were travelling through the corner at 40km/h. No sooner did I have a chance to think, I felt tangled and caught with someone to my right. Before I knew it, I was on the ground and the only things I recall clearly was the sensation of being pulled, the thump of the rear left of my head striking the ground followed by the feeling of being run into from behind. As I lay there trying to comprehend what had just happened, I was quickly surrounded by people and being told to lay still. My initial fear was something was terribly wrong and thoughts of a fellow cyclist who years earlier shattered his leg on this same course went through my mind. But as I lay there, able to move my arms, legs, neck and head and without the feeling of blood oozing, I knew nothing was wrong and I began to sit up.

With local volunteers surrounding me, they began asking me a number of questions. Who I was? Where I was from? Was anyone here with me? Where's my car? What's my phone number? Who's my emergency contact? All of which I was able to answer without hesitation. As I think back, I have to laugh. As I was being asked, I was putting a significant amount of effort to answer their questions correctly and with conviction! Not only did I want them to believe me, I wanted to believe myself that nothing was wrong. It was time to call home and tell my wife the bad news. Oh shit!!!!

Because I hit my head, an ambulance had to be dispatched and I had to get checked out at the local hospital. While in the ambulance, they monitored my vitals and continued to ask questions. By this time, the adrenaline had all but dissipated and the pain now became apparent. I had road rash up the left side of my leg from the calf to my left hip, on my left elbow, on my right butt cheek and as I would later learn, a nice tire rub/skin tear on my left shoulder blade. My nice new Erace Cancer team kit was ruined and my helmet was shattered! But more importantly, I was okay. By this time, with the adrenaline gone, I began to feel tired and nauseated, but not because of the blow to the head. Unless I'm driving, I get nauseated in a car. To make matters worse, I was in the back of am ambulance riding backwards. Argh... give me a barf bag! Fortunately, everything stayed down and I was quickly moved through Triage and waiting to see the doctor. Perhaps one of the few benefits of hitting your head, you get to see the doctor before everyone else! Within a matter of moments and after she went through her shpeel of questions, she said I was free to go after my wounds were attended to by the nurse. I had half expected to have a scan to the head done but all she seemed to be concerned with was that there was someone at home to monitor me throughout the night. There was even no concern that I had to drive home alone! Arriving home later that night I spoke with my wife and surveyed the damage to the bike. For the most part it looked all cosmetic yet would require my mechanic to fix as I neither had the time nor tools. A few hundred bucks later, my mechanic made my bike look and feel new and gave me a good deal on a replacement helmet. Thanks Joe @ Impala Richmond Hill!

So where does this leave me? Good question. Two significant crashes in the span of a year leave you considering your options. Fortunately nothing was broken this time; however a blow to the head is not something to dismiss either. As I look back upon this journey it started with the desire to return to some level of fitness. Next it led to a desire to become competitive once again. Having achieved that, my next goal was to reach the highest level in the Master racing category, that being Master 1. Although not officially achieved, when I look back upon the year and in particular this Midweek race, I can say it has been achieved. I raced with the top Master A (30 - 39 year old) athletes in Ontario at the Ontario Road Championships last year and in this Midweek race, competed with a number of top level Master 1 cyclists. I know I can compete with them and know within myself I would be competitive. The question I have to ask myself is whether I need further proof of this and at what cost?

Get Lean and Fast

As the new year approached and the tentative cycling racing schedule was released, I began to think of the next phase in my weight lifting and cycling periodization plan. I came to the conclusion that my strength focused phase was one month too long. Although I would have liked to have continued for an additional month as I am beginning to see noticeable improvements, one early season race I want to perform well and be competitive requires me to lose weight and add some power. I have already begun the journey of shedding pounds through diet and after last weeks recovery period, I'll begin a high intensity interval training (HIIT) program with weights and start more structured and focused cycling workouts.

Leaning Phase - Weight Lifting and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

The goal of the Leaning Phase is to decrease the amount of fat weight, increase muscular power while maintaining muscular strength. This will be done by performing exhaustive workouts where the metabolic cost of each exercises and the workout as a whole is increased. To increase the metabolic cost of each exercise, I'll only perform exercises that recruit the most muscles. Full body exercises such as squats and deadlifts for the lower body, upper body pulls will include chin-ups and bent-over rows, and upper body pushes will include dips, bench press and squat press. To increase the metabolic cost of the workout as a whole, rest between exercises will be reduced considerably. Additionally, two forms of HIIT will be performed before and after the weight lifting exercises. The first form of HIIT will target both the upper and lower body parts through a series of 6 circuits, each circuit lasting 45 seconds with a 30 second rest between each series. Each circuit will be a maximum effort and the short recovery ensures the metabolic cost remains high. The second form of HIIT will be sprint intervals (30 seconds on, 30 seconds off) on a treadmill. I won't be including any HIIT cycling intervals as the equipment at the gym is not optimum for this and my cycling intervals will progressively get harder as I'll explain below.

To retain as much muscular strength during this Leaning Phase, each cycle will be proceeded by a one week Loading Phase. In the previous Hypertrophy and Strength Development phases I completed, each cycle ended with a week of unloading. During this time, low to medium weights were used to allow the muscles time to rest and adapt from the previous weeks efforts. During the Loading Phase, super heavy weights will be lifted to maintain and likely gain muscular strength. The volume during the Loading Phase will be reduced and any strength gains will only assist when I return to the Leaning Phase as I'll be able to lift heavier weights. The Loading Phase will coincide with the recovery period in my cycling Preparation Phase described below.

Preparation Phase - Cycling and Intervals at Lactate Threshold

The goal of this phase is to build upon the aerobic base acquired in the proceeding Foundation Phase by gradually introducing workouts to challenge my lacate threshold. There are many ways to determine ones lactate threshold heart rate; for my purpose, I estimate using field tests due to its convenience as it can be completed anywhere at no cost. One of the more notable field test methods from Joe Friel who suggests using a 30 minute time trial effort and record the average heart rate over the last 20 minutes or the average heart rate in a 1 hour race. I however prefer to use Chris Charmichael's method of two 8 minute time trial efforts and recording the highest average heart rate from the two efforts as described in his books The Time Crunched Cyclist and Ultimate Ride. The reason I prefer the later is that the second effort is generally better, more realistic than the first, can be easily completed on a single flat stretch of road and due to its relative shortness, allows you to give a 100% on both efforts. Too many variables get in the way in the first effort such as nerves and excitement resulting in starting off too fast or too slow. The length of the former field test method allows your mind to drift resulting in either a lack of concentration or the instilment of doubt. Additionally, I believe you will hold back in fear of not having the stamina to complete the test. With experience, this becomes less of an issue.

With my lactate threshold heart rate determined, I am able to set my heart rate training intensity zones and construct my training plan to prepare for key races in the year. My training plan up until the end of spring will consist of four one month mesocycles. Similar to other periodization strategies I have followed to date, each mesocycle will contain four one week microcycles, one of which will be reserved for recovery and adaptation. I find the three weeks on, one week off strategy works for me from a recovery perspective. Mesocycles one and three will include workouts below lactate threshold to lactate threshold where as mesocycles two and four will include workouts at lactate threshold to VO2max.

My challenge is the amount of time I am willing to set aside for cycling training. As I've mentioned in my blog before, all my training is done in the early hours usually before anyone is awake. Until the days the sun rises at 6am, most of my rides will therefore be indoors. Because of this, I found following a structured approach described by Chris Charmichael in his book The Time Crunched Cyclist works for my schedule, therefore I will continue to use and adapt his principals to my training. As there are specific attributes in each race I am targeting, I will be making adjustments in each mesocycle to prepare myself in the best way that I can. In the end, I hope it works out.  In the come months, I'll provide some riveting tales on my progress!

Improvised Workout During the Holidays

Over the Christmas holidays, training and exercising take a back seat to family commitments. Should training or exercise be possible, routines are often disrupted for a variety of reasons. For me, training was possible as I complete my workouts in the early hours of the morning before anyone else is awake. However my typical routines were disrupted as I was away at my in-laws for a few days. Without the bike or the convenience of a gym I had to improvise. Fortunately I was able to plan ahead, rework my training schedule and include a recovery week to break up my initial strength building weight lifting phase. The recovery week was very much needed anyway.

The following workout worked well for me as it required only me, a chair or stairs and a dumbbell. It worked my cardiovascular system, core, stability, strength and power and was not easy by any stretch.

Workout #1

I performed each of the following set of exercises 3 times in the order below for 30 seconds, completing the first set slowly and increasing the speed and intensity in subsequent sets. The total workout time was 10 minutes and 30 seconds.

Jog - jog on the spot
Jumping Jacks
Log Jumps - jump side to side as if jumping over a log.
123 Heisman - stutter step side and then bring your alternate knee up and touch your elbow (if stepping to the right, bring your left knee up to your right elbow)
Butt Kicks - jog on the spot and kick your glutes with your heels
High Knees - jog on the spot and bring your knees as high as possible
Power Jacks - like jumping jacks but dropping into a squat

Stretch

Performed a variety of stretches and yoga poses I would typically do.

Workout #2

I performed each of the following exercises in the order below 3 times. If I couldn't complete all the reps, I stopped, rested and continued until all the reps were complete. The rest period was relative to the number of reps remaining in the set. So for instance if I completed 15 of the 25 reps, I rested for 10 seconds (25 - 15) then continued.

Day 1

Standard Pushup - 25 reps
Bent Over Rows - 25 reps
Step-ups - 15 reps

Day 2

Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 25 reps
Dumbbell Upright Row - 25 reps
Single Leg Squat - 15 reps

Day 3

Decline Pushup - 15 reps
Prone One Arm Bent Over Row - 15 reps
Vertical Jumps - 15 reps

Stretch

Performed a variety of stretches and yoga poses I would typically do.

Winter Cycling - Beating the Indoor Monotony

Here in Southern Ontario, winter riding is for the most part do-able providing the roads are clear of snow and ice. The real issue is temperature as it can drop as low as -15 to -20 degrees Celsius. The coldest temperature I have ridden in while still remaining somewhat comfortable is -2 degrees Celsius without wind-chill. Those were in my younger days… these days my preference is riding inside.

Riding inside isn’t for everyone. It can be boring and monotonous, riding miles nowhere on a stationary trainer reading a book, watching television or day dreaming. To keep myself alert, to challenge my bike handling skills and to perfect my pedaling technique, I prefer to ride inside on rollers rather than a stationary trainer.

Cycling Rollers consist of 3 cylinders affixed to a frame. The bike sits on top of the rollers with the rear wheel sitting on top of two rear cylinders and the front wheel sitting on top of the front cylinder. When the bike is ridden, a cable attached to both the inside rear cylinder and the front cylinder turns turning the front cylinder and as a result turns the front wheel of the bike. This allows the bike to be balanced while ridden resulting in a near road like riding feeling. The only caveat is balancing the bike on the 12” long rollers… a skill in itself which is easily obtained with some practice.

Some dismiss the use of rollers as an effective training device due to their limited resistance capabilities. In my experience, I find the rollers provide an adequate amount of resistance for recovery rides, endurance rides, steady state intervals, lactate threshold intervals and in the saddle sprints. The resistance can be adjusted through the choice gearing and/or tire pressure or alternatively, through the use of a different cylinder circumference. The smaller the cylinder’s circumference, the more resistance will be felt.  It is possible to spin out on rollers and exceed speeds in excess of 100km/h, but I challenge anyone to attempt to do this for any duration longer than a minute!

Riding the rollers and the resulting alertness required to maintain your balance is generally enough to pass the time. However, I find adding a series of intervals passes the time quickly and provides an adequate workout.

In my current base preparation, I am mixing between muscle tension and steady state intervals while also completing muscle and strength development in the gym. For muscle tension intervals, I choose the largest gear and ride at a low cadence such as 50rpm for the desired interval duration. I do not worry about heart rate zone for muscle tension intervals. For steady state intervals, I choose a gearing that I can maintain a cadence of 90 to 95rpm for the desired interval duration and maintain my heart rate in my preferred workout zone.

My preferred workout zone is derived as a percentage of my anaerobic threshold (ATHR). I obtained my anaerobic threshold by completing two 8 minute efforts as hard as possible. For this, again I choose a gear I believe I can maintain a cadence of 90-95rpm for the full 8 minutes. At the end of each 8 minute effort, I recorded my average heart rate. After the second 8 minute effort, I recorded highest average heart rate as my anaerobic threshold heart rate. For me, this is 180bpm.

My Heart Rate Zones:

Z1 ( < 80% ATHR ): < 144bpm
Z2 ( 80% - 89% ATHR ): 144 – 162bpm
Z3 ( 90% - 93% ATHR ): 162 – 169bpm
Z4 ( 94% - 100% ATHR ): 169 – 180bpm
Z5 ( > 100% ATHR ): > 180bpm

The following is a sample of a steady state (SS) workout I performed recently. My HR hovers in the upper bounds of Z2 between 155 and 162bpm:

Warm-up ( 20 minutes )

4 minutes ( Z1 )
2 minutes ( Z2 )
1 minute ( Z1 )
2 minutes ( Z2 )
1 minute ( Z1 )
1 minute ( Z3 )
1 minute ( Z1 )
2 minutes ( Z3 )
6 minutes ( Z1 )

Intervals ( 70 minutes )

5 x 10 min Z2 w/ 5 min rest Z1

Cool-down ( 20 minutes )

20 minutes Z1

Total Workout Time: 110 minutes

Over the course of my base period, I will adjust both the interval duration ( Z2 ) and rest ( Z1 ) to continue to challenge myself. I will not adjust the intensity (increase my heart rate zone target) or cadence. Cadence will always remain within the 90-95rpm so gearing may be adjusted accordingly.

Get Big or Go Home

Over the last three months I have been following my first structured weight lifting program to develop muscle and strength which I hope will yield some benefit on the bike.  Unfortunately I did not think of all the ways to gauge my progress ahead of time such as measurements, maximum rep weight or photos and have only the mirror and my workout log to reflect upon.  I have completed my third and final Hypertrophy mesocycle which accounts for half of my six months Preparatory Phase.  Overall I am satisfied with my progression but have identified a few key elements that I need to improve upon should I hope to obtain maximum results from a weight lifting program.

My Preparatory Phase began in September with three one month mesocycles that consisted of four one week microcycles, three of which build from one week to the next and the forth for recovery and adaptation.  Each microcycle included three days of weight lifting, three days of low intensity / moderate mileage cycling with some muscle tension and/or steady state intervals and one day off.  Each mesocycle also built from one month to another as my schedule shows below.




3 month Hypertrophy Weight Lifting Phase and 3 of 4 month Foundation Cycling Phase


Key Components of My Program

Unlike more traditional forms of weight lifting where specific body parts are targeted such as Chest & Back, Legs & Abs and Arms & Shoulders, my program involved compound exercises that consisted of single push, pull and squat/deadlift exercises.  This allowed me to accomplish more in less time with less fatigue and soreness.  With compound exercises, you recruit more muscles into every exercise.  The squat for example recruits the gluteals, hamstrings, quadriceps, adductors, spinal erectors, calves and every stabilizing muscle from your neck to your feet.  I also attempt to recruit more muscle fibres by lifting heavy, lifting fast or a combination of lifting heavy and fast where possible.

I did not follow traditional sets of reps such as 3 sets of 10 reps.  Rather given the targeted workout load such as super heavy, heavy, medium or light, I completed a targeted number of reps.  How I got there did not matter.  For a heavy day, my target number of reps would be 25, so I might get there by doing 5 sets of 5 reps or 1 set of 6 reps plus 3 sets of 5 reps plus 1 set of 4 reps.  What mattered was ensuring I completed each rep as fast as possible with proper form and with a good range of motion.  If any of those three conditions were not met, I stopped the set, rested and continued until all targeted reps were complete.  Of course, this all did not come without challenges.

The Workouts

Twelve different exercises were completed over three days with varying degrees of load during each mesocycle.  Each workout consisted of one upper body pull exercise, one upper body push exercise, a variation of a squat or deadlift and one accessory type exercise.  For both the upper body push and pull, different angles were incorporated in each workout.  For instance upper body pulls on day one I would do a chin-up (vertical pull down), day two a seated row (horizontal pull) and day three a high pull (vertical pull up).  This ensured more muscles were recruited overall in the course of the week.  Likewise for lower body exercises, each day I would do a variation of a squat or deadlift.  So day one I would do a deadlift, day two a Bugarian split squat and day three a front squat.  Not all exercises were completed with both arms and both legs.  Single arm and single leg exercises were incorporated to facilitate recruitment of stabilizing muscles such as the Bulgarian split squat, one-arm cable pulley row and one-arm dumbbell bench press.  And finally, accessory type exercises were included to isolate a specific muscle group and / or assist in the development of grip strength that would aid in lifting heavier weights as I progressed.  Examples of those exercises included dumbbell standing single leg calf raises, dumbbell standing triceps extensions or hammer curls.

Due to the challenges that I outline below, I did incorporate some additional leg exercises such as box squats, hamstring curls and utilized leg machines such as the leg press and hack squat.  No more that one additional leg exercise was included in any given workout.

The Challenges

Since following this program approach, the two most compelling challenges that I faced have been range of motion and the ability to lift heavy.  A good range of motion allows you to go deeper on your lifts and decreases the chances of injury.  My upper body range of motion is limited by the effects of my separated shoulder.  Although I can go relatively deep on a bench press, there is considerable discomfort if not pain and I have to be very careful and mindful of the weight.  For lower body, the flexibility in my hamstrings and ankles limit my range of motion in the traditional squat and deadlifts.  With the limited range of motion, the effectiveness of the move is limited as to the benefit.

Lifting heavy is relative to the one repetition maximum weight that can be lifted and is obviously different for each person.  Certain exercises limit the weight that can be lifted safely and without a spotter and is likely far less than the maximum you could otherwise lift.  The bench press for instance requires a spotter to assist with heavy and super heavy weight.  To compensate for this, I would use either the Smith Machine or use dumbbells.  For exercises such as deadlifts, grip strength is necessary to lift heavy and super heavy.  Without adequate grip strength (or the use of straps), the maximum weight that can be lifted is limited.  To increase my grip strength, I would do single leg calf rises as I would use extremely heavy dumbbells.  Additionally, I would do single leg Romanian Deadlifts, again with heavy dumbbells.  Still with inadequate grip strength, I was limited to the maximum weight I could lift on the deadlift.  To compensate for this and to ensure I built the most leg strength possible, I would incorporate the machine leg press and hack squat to lift maximal weight while using the deadlift and squat as much as possible but at a much lesser weight.

The Results

As I mentioned above, I neglected to take any before measurements or pictures so there is little I can share to demonstrate the results.  Over the three months, my weight has increased approximately 6lbs while maintaining more or less my hydration and fat levels.  There are definitely noticeable changes in my physique but nothing too startling.

Next Steps

I’m moving on to a three month strength focused period.  This period will consist of similar workouts but the weight will remain medium (8-10 rep max) to super heavy (2-3 rep max) and up to 30 minutes of cardio primarily on the stepmill or elliptical.  Again, each cycle will build from one to the next.  The cycling portion during the first month will remain the same, muscle tension with steady state intervals where possible and where fatigue allows.  The last two months I will start incorporating on the bike resistance training and sprints.  The duration for my cycling workouts will max out at approximately 2hrs to 2.5hrs as my riding at this time is anticipated to be indoors due to snow.



3 month Strength Weight Lifting Phase, 4th month of Foundation Cycling Phase and 2 of 4 month Preparation Cycling Phase



Preparatory Phase

Having taken a short break from structured cycling workouts and slowly re-introducing myself with weights in the gym, I am now beginning a six month Preparatory Phase that initially consists of muscle development and low intensity cycling workouts, will lead into on and off the bike strength development and finally into cycling and racing specific workouts.

The break, or as commonly called the Transition Phase, was much needed.  The eight week cycle I put myself through over the summer after my shoulder separation to prepare for the Niagara Classic Road Race was intensive and as I discovered, more than my body was willing to take.  Cycling during this transition phase was enjoyable as the rides contained no structure; simply just going out and riding.  Gym workouts also began during this phase; starting with two sessions a week and increasing to four sessions over a 4 week period.  An assortment of exercises were completed, again no real structure per se, just reintroducing my body and muscles to the effort they would endure over the next 24 weeks.

The Preparatory Phase is my first structured attempt at muscle development so there will be lots to learn during this process.  As part of an annual plan or as commonly known as Periodization, my Preparatory Phase begins with three one month cycles (mesocycles) where each cycle includes four one week microcycles, three of which build from one week to the next and the forth for recovery and adaptation.  Each microcycle will include a three day split weight lifting program, three days of low intensity / moderate mileage cycling with some muscle tension and/or steady state intervals and one day off.

The weight lifting portion includes three workouts that are completed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and contain four exercises; one upper body pull, one upper body push, one squat or deadlift and one accessory / isolation exercise.  In the first mesocycle, each week begins with heavy weight, low number of repetitions and high number of sets and ends with a light weight, high number of repetitions and low number of sets.  The logic behind this approach is to lift heavy earlier in the week when your muscles are more rested.  As the week progresses, although the weight decreases, the increased repetitions and fatigue on the muscles ensures the workout remains challenging.  For each exercise, a different angle is used.  Upper body pulls for instance might include a chin-up on day 1, a seated row on day 2 and an upright row on day 3.  Likewise, at least one lower body exercise each week will be completed on one leg such as a Bulgarian Split Squat or One Leg Romanian Deadlift as these recruit a lot of stabilizer muscles. These ensure the body is challenged each day while at the same time preventing stress on the joints.

At the completion of each mesoocycle, the workouts are changed, weight and intensity is increased and new exercises are introduced to continue to challenge your mind and muscles.

In the coming posts, I will write about all that I learn throughout this phase.