Categories: ExportLa Vie Velominatus

La Vie Velominatus: Train Properly

There are few pleasures in life as great as to achieve a goal, to accomplish something that doesn’t come easily. Great lessons are taught through this activity; we learn that it is our determination and not our doubt that defines our limits. We learn that through studied discipline we can cultivate the skills required to work incrementally towards becoming what we want to be.

This is true for our personal, social and professional lives – and any other aspect that I may have left off. But to achieve our goals is usually a rather complicated mess; it requires introspection, it often requires reliance upon others to do their part or at least not interfere with you doing yours, and it is usually rife with hard choices of long-lasting and difficult to understand consequences.

In its most basic form, Cycling provides us a path to discovery in a less complicated model than do our actual lives. We train our bodies, we become more healthy. We become more healthy, we train more. We become stronger, we go faster. We derive more pleasure from our efforts. We experience reward for sacrifice. We associate progress with the pain of an effort. We enjoy Cycling more. We ride more. We become healthier still. We become stronger still. We go even faster. We suffer more. We associate more pain with a greater sense of achievement. And though it all, we discover it that unlike every other walk of life, in Sport we are islands: what we find here is only what we have brought with us.

Eventually, exercising will become training. The activity becomes richer with the application of the discipline that comes with this rebadging. Exercise is something you do regularly but without structure. With training comes a study of your body and how it responds to stimulus. Long rides have a different effect on the body than do short ones. Successive hard efforts have another effect, as do longer and shorter periods off the bike.

Training Properly requires discipline and patience. It means you don’t just throw your leg over your machine and pedal off to ride along tree-lined boulevards. Training Properly means having a plan for each day. It means heading for the hills one day, and the plains another. It means controlling yourself and not trying to set your best time up the local climb because you feel good that day. Training Properly means restraining yourself on a group ride and not joining in on the town line sprints if your plan doesn’t call for it. Training Properly means leaving for a ride despite the rain falling from the heavens and the loved ones whom you leave at home.

Training Properly comes down you and you alone; much can be learned from books and coaches, but the path is yours to walk. The discovery is yours to experience and to shape into what you are seeking. There are, however, some basics to keep in mind. Also keep in mind I’m not a “Sports Doctor”, “Physiotherapist”, or “Smart”. And never take medical or sporting advice from Some Guy On the Internet.

Break your muscles down, and allow them to build back up. This is the fundamental principle of Training Properly. Hard efforts break your muscles down. You body will respond by building them back stronger than they were before. This process takes time. Be patient.
Observe Rule #5 when appropriate. In accordance with #1 above, laying down the V is handy for breaking the muscles down, but not so much for allowing them to build back up. Lay down the V one day, then give your body a chance to build back up, either through rest or through low-intensity recovery rides.
Learn to listen to your body. There are good pains and bad pains – learn to tell the difference. Good pains include burning lungs, gun aches, road rash, and the like. These pains will lessen during a ride or even go away completely. Proceed carefully, but learn to push through them; if they don’t go away, they get classified as bad pains. Bad pains include different types of knee pain and chronic pains in, for example, your shoulders, back, or neck. Knees are especially sacred and should be looked after carefully; see a physiotherapist for this and if they prescribe time off the bike, take it. Rushing recovery on a sensitive injury may seem tough and in compliance with Rule #5, but may set you back more than being patient and recovering fully. If you suffer from chronic pains, consult a fitting specialist and work on your position.
Train to ride farther than you need to. Incrementally increase the distance of your training, until you can ride farther than you need to. If you are training for a Sportive or race of 140 kilometers, train to ride 160 or 200; you will arrive for your event with the confidence that you can easily handle the ride and will have something in reserve should things not go according to plan.
Save competing for Race Day. Being competitive is for racing, not training. Set goals for a ride, and adhere to them. Don’t chase after a rider who passes you on a climb when you are on a recovery ride. Don’t lift your pace when you see a rider ahead who you think you can catch. If you don’t race, pick a day or two every week where you try to catch every rider you spot on the road – but remember that they should also be adhering to their own training plan; don’t sit on uninvited and don’t hinder their training through your antics.

Be patient. Have discipline. Train Properly. Vive la Vie Velominatus.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

marko says:

Mar 9 2012 at 8:53 am

@McTyke

This. It's gotta be a balance. If you wholly follow calmante's logic then why not just put cleats under heels and take the foot out of the equation? And, tell a rider with massive calves that all they are doing is stabilizing their foot and see what response you get. You need your calves for kick, among other things. The fulcrum of the foot is not at the end either, it's about a third from the end with force being applied in both flexion and extension as tendons and muscles exert force on either side of the ankle. The assertion above is overstated.

Moving the cleat back, as stated, does provide benefits in fatigue reduction but it does come at a cost. I personally have moved mine back over the years as well but when I've gone too far back by stroke feels choppy and less smooth.
Nate says:

Mar 9 2012 at 8:54 am

I recall reading somewhere the Cav's power numbers aren't that impressive. He is so fast because he is aero as hell.

Since no one has mentioned it, I'll toss out the training advice attributed to Eddy Himself: ride lots.

@King Clydesdale
I've seen programs advocating weights in the offseason for strength. Another this would be to get on the pilates ball and do core exercises. A strong core provides a solid based for the guns and helps the body endure longer rides.
Nate says:

Mar 9 2012 at 8:58 am

@marko
This. Like most things its a compromise. Farther back is good for endurance; farther forward is good for top end power, sprinting and attacking.
Chris says:

Mar 9 2012 at 9:05 am

@Nate
The core is an area I really need to target, my lower back is my limiting factor when it comes to time in the saddle, not my legs. While I'm doing off the bike work to strengthen my core,I can't see any reason not to throw in some leg work.
Dan_R says:

Mar 9 2012 at 9:13 am

@King Clydesdale
@DrC

Yes. Smooth and fast - when Kurt Hairnet's (Canadians will get the joke) flying 200m record was finally broken a few years back, the cadence set was about 185 on a 53/11. Cav also gets carried to the sprint at an already incredible 55+ speed before he needs to take over. That helps
Chris says:

Mar 9 2012 at 9:17 am

@frank, @McTyke

I wasn't for a moment suggesting that he wasn't going that fast, just putting some numbers against @King Clydesdale's estimate of cadence and marvelling that he makes it look somewhat effortless on cobbles and going uphill.

I'll never go that fast but I'd like to think that I could maybe develop enough style so as not to look an electrocuted frog when I hit my own personal top speed.
Dan_R says:

Mar 9 2012 at 9:20 am

@Nate

I recall reading somewhere the Cav's power numbers aren't that impressive. He is so fast because he is aero as hell.

Since no one has mentioned it, I'll toss out the training advice attributed to Eddy Himself: ride lots.

@King Clydesdale
I've seen programs advocating weights in the offseason for strength. Another this would be to get on the pilates ball and do core exercises. A strong core provides a solid based for the guns and helps the body endure longer rides.

Didn't PVP advocate resistence training for Masters athletes? His only cavet was,"resistence training on the bike."

Hungarian split squats are my favourite (as in least favourite to do) along with box jumps between sprint sets on the trainer.

I want to puke just thinking about it.

And Frank, great article - training is personal, so don't fuck it up by trying to do it on a group ride!
frank says:

Mar 9 2012 at 9:20 am

@McTyke

@frank

@Calmante

This is also why I believe in non-traditional cleat placement, ie. as far back toward the heel as possible. Having large feet is a liability in cycling, and there really isn't much science to the method of placing the ball of your foot over the axle. The shorter you make that lever, the less your lower leg has to work to stabilize your foot. I wont go so far as to recommend mid-foot cleat placement, like Joe Friel does, but I won't knock it, either.

Interesting, I never thought of it that way. Through experimentation, I've moved my cleat rather far back - not as far as possible, but it's behind the ball of my foot. It wound up there because it seems to be cause less fatigue on long rides. Makes perfect sense given the lever position. Very cool point.

I'm not so sure about this. If you move the cleat back too far, won't you lose the 'ankling' effect and the extra power that can be supplied by the lower leg? Doesn't a fluid stroke need the ankles to flex during pedalling? How can you 'dance' on the pedals like Pantani, or even Contador, if the pedals are beneath the middle of your feet?

Its funny you mention Pantani. His pedalling style is what got me moving it back. He doesn't do this ankling effect that you're talking about - those are more the styles of Hinault and LeMond. Dancing means that you are certainly still flexing your ankles, but not dramatically.

But to your point, of course - don't over-do it. You don't want you cleat on your fucking heel.
wiscot says:

Mar 9 2012 at 9:22 am

I wear Diadora shoes pretty much exclusively these days. After I got my first pair it just seemed that the cleat holes were a tad further back than on other shoes. Consequently, I have the Look-style cleats about as far back as possible. I really like this set up and I don't feel like I'm riding on my tip toes. Most of my riding is distance and not racing so it works for me.

My core sucks but I try and be aware of my posture during the day and my new indoor trainer forced me to keep the core tight. Still needs more consistent work though.
frank says:

Mar 9 2012 at 9:25 am

@Chris

@Nate
The core is an area I really need to target, my lower back is my limiting factor when it comes to time in the saddle, not my legs. While I'm doing off the bike work to strengthen my core,I can't see any reason not to throw in some leg work.

This has made a monster difference for me. I've been doing just simple stuff - leg lifts and the like - while laying in bed watching TV. Three sets of 50, 60, and 75 and my core is so much stronger its incredible. I can engage the pedal much sooner in the stroke and pull it around much better through the dead spots.