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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mcsqueak says:

Mar 9 2012 at 9:25 am

@King Clydesdale

Anyone here strictly for or against weight training, while we're on the topic of training. I'm really thinking of taking advantage of my works "gym" (an all in one style machine, some freeweights, a big pilates ball or whatever they are, and a treadmill which I will ignore).

The reason I ask is because if its all about power to weight ratio then wouldn't working out the legs a bit help things out? Specifically hip flexor, quads, glutes, and hamstring exercises? At the least my guns will look more intimidating...

I'm already doing well on the weight aspect, I'm actually less then a couple pounds away from loosing the Clydesdale status, should easily be below once the weather turns warm enough for the group rides and commuting.

I've come around on weight training to benefit cycling.

When I first started riding, I thought "cycling is all I'll ever need!!" but the reality, especially as an office worker that spends 5-10 hours a day sitting, is far from that.

I mentioned it on another thread, but I started training with kettlebells recently, under an instructor that use to be a Cat 1 road/track cyclist. I've only been doing it for three weeks now, but I can already feel a positive change. I can actually feel muscles that I have never felt before, being used during these workouts, and I already feel that my back is more flat when I ride.

I'm going to keep it up for a few months and see how I feel about it at that point. I'm doing this specifically to benefit my cycling, and there is no downside that I can see. Especially because it's a workout that isn't designed to build unnecessary muscles.
frank says:

Mar 9 2012 at 9:30 am

I'm no expert, but I don't think you lose power by having the cleat back or forward - you lose power by having loss in the system. Moving your ankle around means that your leg is pushing something that's not pushing the pedal but instead is moving your foot. Your ankle will never be strong enough to unload the kind of power that the leg might be storing there for use later in the stroke, which I believe is what the reasoning is with flexing your ankle.

You have to flex your ankle some in order to have a smooth stroke, but I think the most efficient system is to keep your ankle relatively stiff while its loaded. Have a look at ANYONE sprinting or climbing out of the saddle and the ankle is stiff for this reason.

By and large, movement means loss. If there is friction, the movement will cost energy so whatever energy gets stored in the system will be less by the time it comes back out.
Vin'cenza says:

Mar 9 2012 at 9:46 am

@Nate

@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.

I will go on this advice @Nate to move my cleats (Mavic) forward as much as 5mm this weekend. I am 6'3" and truly wear a size 43, but racing with a 44 to allow foot swelling and to improve my dainty appearance. Cleats are kept pushed all the way back to feel it right on the ball of my foot. My sprints and long duration and intensity have been acceptable, but not memorable. Always want to see if there is more potential mechanically wherever it can be unturned. My favorite quote again (not my quote) "Races are decided over very small differences."
Vin'cenza says:

Mar 9 2012 at 9:56 am

@marko
@Nate
@frank
I'll take two of Mugatu's crazy-pills and keep the cleats as is -- for now.
TommyTubolare says:

Mar 9 2012 at 10:11 am

@frank
I find this article very interesting and helpful in regards to what you said about cleat position.If you also look at other articles on the right there's a lot of good info to read.

http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/blog/2011/04/power-to-the-pedal-cleat-position/
Calmante says:

Mar 9 2012 at 10:26 am

I definitely don't believe in over doing it with moving the cleat back, because it really is necessary to have enough foot length to provide a nice round stroke. However, the calves and other muscles in the lower leg do not provide any power to the pedals. They are merely fighting your upper leg, regardless of how massive they are. This isn't my independent opinion...

Steve Hogg says it best on his site, if you haven't tried it, you just don't know.
Marcus says:

Mar 9 2012 at 10:43 am

@Vin'cenza
6'3" and you have 43 sized feet!? You sure they aren't hooves? Or did you remove your toes to save weight?
Vin'cenza says:

Mar 9 2012 at 12:50 pm

@Marcus

@Vin'cenza
6'3"³ and you have 43 sized feet!? You sure they aren't hooves? Or did you remove your toes to save weight?

I am like a prancing Centaur (ba-duh-BING) especially when I wear the black BONTs. I am still thinking that this is an advantage for me in cycling and racing ?? I look like a marionette.
Vin'cenza says:

Mar 9 2012 at 1:23 pm

Oh fuck! Watch this video (again) from 1937
http://nos.nl/video/347081-1937-wielrenners-hinderen-stoomtrein.html
tessar says:

Mar 9 2012 at 2:11 pm

@frank

@tessar
Welcome, and I feel your pain, mate. Overnight (literally) I went from preparing to take on the world sporting-wise to spending the next 12 weeks in a wheelchair. It is very difficult to wait out your injury, but worthwhile in the end.

The point about breaking bad habits is also well taken; sometimes a real break is worth a lot. But similarly, that break can also lead to other bad habits, like eating and drinking too much.

Be patient. Have discipline. VLVV.

Cheers! I'm pretty lucky as far as my body is concerned, since at my tender age of 20 my metabolism still copes with 3-4 full meals a day (plus snacks) and keeps my 1.87m frame at an ultra-lean ~65kg. I have to say I'm pretty much back at full fitness - and right on time, spring started yesterday which we celebrated with a 130km ride with just the arm-warmers, and the legs are finally burning from the first sunburn of the year.

And as far as Living La Vie Velominatus, I'll have to admit that my choice of university for next year was heavily affected by the multitude of quiet, desolated >8% climbs surrounding it.