Core Fitness

Sort your core fitness out to get faster

I've been road cycling for about two and half years now and in that time there's no doubt that I'm better on a bike now than I was in 2009.  I've enjoyed the initial weight loss, getting faster, overcoming hills, riding my first 100 miles and - more importantly - acquiring bikes!

In June, I'll be riding London to Paris in three days and I've been thinking about my weight, my stamina and my core strength, prior to the ride.  I spend a lot of time on my rear. I drive to work, spend all day in meetings or at my desk, sit down in the restaurant for lunch, I'm regularly on trains, planes or sat at my home PC blogging.  When I'm not doing that I'm sat in a saddle on a bike, see what I mean?

Although I've done some reasonable miles, I don't seem to be getting any faster and my ride averages have stayed pretty much the same.  My weight has bottomed out, so despite riding 100 miles or so a week, it isn't impacting on my weight.  I know my cardiac fitness is good from my last BUPA test, however my body fat had increased.

Total Cycling Performance

A little while back I was contacted by Simon Vincent of Total Cycling Performance in South Wales and invited down for a full assessment of my composition and body conditioning. I don't get to South Wales much on business, so taking advantage of a recent trip down, I called in to see Simon at his home studio.

I love people like Simon - a new business, going less than a year - he's one of those people that has given up a successful career to do something he loves, sports science driven body conditioning and assessment.  In many ways, he reminded me of Craig Middleton at Onix Bikes who did the same thing (following his passion).

Simons set up is in his back garden.  A large studio full of gym equipment and gizmos for measuring, assessing and training his clients.  I have to be honest, I was a little nervous as - apart from the bike - I don't do anything else for fitness and I've never been a strongman.  I knew my core strength needed improving, but I had no idea what my base was.

Ground Zero

After a pre-assessment of my diet, exercise and lifestyle it was on to the physical bit.  Leg presses, extensions, arm presses, grip strength, lat pulldowns, flexibility measurements, lung capacity, body fat make up, hydration, wattbike pedalling analysis, maximum heart rate and core muscle tests to name but a few, Simon gave his assessment - basically, my core strength is really poor.  The only saving grace was an above average lung capacity, pedal stroke was OK (but still with room for improvement) and my back strength was higher than average.  In all other elements, it was lower quartile - ouch.



Get off the bike

Simon gave me some initial feedback and followed that up with a 20 page report with all of his findings, but more importantly his recommendations.  A complete change to my diet, my hydration, my time in the saddle and my fitness regime, including joining a gym, fundamentally, riding a lot less.

Explaining the science behind the metabollism, it quickly dawned on me that there were some big changes needed.  By increasing my core strength and losing some weight through effective management of diet and time in the gym, I can make the progress I need to nail London to Paris.



The Metrics

I love data.  It takes the guesswork out of it and makes it factual.  Simon collects data as he conducts his tests and then presents it back to you, comparing against what you should be capable of.  Here's a few of the statistics: -

Leg Press.  You should be able to press x3.5 your bodyweight. I could do x2.1.
The Plank (see picture).  You should be able to hold about 90 seconds.  I held about 20 seconds (now up to 45 with some more practice).
Leg Extension.   You should be able to do 0.45 x your bodyweight.  My target should be around 43kg.  I could do 25kg.

The Plank

You get the story?   Basically all to play for.  So where do we go from here?  Simon wrote me a twelve week fitness plan, broken down by day.  In it, full details are given as to what exercise I need to do, number of repetitions or sessions on the wattbike or out on the road.  Combined with this is also a recommendation as to my diet, calories I need to eat with the correct balance of protein, fat and carbohydrates. 

Making the Change

The big changes I have to make are to drink a lot more water, upping intake to 3L a day and eating a lot more natural protein in my diet through nuts, lean meat and fish. Milk has to be switched to full fat, bread only after a training session and in limited amounts, 9-12 portions of fruit and vegetables leading to a re-balancing of my body make-up. More stretching is needed to increase my suppleness, dynamic stretching sessions make a frequent appearance in the 12 week plan.


Simon’s unique approach to nutrition also advocates the use of absolutely no synthetic protein shakes, vitamin supplements, or other man made versions of nutrients that as he put it “can all get provided by Mother Nature given a little planning and organisation”.

My aim is to look to lose around 1kg a week of fat through steady and consistent management of my diet, exercise and to also gain a significant amount of additional cycling strength and power, through a structured and targeted strength training regime of just 2 sessions per week. By doing this, I should radically improve my base strength and power to weight ratio, resulting in better miles on the bike - we'll see.

I'm about four days in and I've never drunk so much water, been to the loo so much or consumed so much white meat. It's had some immediate impacts in that I'm not snacking, reaching for sugary things like biscuits around 4pm, I've given up sugar in coffee too. The scales seem to like it as my body seems to already be adjusting to the new diet and dipping in to my fat reserves.

I'll keep reporting back on progress, it's good to have a plan to follow, something personal to you as an individual, written around your body, your lifestyle and your areas requiring improvement specific to improving your total cycling performance.

A session with Simon in South Wales to assess your all round cycling ability, but perhaps most importantly the full physiological weaknesses within your current training and nutrition practices preventing you becoming a more efficient, faster and stronger cyclist starts from £75.00. I think that’s money very well spent as you can then focus your future training on smarter rather than longer sessions, in order to get a lot closer to realising your true cycling potential.

If you're really brave, you can book in the local hotel and then go and ride some Welsh mountains afterwards.  Erm, anyone seen my car keys?

Guest Post from Denise Hampson - Losing Weight on the Bike Pt II

Here's the second part to the blog that Denise Hampson has written for us around the subject of weight loss.  You can access the first part here.

In my opinion too many cyclists are overly obsessed with energy drinks, recovery drinks, protein shakes and gels. These highly engineered products can help you turn up on race day in the best shape and give you a final burst of energy to the finish line. But they don't give much of an advantage for being a mouse-potato (see what i did there...) riding computers 40 hours a week.

These products contain masses of energy and it's ok to replace the energy you burn on two wheels, but if you always replace what you use you will never lose weight. My advice would be to go easy on the energy products.

Remember too that these shakes, mixes and gels are branded products. Top riders are encouraged to promote them and sponsored by them. When I was on the GB team we had all of our drinks in Lucozade bottles. Did I have Lucozade *in* my bottle....? And you might hesitate if you knew the unofficial name the Aussie road girls had for gels...!

The big question to ask yourself is what are your goals? If you want to enjoy club rides more, lose weight and tone up then your approach will be a lot different to the one you'd take if you were competing seriously. Running out of energy mid-ride is more of a problem if you have a performance goal and a race coming up than if you are going to have a week to recover at your desk.

If you are in the latter group and get it wrong, what's the worst that can happen? You make a call to get a lift home or grovel back on empty with a great new story to entertain club-mates at next week's cafe stop.

For many the pleasure gained from cycling is the social side and this can involve lots of food (and beer!) Somehow tea and cakes taste better the more miles you have to do to get them. The best pint of tea I have ever had was at Pete's Eats in Llanberis and it made the 70mile round trip to get there seem worthwhile. Comments like "I can eat what I want because I'll burn it off on the road" are commonly heard. But if you put back all the energy you burn, you're efforts to lose weight will be in vain.

Train in the mornings if you can. If you want to lose weight you should take advantage of any easy option to burn extra calories. When you train you ramp up your body's metabolism/rate of burning energy. Of course you'd expect that, but what many people don't know is that post exercise your metabolism remains elevated for several hours which means you'll be burning extra energy just sitting still. The earlier in the day you do this, the better the 'afterburn'!

In a nutshell:

• Don't overdo the energy drinks and gels while you are out but do still take on lots of fluids/water.
• You get better returns on weight loss efforts by focussing on your diet. But the activity element is still important, and is usually the missing ingredient with yo-yo dieters.
• Be clear on your goals. If they are performance related, lose weight more slowly. Otherwise you can probably afford to experiment a bit more.
• Watch your portions at all times, especially days you don't ride. Don't find yourself overconsuming energy-rich foods "because I'm a cyclist".
• Do other types of training. It'll bring about bigger benefits and work out those areas you don't get to when cycling.
• Work out early if you can. A quick spin on the rollers or turbo trainer before breakfast or a cycle to work are ideal.
• Finally, don't deny yourself the things you really want. Life is too short!

www.denisehampson.com

Denise co-authored the Deeprotox Sportspersons Eating Plan with Medical Nutritionist James Jones. Although not intended specifically for it, people of all ages and abilities who have used this approach have found it beneficial to losing some weight. To find out more or to purchase a copy, visit www.deeprotox.co.uk

Photo courtesy of CycleSportPhoto's.com. 

Guest Post from Denise Hampson - Losing Weight on the Bike

I asked former Team GB track sprinter Denise Hampson to offer some advice on a question that I know we all regularly ask ourself about losing weight.  In the first year of cycling, I lost about a stone in weight, but quickly bottomed out and have found it hard to sustain.  In the first part of a two part post, Denise offers some great advice.

Am I riding at too high an intensity to lose weight?


I've been asked this question a number of times by riders who would like to shed a few lbs. Usually I'm told it's for easier hill climbing and more efficient riding. Worthwhile aims, although just below the surface there's often a holiday, a wedding, a wardrobe of great clothes that can no longer be worn, an evening wine habit that needs managing or the simple fact that Lycra is unforgiving. For whatever reason you might wish to let go of a couple or more lb of body fat I have written down some thoughts that may help.

Let me explain where I'm coming from. I was a track sprinter. This is significant because not only were the track bankings the biggest 'hills' we had to get over we also traded in absolute power. As a sprinter it is better to carry a few extra lb and maintain your power. Ask any shot-putter! With sprinters the biggest mistake I could have made was to lose weight too quickly. Some of the most formidable opponents I ever faced were carrying excess weight but once they got to race speed it was like trying to get past a high speed train!

However, as a person who has lost some weight for sport and one who has had to manage weight post-sport, as a person who has developed a best practice community weight loss programme and written Department of Health guidance on weight management for children and families I have a lot of knowledge in this field and I'm happy to share it if it helps.

The first thing I want you to know is that weight loss is dead simple. It's a transaction between energy in and energy out. It is when we bring along our expectations, limiting self-beliefs, myths, emotions, habits, ideals and desires that weight loss gets complicated. Put your emotions away now and you'll be surprised how well you get on.

As human animals we are programmed to consume as much calorie-dense food as we can and preserve as much stored energy as we can. Our hunter-gatherer bodies haven't yet caught up with the 24/7 availability of cheap calories sitting in our cupboards.

We are incredibly efficient at holding on to energy and cycling is one of the most efficient activities we can do. Trying to waste energy through being active is the hardest route possible, so to lose weight I'd suggest addressing your diet every time. As a 60kg female I operate on approximately 100kcals per mile I run. To burn 1lb of body fat per week I'd have to run 5miles a day! Don't underestimate your body's ability to conserve energy.

We become more efficient the more we do an activity too. A seasoned cyclist will ride more efficiently than a novice. This is the reason I always recommend some cross training to 'keep the body guessing'. I call it 'body shock'. Our bodies naturally aim for balance, or equilibrium. I have met many cyclists who are incredibly fit and strong but they almost rest their bellies on their top tubes.

They have reached a state of equilibrium with strong legs and backside but with a weakness around the middle. Keeping the body in an ongoing state of shock will help with weight loss. On the flip-side body-shock can also contribute to burn-out so give yourself lots of rest too.

Think of calories like you think of money. Your body needs a certain amount to get by to maintain your body systems. Daily needs vary between 1500 and 3000 kcals depending on a range of factors. One thing is certain though, You can't work on negative calories so there will always be a limit on how fast you can lose weight. Programmes that encourage a steady weight loss of 1-2lb (0.5-1kg) per week are best because it's fast enough to keep you motivated and slow enough to keep you healthy. Aim for more rapid weight loss and you could be asking for trouble.

If you lose weight too quickly you might find your body starts converting your muscle tissue back into energy. It's called catabolism (sounds like cannibalism) and can undo all the hours you've spent slogging for fitness on your bike.

In answer to the original question, energy is energy as far as I'm concerned. Yes studies show we can utilise different energy systems in training but for the majority of people, this level of
detail is a distraction....

Second part of post, published tomorrow.
 
www.denisehampson.com
 

Denise co-authored the Deeprotox Sportspersons Eating Plan with Medical Nutritionist James Jones. Although not intended specifically for it, people of all ages and abilities who have used this approach have found it beneficial to losing some weight. To find out more or to purchase a copy, visit www.deeprotox.co.uk

Photo courtesy of CycleSportPhoto's.com. 

Guest Post from Chris Tasker of Cycle Coaching

I'm going to be inviting some people to do guest posts from time to time.

Here's the first one from guest blogger Chris Tasker of Verinesvelo.com. I asked him to put put something together for beginner and intermediate cyclists looking to make the jump to the next level of performance. Here's what he wrote: -

*************************************************************************

In my experience most club cyclists are very good at sitting in a group (usually of friends) and covering between 40 and 100 miles each weekend ride. These rides often include a coffee stop and maybe a few attacks/breakaways on the climbs or sprints to certain road signs. Some clubs also have a mid week chain gang session for riders to stretch their legs a bit but generally much of their training is done at a similar intensity.

The canny club cyclists however are locking themselves away through the week and hitting the turbo trainer to put in some intervals to improve their power and threshold levels. Are you?

There is a phrase which goes something like this “If you keep doing the same thing in training why would you expect to achieve anything different in racing?”

In my opinion the first thing any cyclist (or any athlete in fact) should consider are their aims or goals and from that set themselves some objectives. For example, if a cyclist has a good aerobic base but wants to improve their average time in the ever popular 100 mile sportif they need to build on their ability to ride at a higher intensity for a longer duration. Whereas a team mate who wants to improve their 10 mile time-trial personal best (PB) wants to be able to ride at a much higher intensity (Wattage or heart rate) but for a far shorter duration.

The body is a remarkable thing and can adapt rapidly to stress, fitness is essentially the body reacting to exercise (stress). To continue improving we must consider the stresses we are placing on our body and vary those stresses to keep building that fitness rather than plateauing.

Given that our time limited cyclist is looking to improve their average speed over a longer distance I would have them spend time riding shorter durations at higher average speeds to train their muscles and heart to cope with delivering more power to the pedals.

By using a heart rate monitor to more accurately gauge the effort being placed on the body we can prescribe a number of training zones in which we can work to achieve different adaptations depending on the desired outcome (TT or sportif for example) – heart rate zones is not the subject of this article but may be covered in a future article.

There are large gains to be made in a relatively short period of time by incorporating interval training into our training. For example most people can find a one hour period during the week to train and an example session may look something like this:

10 minute warm up

Increase heart rate or perceived effort level to 75 – 80% of their maximum heart rate and hold it for 30 minutes. By measuring the average speed recorded or distance covered it is possible to measure improvement over a period of time. The duration may change but by recording the average speed across the session (be it 1x30, 2x15 or 3x10 for example) the athlete can track their fitness at a particular heart rate. If the athlete is travelling further/ higher average speed they must be getting fitter.

10 minute warm down.

In summary our mythical rider needs to add more riding at higher intensities to improve their average speed over their chosen distance (goal setting). Our athlete is time short but would be encouraged to identify 2x1hr periods through the week (early morning or after the children are in bed maybe?) to incorporate some turbo training.

Time spent stressing the body in training will bring about considerable improvements and allow our cyclist to ride faster for longer and achieve their individual goals – it’s then time to reassess their goals and plan ways in which to achieve them.

Chris Tasker http://www.VerinesVelo.com - Cycle Coaching)