Planning when to train

A friend of mine Hermione in South Africa asked me about the best time to strength train? Post ride? Pre-Ride? Rest Days? Or all the above? Hermione, there is no simple answer and everyone has different needs. It’s a fine balance between rest and training. Rest is as important if not more important than training. When we rest, our body recovers and adapts. Without this period of rest we would be injured and burnt out. So we really need to focus on getting the best of both. Here are some guide lines. 1. The risk of injury is dramatically increase if you take on the strategy of linking two training session back to back. Pre or Post ride training can have a negative impact on your performance. If you ride and then strength train you are going to feel the after effects of the ride and hindering your performance in the strength session and the same can be said if you reverse the two. 2. Riding is catabolic by nature (breaks down muscle) where as strength training is anabolic (builds muscle) and they both work different energy systems. Riding is cardiovascular (generally) and strength training is pushing lactic thresholds(generally). But Hermione is on the right track! You can do both sessions in one day, however you need to allow for recovery for best results. 1. Have a morning ride and an afternoon strength training session. This way the body has time to recover and refuel. 2. Manage the work load: Two high intensity sessions in one day can easily lead to over training and or injury, especially when you are starting out. So manage the work load by having an easy morning session and tough afternoon session or one tough day then one easy day. Mix things up and keep a look out for signs of over training. 3. Rest days are important and they become even more important the more you challenge yourself. This is an outline of what I mean: Monday Early short ride Afternoon Weights circuit Tues Early Core session Afternoon Hill Training Wed Rest and Stretching Thurs Early Short Ride Legs (strength and power) gym Fri Morning Core and stretching Afternoon moderate ride Sat Rest and Stretching Sun Morning Long ride Afternoon Stretching The plan above is obviously not going to suit everyone, but hopefully it will inspire you to try build your own. I look forward to any questions you may have. Noel

 

Training Matt for Afgan!

Matt swing a bell under blue skies!

Awesome to see Matt behind the Camera on an epic adventure!

Return To Afghanistan: Behind The Scenes – Sky1 HD.

So lets rewind almost 2 years. I got an email from Matt in March of 2010. He was looking to get back into shape and asked if I could help out.

Matt is a Producer/Director/Camera Man and all round nice guy.

Matt had come back from doing a documentary “Joanna Lumley’s Nile” and had spent too much time in the chair editing and not enough time running around with the camera . So he really just wanted to shed some weight and get back to into fitness.

Matt enjoys the outdoors and running, so we arrange to do runs in the forest and I often set up circuits using bells, power bags, tyres and anything the outdoors had to offer.

Matt Behind the Camera

I needed Matt’s training to be relevant and challenging. Which I presume is why he came to me. Forget the comforts of the warm studio or the social hours of 9-5. We trained in ever condition imaginable! Most would stay home or fake an illness. But we were out running, swinging Kettlebells or just generally destroying Matt in every way possible. One particular morning we headed out to mountain bike in -15 degrees and thick snow! Matt’s warm up was pushing my car up an icy slope and out the snow. Thanks again Matt!

But when you consider the alternative you understand Matts determination and my persistence to get him fit.

Matt needs to be fit! He needs to be able to keep up with Ross and the British Soldiers while carrying much of the same gear they do, plus a massive HD camera as the Matt would often need to be camera man too.

Ross comments; “The lens on a HD camera means viewers get a far better understanding of how close to the artillery rounds we really are,” However, filming in HD does present its own unique problems. “The HD camera is bigger and heavier,” says Ross. “Because of its size the Taliban would target us thinking we were carrying weapons. It was worth it though to come away with the quality of footage we filmed”.

Matt needed to be strong enough to lift heavy cameras and kit everyday, without gaining muscle that would weigh him down when he needed run or hike all day following Ross and the Army.

We worked on strength endurance primarily. This gave Matt all the strength benefits without the draw back of  excess muscle.

To be able to work with Matt on something like this has been a privilege and I enjoyed every minute of it!

Congrats Matt and Ross! Another awesome series.

 

The Recorder reporter Article

Mark Weatherup of the Recorder popped in to have a chat about strategies for the New Year and train with us.

This is his report:

Ilford Woodford Recorder Review

 

http://www.bikeradardailydeals.com/

http://www.bikeradardailydeals.com/

We are running a specail offer for BikeRadar for today Only!

28 DAY CONDITIONING FOR CYCLISTS

We put together a plan that establishes and corrects any and all issues that may be hindering your performance on the bike.
Our initial consultation will point out what direction the training should take and what key areas need attention in our tailor made program.
You get a one to one personal training sessions each week. We run through your program to keep you on track and maintain intensity. The program is designed around you and your needs.
Our focus is to point out your limitations/imbalances and or weakness and a clear understanding of how to correct them so that you can perform at your peak.
Once these training foundations have been laid, all future training is full steam ahead with the knowledge that you have no imbalance’s or core weaknesses that can hinder progression.
These fundamental steps are the building blocks of all top athletes.

What the package includes:

1. CONSULTATION

2. TRAINING

3. STRETCHING

4. PHONE AND EMAIL ASSISTANCE 24/7

1. CONSULTATION: We Establish and Identify:
 Strengths and weaknesses
 Muscular and Postural Imbalances
 Firing patterns
 Tight and inhabited muscles
 Core assessment
2. TRAINING: We take all the elements that we identified in our consultation and put a bespoke program in place that will:

 Improve strength and endurance
 Correct Imbalances
 Correct muscular firing patterns
 Activate inhabited muscles
 Strengthen Core

3. STRETCHING: Tight muscles can cause injury and muscle inhibition. We show you a number of techniques to correct these issues.
 MET (Muscle Energy Techniques)
 PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation)
 Foam Rolling

4. PHONE AND EMAIL ASSISTANCE 24/7
We understand that starting out in training can be difficult and keeping to it can be even more so. That’s why we offer 24/7 phone and email assistance. We want you to be supported and know exactly what steps need to be taken at any given time to get the most out of your training.

 

We are in the paper!!

TThe Ilford Recorder contacted us on Tues last week to ask if we would like to do a small piece in the paper. I wasn’t sure what they were planning, so I sent them a massive amount of info and we had a chat over the phone.

They came over to take pics on Mon and I am pleased they did, because I would have taken ages choosing pictures to send them.

A big thank you to Mark Weatherup of the Ilford Recorder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our New Studio!

So I have been a little quiet on the blogging, but its been for a very good reason! Mountain Bike Fitness Studio in South Woodford have officially opened our doors!

I have taken a few quick pictures, so you can get a feel for it.

 

 

 

Hill Training Fri 21st at Pole Hill

Image via Wikipedia

Time	21 October · 06:00 - 07:00
Location	Top Of Pole Hill
Created by:	Mountain Biking Fitness
More info	An early morning blast before anyone else wrecks the trails! It’s a loop we do 4 or 5 times that tests the legs and lungs. But there are places to take breaks and pick up the next group should you feel the need for a breather.Don’t be shy, all fitness levels welcome!

 

Total Training Systems gets some brick and mortar!

Total Training Systems gets some brick and mortar!.

 

Strength Training for Mountain Biker – Part 3

None of us should think of ignoring overload! You should constantly be overloading your system to encourage your body to adapt and improve. Overload is not taking on more that we can handle, but it is about pushing boundaries. We need to be overloading the system to get as many motor neurons active as possible.

Strength training is all about building channels of communication. The more channels of communication and less inhibition between the muscles the faster and stronger the muscles response will be!

You need to be overloading your system and thus recruiting as many motor neurons as possible per rep, as this allows you to use more of the muscle more of the time.

The only way that you can know if you are reaching overload is to perform each exercise until muscle failure. If you do this each and every time, your nervous system will have no choice but to over compensate and thus improve neural facilitation.

To perform to failure you need to be working with suitable resistance that you are completely fatigued on the last rep you perform. The body responds to stimuli and if that stimuli doesn’t fully fatigue the system it will not feel the need to improve. Thus meaning that you need your body to believe it was not up to the task and needs to improve!

To implement overload into your current training regime doesn’t require a whole new set of working equipment, but it does require a whole new mind set. Next time you working and get to your final rep – ask yourself, “could I have done more?” and if the answer is yes…..well then suck it up and do another rep, or more importantly increase the weight.

This training really makes the importance of a spotter or trainer very apparent. Overload should be avoided for the first 8-12 weeks of a new athlete or someone returning to training after some time off.

Once you are comfortable and feel your form is controlled and safe, you should start to challenge and overload your system.
Simply make the decision to push until you can’t anymore, if you aim for 12, 20 or even 30 reps, you should choose a weight accordingly. You should not be able to perform another single rep. You should be struggling and only just bieng able to perform the last rep with good form.

So next time you in the gym, make the decision to push yourself further than you thought was possible and next time you are on the bike you will reap the rewards and your mates and competitors will wonder what your secret is!

Related articles

• Strength Training for Mountain Bikers – Part 2 Proprioception (mountainbikefitness.wordpress.com)
• Strength training for Athletes : Part 1 (mountainbikefitness.wordpress.com)

 

Strength Training for Mountain Bikers

Part 2

In the previous article I discussed the Nervous System and why its important to challenge it. In this article I am going to discuss how this is best done.

The key is neural facilitation (NF)! NF is basically improving the network that the muscles use to communicate. By improving the NF in existing muscle, we improve its performance with increasing its size

Two ways of doing this is :

Proprioception - improved communication between muscles

Overload –  increasing the amount of motor neurons you recruit.

Today I am going to discuss Proprioception.

Proprioception is an awareness of the relative position of neighbouring parts of the body. The ability to close your eyes and touch your nose is example of proprioception. Being more aware of your relative position is a skill worth improving on a mountain bike, that is constantly changing position. More specifically its individual muscles communicating with one another to keep the body stabilized.

For example : stabilizing muscles prime movers working together and correcting and compensating for one another.What many people don’t realize, is that if the nervous system believes that your stabilizing muscles are not as strong or not aware of the prime movers, it will inhibit performance to avoid injury. More time on the bike will not fix imbalances or inhibitions. These need to be addressed in the gym or the like.

So when we consider your performance is inhibited by proprioception, it becomes very clear how crucial it can be to your training. .

Building proprioception is best done by doing exercises that are unstable in nature and progressively making it more unstable as your muscles adapt and improve.

You could start with an Assisted Single Leg Squat, then Unassisted then eventually performing a Bosu squat.

This will progressively get all the muscles working

synergistically. Once they are all co-operating, they will develop at the same pace and not only will you iron out imbalances you will also have a rock solid form when performing a squat for overload! But more on that in part 3

I hope you enjoyed the article, there is loads more to come. I will posting some proprioceptive exercises very soon. So keep a look out!

Noel