Crank Cycling

What: Crank Cycling Century, limited to 50 participants this is no huge granfondo ride.

When:  Saturday February 25th    Rolling out at 10:00 AM

Where: Leaving from Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs  

How Much:  Entry fee is only $20 per rider

How do I register:  At the Crank Cycling Registration Page

On February  25th, Crank Cycling will be doing our first annual Crank Cycling Century.   This will be a supported ride, and  all the Crank Cycling coaches will be there . We’ll have  a follow vehicle as well as refreshment stations stocked with tasty vittles, water, and energy drinks.   We will start in Borrego Springs,  ride to the Salton  Sea, and then back to  Borrego Springs.   Those that want to make it only a metric century can stop here, while the rest of us will keep pedaling for  40 odd more miles.   The ride will be  fast, fun  and friendly…mostly.   There will be 5 sprint points along the way with prizes given to  the winners of each sprint. A few  miles before each sprint point, all hell will break loose, some will hammer  and inflict pain.  Others will bow their heads in defeat.   No worries, the weak will not be left to die in the desert.  We’ll regroup after each sprint point and have a quick refreshment stop.   You don’t need to be a lightweight, shiny legged racer to to the ride.  But you  should be comfortable riding in a large group on the flats  at 20 miles an hour or more.   The strong will take extra pulls and the weak will suck wheel!

What is TSS?  TSS stands for training stress score. If you use Training Peaks or own a copy of WKO for your PC you will see a the TSS acronym with a correlating number in the summery of your workout TSS:239.04

“While exercise intensity is clearly an important factor in determining the type and magnitude of physiological adaptations to training, exercise frequency and duration – which together determine the overall training volume – are important factors as well. However, there is obviously an interaction between training intensity and volume-that is, at some point as intensity goes up volume must come down, and vice-versa, or else you will become over-trained. To quantify the overall training load and hopefully help avoid such a situation, The authors developed training stress score (TSS) for every workout, that provides a graphical summary of your recent TSS”   Training and Racing with a Power Meter ~Hunter Allen and Andrew Coggen~

Physical exertion leads to training stress. The quote above talks about training stress and how it is accounted for when using a power meter. Power meters are one of the easiest ways to quantify training load and the stress that comes from said training.

Although Stress from training becomes more easily quantifiable because we can measure power, (intensity, volume, and workload) these metrics do not take into account all factors of stress, physical and mental fatigue.

When you lift weights you create physical training stress. If I lift 450 lbs 40 times I have lifted the equivalent of 18000 lbs or 9 tons. This type of workout done 2 to 3 times a week can end up averaging out to 27 tons of weight lifted in a week. This adds obvious training stress to our overall workload as an athlete. These conclusions can apply to all of the differing workouts that you do i.e. running, kettlebell, swimming, or even yoga.

It is also important to remember that there are other forms of physical exertion that would not be categorized as working out, but will cause stress. For example, have you recently done a home improvement project that involved manual labor? From 2005 to 2009, I spent part of my time working in the construction industry. On some days, I used a Jack hammer for four or more hours at a time. I would say that those days were as hard or harder than a 40k time trial or 90 minute criterium.

The final type of stress (I’ll talk about) to account for is mental fatigue. It is easy to forget the stress that is created by our minds or by what are minds are working on. Especially, when correlating those mental efforts to working out.

As athletes it takes quite a bit of mental discipline to train our body’s day in and day out to achieve goals that are beyond our immediate abilities.

If you receive a promotion at your job, work on a big project, or have a deadline to meet, stress will be increased. Having a child, becoming the head of an estate, or other life change also will increase your stress. Changes like these will most likely have added and new responsibilities that can even effect sleep patterns. These new responsibilities will take more of your mental discipline and focus. These responsibilities should be considered when thinking about your training and stress.

Knowing that there are other factors of stress is important, but what do we do with that information?
One of the major things you can do is account for all your stress. If you lift weights, cross-train, or don’t ride with your power meter on a specific day, add your own TSS Score to your workout.

In Training Peaks Software, for your TSS score to be accurate your threshold power must be input correctly into the software . A TSS Score of 100 is considered to be one hour of all out effort or equivalent to a 40k time trial. If your threshold power is input accurately Training Peaks will tell you what your TSS is on any given ride.

One way to calculate your own TSS is to use similar duration, terrain, and fatigue as a model. When it comes to weight lifting or cross training you can judge/estimate by how you feel. For example, how did your effort without a power meter (non cycling) compare to workouts with a power meter? Are you less, equally, or more fatigued? When building an annual training program, more information is better. Your best guess, even if it is subjective, is good enough.

In conclusion, share with your coach any life changes that are effecting your training, sleep patterns, or performance. Coaches are here to help you objectively balance your training so you can accomplish peak performance.

See you on the road
Coach Jesse Eisner

Would you like to rent a power meter? Do you need coach? Contact us. We can help.

We’ve all been sidelined with an illness or injury and getting back to a good level of fitness can be tough. Don’t despair, you’ll get back to peak fitness, but it takes hard work, discipline, and, above all, a plan. Here’s some tips on how to make your comeback successful.

1. Have a plan. Failing to plan is planning to fail; it sounds cliche, but it’s true. Talk to your coach or hire a coach. If you don’t have a coach; reach out to a trusted training partner for some ideas.
2. Select a target event. Pick an event or race 4-8 weeks out that suits your ability. A goal event gives you purpose and provides extra motivation.
3. Put your comeback training schedule up where you can see it everyday. Put it someplace like your bathroom mirror or your refrigerator.
4. Get disciplined. Schedule your rides in advance so there are no excuses or conflicts.
5. Clean up your diet. You probably gained a few pounds (or 15…) and dropping the weight is part of getting back to peak fitness.
6. Spend some extra time on recovery. It’s going to take a few weeks for your post workout recovery time to improve so devote some extra time to your recovery routine.
7. Document your comeback! Post your progress on your Facebook, Twitter, blog, or website. Sharing your training with others will keep you accountable.
8. BE PATIENT! It’s tough getting back in the saddle, and the first few weeks will be difficult and you’ll question your choices. After a few weeks you’ll feel better and your legs will come around. Keep the faith; good results are around the corner!

On a personal note: I am coming back from a long layoff due to injury and illness. In late August I suffered a broken finger and hand during a training crash and soon after I was forced off the bike for months due to an illness. I’m following my own tips and I’ll be documenting my progress on Crank Cycling’s blog. Check back for more updates, and don’t hesitate to share your own comeback stories with us!

Coach Chris Daggs

The January issue of  Outside Magazine  has a list of the ” 10 Biggest Fitness Myths”.      I don’t know how they go about calculating the “biggest”, but seeing as how popular magazines frequently get these messages so wrong, or the advice in their lists is just plan silly.  I think Outside did a good job with most of these, so I am going to address a few of them here:

Myth #1: Stretching prevents injuries and improves performance.

This is absolutely true.  The evidence has been piling up for over 10 years.     No matter what your  gym teacher or personal trainer says, stretching does not prevent injuries.    It is a well established fact that stretching   BEFORE exercise inhibits maximal voluntary contraction (  strength and power), and there is a growing body of evidence that it may inhibit maximal aerobic work  as well.     I am not saying here that a warm up does not have its place, or that stretching is not useful in some circumstances.  But   stretching does not prevent injury, and pre- event stretching can definitely hurt  performance.

Myth #2: Running barefoot is better for the body. 

I am a cycling coach  so this isn’t really my area of expertise, and I usually only run if someone is chasing me. 
Myth #3: You need to focus on your core to become a better athlete.

I couldn’t agree more.   I am  just plain tired of hearing about how important the core is.   A few years ago, there was a guy buying adverts on Velonews  suggesting that the best way to  improve your climbing was to improve your core strength, and I saw  recent   blog post from a coach that suggested that core muscles are more important than your leg muscles.  All of your muscles are important!       But  you don’t pedal with  your abdominals or your obliques.  Otherwise all those women   that spend hours in pilates classes would be crushing it on the bike.   You pedal with the muscles in your legs and your butt.  Period.   I am not saying that doing a little core work  is useless.  These workouts have their place.   But the importance of a strong core in cycling and many other sports has been grossly overstated.      You can only train so many hours a week, and you get  faster on your bike by riding your bike, not by doing crunches.

Myth #4: Guzzling water and electrolytes before a race prevents cramps.

Also true.   You need to be properly hydrated  and you need to take in electrolytes for many reasons, but  hyperhydration and taking  in large amounts electrolytes isn’t going to stop your cramps.     Find a cure for cramps that really works and I promise you you’ll be famous though.

Myth #5: Popping ibuprofen before a hard workout prevents sore muscles afterward.

So many people do this, and it is absolutely the wrong thing to do.     Not only do ibuprofen and  others NSAIDS fail to reduce post exercise  muscle soreness  Inflammation  an important part of the muscle’s repair process.  That means that  inflammation  is required to recover from training.    You are hurting your recovery by taking those things.      NSAIDS do have their place,  but don’t pop them willy nilly.   Save them for when you have a specific  pain or inflammation issue that needs to be addressed.

Myth #6: Dehydration hurts race performance.

Outside magazine is wrong here.  WTF are they thinking.  Maybe they only had 9, but wanted to finish off their list.  Dehydration will make you slower, and can be dangerous.   Simple as that.

Myth #7: Ice baths speed recovery.

I’m not sure on this one.  I personally thing the jury may still be out.

Myth #8: Long and slow is the best way to burn calories.

True.  Ride harder and you burn more calories.  That isn’t hard to figure out.    The only caveat here,  is that if you do a  really exhausting 1 hour ride, you may not be able to burn as many calories as if you  do a 4 hour easier ride.
Myth #9: Fructose is a performance killer.

Fructose is a sugar that is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream.  It is a great fuel for exercise, and for post exercise recovery.   Too much of it, like any carbohydrate will make you fat.   So   use some common sense here.   But if your sports drink  has some fructose, even HFCS in it.   You are probably getting exactly what you need.

Myth #10: Supplements take performance to the next level.

Most supplements are a waste of time.     I hear people say things like  ” well, I started taking such and such, and I got much fitter”.     I am willing to bet that the same time you started taking that supplement was the same time you started training harder.    It was the training.      I don’t care if your local hero takes a  particular supplement either.   Just because ” Joe Fast Guy” takes it doesn’t mean that it improves performance.    He would probably be just as fast without it.     That being said, there are a few things out there that are helpful.   The number one being a simple carb/electrolyte sports drink!

Thats my 2 cents.  You can find the list along with Outside Magazines comments here: 10 Biggest Fitness Myths

It is coming. It sneaks up on us every year. That first race. We told ourselves that we were going to be ready. We drew up a plan, bought a new training journal, and made a list of goals.

Unfortunately, the off season is filled with holidays, friends, family, and fatty foods. None of these things are truly bad. However they can put a hamper on our best laid plans.

With our friends and family requesting our presence, and commitments filling our time, training can be nearly impossible. This is a time when your own creativity can help you meet your goals.

The majority of cycling disciplines (at their core) rely on our aerobic engine. Training that engine should be a priority during the off season.

Below are some training tricks that can help you. Before you start, you will need to know your upcoming events and the longest duration (time, not distance) you will be competing. Find a date in the future that you will hit that longest duration (date of race) and work backwards, subtracting time trained at your aerobic capacity to the current date. For example, if I am planning to do a 3 hour road race in June, I will plan to ride 3 hours at maximum aerobic capacity in April and subtract 10 minutes every week till I get to the current date.

Block out your training: Find the times that will work best for your personal training. Sometimes that means you will miss your Saturday club ride. At certain times of the year I get up at 4:30 am to be on the the road by 5:15 am. This affords me two hours of uninterrupted training.

Do Doubles: Some days squeezing an hour in before work and adding 45 minutes on the trainer after the kids are in bed is the way to go.

Build a camp: If you have multiple days off and you need to work on climbing, get up early (being up early is good for meeting other obligations, too) and drive to an appropriate cycling terrain on consecutive days. If you build multiple camps over a period of two to three months, you will see your fitness grow by leaps and bounds.

Since the majority of cycling disciplines (at their core) rely on our aerobic engine, there are a multitude of alternative aerobic activities that can help us build our aerobic foundation. Go for a run, it’s easy to get out the door quickly and be back before anyone notices your gone. Does your work have a gym or offer membership somewhere? Take a spin class or kettle bell class before work or at lunch.

Maximize your training time: If you are set on meeting specific goals, don’t go do the epic ride with your buddies and stay away from the super slow ride that does not give you any training benefit.

If all else fails you can race into fitness. Make sure to adjust your goals, planning to do better the second half of the season. Don’t stress, cycling calenders usually have a long season with multiple disciplines and lots of racing options.

Crank Cycling can build you a training plan and even offers cycling camps. Let us know how we can help you reach your goals

See you on the road,
Coach Jesse

So in the last post we discussed the fact that an athlete is responsible for whatever goes into his  or her body, and that it doesn’t matter if a banned substance was ingested unintentionally.  If they find it in your system, you are going to  get banned.   Even if it was an accident, and even if it was in non-therapeutic dosage.   So how often  are supplements contaminated?   In 2002 the IOC issued a  report that found that 14.8% of the supplements they tested  were contaminated with testosterone or related compounds, 18.8 % of the supplements  that originated in the US were contaminated.  That is 1 out of 5!  But wait,, it gets worse…. A 2004 study published in the journal Sports Medicine,  found that 40% of the supplements they tested were contaminated with either prohormones or  or stimulants that could cause an athlete to test positive for a banned substance!  Not good.   That is almost half.     I’m not suggesting that a full 40% of all supplements out there are contaminated.  A full 40% of the supplements in that one study were contaminated, but the researches chose mostly  protein powders/muscle building supplements and weight loss supplements.  It is definitely possible that those classes of supplements are more likely than others to be contaminated, but that isn’t really the point either.     The point is that  supplement contamination is real and you can get into real trouble if you accidentally take a contaminated supplement.      What is the best way to ameliorate those risks?  Avoiding  supplements in general is probably the best way to avoid accidental ingestion of a banned substance.   If you really want to take supplements though,  there is an independent testing organization called NSF that tests products  (www.nsfsport.com).  This organization runs completely independently of the supplement companies, tests their products for contamination, ensures that the label accurately reflects what is in the product inspects their facilities, and will only give their stamp of approval  once their rigorous standards have been met.    NSF even does random ” marketplace testing”, meaning they don’t just  test the stuff the companies give them.  They go to the store and randomly buy the supplements off the shelves and test those  as well.        I am generally of the opinion that most supplements are not worthwhile, but there are a few that are worth taking for some athletes ( that belongs is another post).  If you absolutely must take a supplement, my suggestion is that you march on over to http://www.nsfsport.com now, and search their list of certified products.    You’ll get no promises from me, but that is probably  the best way to make sure you stay clean.

Sean

Sources:

IOC Report on Supplement contamination: http://www.edb.utexas.edu/ssn/SN_Papers/IOC%20alert-Supplement.pdf

Sports Medicine Journal Article on   Tainted supplements: http://www.ajol.info/index.php/sasma/article/viewFile/31857/23634

Recently, Crank Cycling Coach Chris Daggs sent me a list of   supplements that were tainted and recalled by the FDA. . You can find the list here.     The list is an excellent reminder that there are tainted supplements out there, and that   an athlete is responsible for anything that winds up in his body.   If a substance that is on the WADA banned list winds up in your body, you will get a suspension.    It doesn’t matter if  it was an accident or not.   Some of these  supplements may even be purposefully tainted in  in order to increase their efficacy.    Most of the supplements on this list are bodybuilding supplements, and are unlikely to be taken by cyclists, but the other common classifications  are basically penis pills and weigh loss supplements.  I know many cyclists that might be tempted to try at least one of those…..  And cyclists have been banned for  unintentionally ingesting a banned substance in a tainted supplement.  In 2002, professional rider Scott Moninger received a one year  suspension when he  tested positive for a metabolite of anabolic steroids.   Moninger  had unopened containers of  the amino acid that he  purchased  at a local health food store.  He took  those unopened packages and had them tested  at an independent lab, where they found the same anabolic substance that was in Moningers sample,  giving pretty strong evidence  that Moninger did not knowingly take the substance.     Moningers 1 year suspension was considered a slap on the the wrist because he unknowingly  ingested the substance.  If he hadn’t proven that  it was taken on accident, he likely would have received a much longer ban.    More recently in the Fall of 2011,  an amateur racer in Florida received an 8 month ban for a banned substance  that was apparently   in an over the counter mass marketed energy drink he bought a local  drug store.

Tomorrow….. how often are supplements tainted?

A key component to having a good race is having a tried and tested routine that you stick to. You will have some pressure and stress while trying to accomplish your goals. So it is important to feel comfortable leading into the day of your race. You already must be a disciplined individual to prepare physically and mentally for your race. Taking that discipline and utilizing it for your race day prep is important.

Pick a routine that you know works. Try to sleep the amount of time you normally when training. If your race is on a Sunday don’t add tons of extra chores around the house Saturday. You and your coach have done efforts that should mimic your event. Pick foods that you have eaten before these hard efforts and that you know sit well in your stomach. All testing of new foods should be done during training, months before your event. Give yourself extra time during preparation. Plan for everything to take longer and expect that you will need that extra time.

Because competition is stressful physically and mentally it is important to not add any extra stress. Make sure you are comfortable. Plan your meals ahead of time. What will you eat the day before and the day of (pre and post event). Choose the clothing you will wear to your event, during your event, and after your event. Make sure your equipment is the way you want it. Do you always use red TT bars at a time trial. Make sure they are on your bike not your workbench.

Just like discipline in training discipline in preparation is very important. Practice your preparation. You will most likely have similar events leading up to your peak event. Try new things months in advance. Repeat what works, and right it down to review later. Repetition is key to dialing in your routine. Finally if its not broke don’t fix it.

It is always important to remember life is not perfect. Things can go wrong. We all have had mechanical at inopportune moments or forgotten a helmet. If your are having a challenges here are a couple things you can do. Take a deep breath, ask for help. If it can’t be helped let out your frustration out and than let it go. It is very important as an athlete to have multiple goals. Pick two or three races you want to do well at. Then choose multiple metrics to measure your success. There is almost always a success in your performance.

If you want to take your training to the next level, let the coaches at Crank Cycling know. We can help you meet whatever training goals you have!
See you on the road,
Coach Jesse Eisner

Crank Cycling Athletes and freinds. We are planning on doing a Crank Cycling road ride on Decmber 3rd at 9am. We will be leaving from the Performance Bike Shop in Sorrento Valley. The ride will be lead by Coach Jesse Eisner.
This riding is aproprieate for all crank cycling athletes. It is an endurance paced ride. There will be no hammering on the ride. Hope to see you all out there.

Cheers Coach Jesse

Performance Bike Shop
11675 Sorrento Valley Rd., Suite A
1/4 Mile South of Carmel Mountain Road
Sorrento, CA 92121

Crank route

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/59080432

So it is the end of your season and it has been a long one. You just finished the Everest Challenge which has 30,000 feet of climbing. Or maybe you just did a five day UCI stage race in the Caribbean. For some of the riders I coach, this is the way their season ended. When your season has ended with such lofty goals, you can be left with a lack of drive to continue training.

Some riders force themselves through periods where they lack motivation. This can, and usually does, lead to overreaching and eventually burnout or over training.

It is important to give ourselves time to relax from the rigors of training and racing even if you have come off a stellar season, accomplished your goals, and have a new level of fitness. It is important to remember that even if you are not physically overreaching or over trained, that you may be mentally tired. Our minds need just as much care as our bodies when it comes to recovery.

There are always alternative training methods to maintain and rebuild a high level of fitness. These alternatives can give us a break from a rigorous training schedule and still be fun. One method that some cyclists use is Cyclo-cross. Cyclo-Cross is like mountain biking and running mixed into the same workout on road style bicycles. Cylco-cross race courses are run on road, grass, and single track trails with minimal technical sections, but have areas where the rider must dismount and carry his or her bike while hurdling barriers.

Mountain biking is also another good alternative of riding. At the end of a long season, our training and competing can become only a means to an end. Sometimes this leads us to forget about the fun aspects of riding bicycles. Most of us started riding bicycles because it was fun and our competitive natures pushed us to compete on our bikes. Mountain biking leads us back to trails, keeps our brains engaged picking good lines on technical sections of these trails, and usually leads us to mud; and everyone knows that getting muddy is fun.

If you want to be as functional as possible in your off season, lifting weights is also a good thing to take up at the end of your season. Weight lifting is something you should talk with your coach or trainer about as you can very easily injure yourself lifting. Lifting weights should also incorporate the same movements that your cycling discipline does.

When starting to rebuild your overall fitness and transitioning into the off season, it is important to break up the rhythm of your training to include cross training and conditioning in a fun environment. Allowing your body to rest and recover from anaerobic efforts is important. Allowing your mind to rest from pushing yourself to accomplish your workouts is also very important. Training comes in building cycles. All building cycles whether weekly, monthly, or yearly should include rest periods.

Our long term goals as athletes should include rest, recovery, and relaxation at the end of a long season and taking that time will renew our inner drive. I am writing this blog post from Monterey, California, where I just took a few days off to relax, read books, and ride a mountain bike on beautiful Fort Ord, and believe me, I got muddy.

If you want to take your training to the next level, let the coaches at Crank Cycling know. We can help you meet whatever training goals you have!
See you on the road,
Coach Jesse Eisner