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ERFORMANCE P CYCLING CONDITIONING A NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO IMPROVING CYCLISTS www.performancecondition.com/cycling

UnlockingUnlocking CoachingCoaching SecretsSecrets Welcome to Unlocking Coaching Secrets! There are all areas of cycling coaching with articles designed to help you improve each area!

1. On-Off Bike Programming for In-Pre and Off-Season with Technical/Tactical • How to Jump from Fitness/Charity Riding to that First Competition, Gale Bernhardt • Intervals: The Building Blocks of a Fitness Foundation, Stephen McGregor, PhD • Specific Flexibility Training for Endurance Bicycling, Erik Moen • Off-Bike Training-Core Posture, Ken Kontor • Stressed-Based Periodization Through Training Stress Score (TSS), Joe Friel

2. Science of Cycling- Bike Fit, Physiology, Psychology, Testing, Biomechanics, and More • Medicine of Cycling: Bike Fit, Curtis Cramblett • Staying on Top of Altitude Training -Live High (LH) Training Low (TL) in Terms of an Optimal Dose, Randall L. Wilber, PhD • The On and Off Muscles of Cycling: How They Affect Performance, Bernard Condevaux

3. Cycling Injury Prevention • Medicine of Cycling: Hip and Knee Pain in Cyclists, Dr. Claudette M. Lajam

4. Fueling and Recovery- Nutrition, Recovery Methods and More • Overreaching vs. Overtraining-Understanding the Difference, Randall L. Wilber, PhD • Medicine of Cycling - Nutrition and Bioenergetics. The integration of Nutrition, Metabolism and Performance, Dr. Iñigo San Millán, PhD

5. From the Coaches- Q and A, Interviews, Favorite Exercises, Roundtable Discussions and More • Conditioning the Mind Interview—Pre-Race Routine, Ritual and Dealing with Race Day Adversity, Kristen Dieffenbach, Ph.D. 1. On-Off Bike Programming for In-Pre and Off-Season with Technical/Tactical How to Jump from Fitness/Charity Riding to that First Competition Gale Bernhardt

“I do a lot of riding and would like to consider going to the state games or some non-intimidating race where I can compete.” Something ever coach has heard.

The following interview is intended to help coaches with some ideas on how to answer these every day questions from the perspective of long time coach, Gale Bernhardt.

PC: The first question but perhaps the last consideration an athlete may have before making the jump into that first competition is, “Do I need a coach?” What is your view on this important question?

GB: I think a lot of potential first timers think of the coach in the perspective of someone who prescribes training. But, in reality, a coach can help the athletes in tactical parts of racing, which is especially true in road racing. It’s really tough for individuals to learn all the ins and outs on their own. It’s not impossible but rather like the school of hard knocks; it will take some time to adjust and learn. There are some good books such as Thomas Prehn’s Racing Tactics for Cyclists. He’s done a nice job of explaining what happens during a race. People can go into a race without good fitness yet end up in the front pack at the end of the race because they have great racing skills. The athletes need to know when to spend their fitness and when to hold it back. One of the common mistakes a new racer will make is charging to the front of the pack showing off how great their fitness is. This is where a coach can help the athlete in race planning and execution. Another other big role a coach can really help with is to get the athletes through anxiety that goes along with racing. For the athletes, it’s important to share with the coach when they are going through anxiety. Many racers are reluctant to admit that they are scared, so it makes the task difficult for a coach to brainstorm for solutions. The next task for an athlete is to settle on a coaching model. There are different ones out there such as one-on-one, team coach situations, and the bike shop ride with a leader approach. Some bike shops have a beginning learner group that may have a coach or leader to mentor people along in group riding skills, which is different from strategies and tactics. The skills implement the strategies and tactics. Group rides really help here.

PAGE 2 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PC: Do you recommend a “riding partner” if group rides are difficult to get into? Will this training partner help in the motivation of an athlete in getting ready and making a commitment?

GB: I think it’s a good idea to have a racing buddy who serves as a person to help one get into racing. Some of the advantages are learning together and trading information that one or the other may not pick up. It’s also good to have a friend in the pack, specifically for the strategy and tactics that unfold on race day. But, that said, the athlete will still need to ride with bigger groups of people to get the right feel. I don’t know if one will get that necessarily on a charity ride. Unless there is road closure, it’s impossible to get a true feel of the race environment. There are very few places in open road racing where there can be five across. One upside I would like to mention here is that there are categories in cycling that pair the athletes with other beginners and that helps the ego. It’s no fun to go to a road race and get blown away after five minutes and be left wondering why you even showed up.

PC: How does event selection come into play?

GB: I think athletes need to experiment a little. If an athlete is afraid or worried about tight corners and tight situations, time trialing would be a good recommendation. Another advantage is that it gives the athlete a good measure of where s/he stands in comparison to the others racing. By comparing numbers the athlete can have some indications of potential success. That said, there are some riders who can’t do well in time trialing but are good crit racers. There are also different distances and course types (hilly, rolling, and flat) of time trialing, so this is why experimenting is important. I recommend trying them all.

PC: What are the benchmarks fitness wise that are needed as indicators to tell an athlete s/he may be ready to race?

GB: Two good indicators are that if the athlete has the uncontrollable desire during a regular group ride or charity rides to be competitive. These riders can be found continuously aiming to be in the front of the group and trying to pass the person ahead. That said, a charity ride or challenging group ride can be good situations to nurture a new racer. In the case of a group ride, it’s important to find a group that is challenging but not so hard that the athlete is continually being blown off to the back One needs to test the limits without being discouraged. For 15 years I’ve hosted a group ride starting in my driveway. What I tell people is to hold on a little longer than you think you can and you may find that the group is going to slow down. An optimal situation is that I’ll have two groups go on the ride (A and B group as it’s called in many places), and if an athlete can’t hold on in the A group, it’s nice to have a group to fall back on that will challenge the athlete. Another hint is to have a designated regrouping location so that if cyclists drop off they know that in a few miles they will be able to rejoin the group at a specific location.

PC: From a coaching perspective, what’s a good strategy to introduce the topic of racing? What are some of the dos and don’ts in this process? Is it a good idea to recommend to an existing charity rider to consider competition and risk turning him or her off entirely?

GB: I would say that if a charity rider is looking for more challenges (this is beyond the person who asks to start racing right off the bat) the best time to introduce this is after the riding season and as part of the planning process for next year. The cyclist may say, “I don’t know what to do next” and that opens the door a bit for the coach. Another question for the coach is to ask him or herself if this person is strong enough to take on the next step in the form of a good, positive experience. If the coach is not ready to provide opportunities to bridge that gap, then it’s going to be a tough sell and s/he may lose that individual as a client. This now becomes a coaching philosophical question—is your goal to retain clients or help clients be their best. If a coach doesn’t offer that bridge in the program, maybe it’s best to be up front and suggest to the athlete to seek additional coaching help in the form of a referral. This is a hard thing to do. It really comes down to the coach’s skills, interests and business plan objectives. It’s my philosophy to not hold back information or the advancement of an athlete based on that information. In the long run, a coach will be better off finding and developing his or her own niche. Intervals: The Building Blocks of a Fitness Foundation Stephen McGregor, PhD In traditional periodization schemes, interval training is a modality that is typically reserved for race specific preparation and is generally eschewed during the Base and Build phases. Although this may be the case, an argument can be made that intervals are indeed appropriate year-round and in particular, during the Base phase. The traditional view of “Base” training espoused by many coaches advocates high volumes of low intensity training that is

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 3 typically constrained by relatively low heart rates. This approach has been proposed to 1) increase VO2max and 2) “train” the body to burn fat more effectively. What is the purpose of the Base period though, and more importantly, what is “base”? By most defi- nitions, base is simply a high level of aerobic fitness. The two primary components of aerobic fitness are VO2max and Lactate Threshold. (See Table One for more information). Again, traditionally, one of the aforementioned arguments for performing high- volume, low-intensity training is that this approach helps build VO2 max. Unfortunately, this is a misguided view. If we view development of VO2max from the perspective of the basic training principle of Specificity, it would seem apparent that the most effective way to improve VO2max, would be to train at, or near VO2max. In fact, the vast majority of the scientific literature supports the view that training at or near the VO2max results in greater improvements to maximal aerobic capacity than either training at lower intensities, or intensities higher than VO2max. It is true that a previously untrained individual can train at a low intensity (50% of VO2max), and elicit some improvement in their VO2max in the near term, but for competitive athletes who may have been training for years, training at 50-60% of VO2 max will not get the job done. If the previously trained, competitive athlete performs exclusively high-volume, low-intensity work s/he is, in effect, de-training VO2max. So, if the objective is for the athlete to build, or maintain, VO2max in the Base period, the athlete will need to perform some high intensity, aerobic intervals near VO2max. The second aforementioned objective of the Base phase, “training the body to burn fat more effectively”, relies primarily on the lactate threshold (LT). In fact, the simplest way to “train” the body to burn fat more effectively is simply to increase the LT. As the LT increases, fat oxidation will occur to a greater extent at higher workloads in direct relation to the increase in LT. That being said, LT is also optimally trained at intensities higher than those typically advocated in many traditional Base period schemes. As with VO2max, if untrained individuals perform high volume, low intensity training, they may observe some improvements in LT, but in competitive athletes this is not the case. If for example, at the end of the season, an athlete’s LT occurs at 80% of VO2max, and during the Base period, the athlete only trains at intensities approximately 60% VO2max and below, then LT will decline and the athlete will become detrained; despite high volume training. Therefore, since the LT is arguably the most important attribute in endurance athletes, it would seem advisable to perform regular work, at or around the LT during the Base period. In fact, it may even be more important to perform this work during the Base period than during other periods of the season as will be discussed later. It should be noted that adaptations to the LT are likely related to the total amount of work performed in training. Therefore, if a cyclist rides 30 hr per week at a low intensity in the Base period, they will likely build (or detrain less) a higher level of fitness than the rider who only rides 15 hr per week at a low intensity. That being said, the athlete who trains 15-20 hr per week and incor- porates LT and VO2max training in their program during the base phase will likely build more fitness than both of the other riders. More importantly though, many athletes coaches will work with do not have the ability to train 30, 20 or even 15 hr per week. There- fore, it may be of even greater importance for the weekend warrior, with limited training time, to incorporate interval training into their Base phase in order to optimize fitness within their limited time constraints.

Practical Applications Let’s look at the Base period from an individual case study perspective. Our model rider has a maximum of 10-15 hours a week to train and is in a two-month base building period. Of course, this is only an example, and many factors such as time, individual response, psychology etc, need to be taken into consideration. A typical week during the Base period for this rider would consist of two, 2- 3 hour rides on the weekend for 5-6 hr total, in addition to two, 1.5 hour “hard” rides, and two recovery rides during the week. Two models will be presented that represent different approaches that could be used for two distinctly different types of riders. The ultimate goal is the same though, to optimally develop the LT, and to a certain extent the VO2max, and enter the pre-season build with good fitness.

Week (11 hr) Mon Tue (1.5 hr) Wed (1.5 hr) Thu (1.5 hr) Fri (1 hr) Sat (2.5 hr) Sun ( 3 hr) 3 x 3 min 4 x 3 min 1 Off Easy ride Tempo Ride Easy ride Endurance Ride VO2max VO2max 3 x 4 min 4 x 4 min 2 Off Easy ride Tempo Ride Easy ride Endurance Ride VO2max VO2max 2 x 10 min MSS 3 x 10 min MSS 3 Off Easy ride Tempo Ride Easy ride Endurance Ride w/2 min rest w/2 min rest 2 x 12 min MSS 3 x 12 min MSS 4 Off Easy ride Tempo Ride Easy ride Endurance Ride w/2 min rest w/2 min rest 2 x 15 min MSS 5 Off Tempo Ride Easy ride Easy ride Tempo Ride Endurance Ride w/3 min rest 3 x 10 min MSS 3 x 10 min MSS 6 Off Easy ride Easy ride Tempo Ride Endurance Ride w/2 min rest w/2 min rest 3 x 12 min MSS 3 x 12 min MSS 7 Off Easy ride Tempo Ride Easy ride Endurance Ride w/2 min rest w/2 min rest 2 x 15 min MSS 3 x 15 min MSS 8 Off Easy ride Tempo Ride Easy ride Endurance Ride w/3 min rest w/3 min rest Figure 1. Base Period for a rider with a sprinter profile who does not like TTs or Long Efforts

PAGE 4 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS Week (11 hr) Mon Tue (1.5 hr) Wed (1.5 hr) Thu (1.5 hr) Fri (1 hr) Sat (2.5 hr) Sun ( 3 hr) 2 x 15 min MSS 2 x 15 min MSS 1 Off Easy ride Tempo Ride Easy Ride Endurance Ride w/3 min rest w/3 min rest 2 x 15 min MSS 2 x 15 min MSS 2 Off Easy ride Tempo Ride Easy ride Endurance Ride w/3 min rest w/3 min rest 2 x 18 min MSS 2 x 18 min MSS 3 Off Easy ride Tempo Ride Easy ride Endurance Ride w/3 min rest w/3 min rest 2 x 20 min MSS 2 x 20 min MSS 4 Off Easy ride Tempo Ride Easy ride Endurance Ride w/5 min rest w/5 min rest 3 x 4 min 5 Off 3 x 4 min VO2max Easy ride Tempo Ride Easy ride Endurance Ride VO2max 2 x 15 min MSS 2 x 15 min MSS 6 Off Easy ride Easy ride Tempo Ride Endurance Ride w/3 min rest w/3 min rest 3 x 15 min MSS 3 x 15 min MSS 7 Off Easy ride Tempo Ride Easy ride Endurance Ride w/3 min rest w/3 min rest 2 x 18 min MSS 3 x 18 min MSS 8 Off Easy ride Tempo Ride Easy ride Endurance Ride w/3 min rest w/3 min rest Figure 2. Base period for TTist, stage racer, breakaway style rider

1. Sprinters Start Base with VO2max Intervals An approach that can be used with athletes who exhibit a sprinter profile and don’t like long efforts will be to start the Base phase with VO2max intervals. This may seem like blasphemy from the traditional perspective, but the reason for this is that these riders typically do not like long efforts, and VO2 max intervals are short enough not to be psychologically demanding, but still provide some aerobic stimulus. Then when these riders transition to LT work, longer intervals will seem relatively easy and more tolerable. This approach will, in effect, give the rider a “kick start” to their fitness. The critical thing to remember is that VO2max intervals should NOT be anaerobic in nature. For example, if the rider cannot last 3 min for a VO2max interval, the effort is too intense to be targeting VO2max, and is more anaerobic than desired. We are not trying to build race fitness at this point, so, keep the VO2max intervals “aerobic”. Ideally, the rider will use a power meter and these intervals can be performed between 90-105% of VO2max. In fact, it is better to be slightly conservative to start with regarding the intensity (90-95% VO2max) so as not to induce too much training strain. This intensity though, will be sufficient to elicit VO2max in the athlete, which in turn should result in a training adaptation. At higher intensities, the cost to benefit ratio is probably too large to warrant such maximal efforts at this point in the training plan. For an example of a representative plan structure for this approach, see Fig 1. The underlying idea behind this approach is to keep the intervals short enough to be tolerable for these athletes, but long enough to elicit adaptations to VO2max, and more importantly, LT. The initial VO2max training will have cross-over effects that will stimulate adaptations to LT. So, although not specifically “LT” training, the rider will derive some benefit in this regard. Following an initial two week sequence of VO2max intervals, it would then be advisable to switch to longer efforts that will specifically target the LT. These efforts should be performed at the maximal steady state (MSS) intensity, which would equate to a 40 km time trial effort for most athletes. LT efforts should minimally be 10 min in length, so, the athlete could start with 2 or 3 – 10 min efforts with short rest, accumulating 20-30 min at MSS intensity.

Overload with Volume in the Base Phase Again, remember the basic principles of training: Overload, Specificity, and Reversibility. Overload is necessary in order to achieve adaptations, and the three ways overload can be induced are 1) frequency 2) intensity and 3) duration. Since most serious athletes train 5 or 6 days per week, a frequency overload may not be feasible. This leaves the option of overloading by increasing volume or intensity. If the target attribute is VO2max though, the athlete must not train above VO2max because the efforts are anaerobic, and too short. This removes the option of overloading with intensity. So, in the Base phase, overload to VO2max must come primarily by increasing volume. Similarly, with LT efforts, overload should come from volume as well. If the athlete works at intensities over MSS by 10-15%, then the intervals can be thought of as “tweeners”; some Exercise Physiologists call them Delta 50s. They are midway between the LT and VO2max – too intense to overload with volume sufficiently, but not intense enough to optimally elicit a VO2max adaptation. So, to overload with volume, for LT efforts, one could begin with 10 min intervals at MSS effort with two min of rest, and increase duration progressively.

Time Trialists Start with LT (MSS) Efforts For the athletes who are not comfortable with jumping right into the shock of VO2 max intervals, or for those who are simply more comfortable with longer efforts, an alternative method would be to begin with LT intervals at MSS twice a week. Generally, this approach may be more appropriate for a rider who excels at longer efforts, such as TTs or breakaways; for those who are not

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 5 sprinters. Since these athletes are more comfortable with longer steady efforts, they can focus on LT development immediately. Again, the MSS is the intensity criteria used as the benchmark, but since the efforts are relatively long to start with, it might be advisable to start slightly under the MSS to begin with. Interval length would start at 15 min accumulating at least 30 min of work at MSS to begin with and progressively overloading with longer intervals. Once interval length is increased to 2 x 20 min with 5 min rest, intensity can be increased and intervals shortened again. Alternatively, high level athletes may need to increase interval number and accumulate up to an hour, or even more, of work at MSS. Again, by reducing the intensity slightly (e.g. 95% of MSS), substantially more work can be performed. So, for an elite athlete the workload could be increased up to 3 or 4 x 20 min with 5 min rest, for up to 90 min close to the MSS. This level of LT development during the Base period is critical for high level athletes because once the race- specific training phase (and racing) starts, it is difficult to maintain this type of training. These workouts are fatiguing, but may not be of sufficiently high intensity to simulate race efforts during the competitive season. The coach can incorporate one or two weeks of VO2 max training to break up the monotony in the middle of the phase (4-5 weeks). Performing higher intensity intervals now will kick-start higher-end fitness that is, in essence, being neglected. Then, it is back to LT training after this short VO2max phase, essentially repeating the approach used in the first part of the Base phase. The athlete should be ready to race in non-priority races at this end of the Base phase and still build race fitness as the athlete progresses into the season. Now, if we contrast this approach to that used for traditional base building, where the athlete may simply be riding far below the MSS for the vast majority of their training; at the end of the Base phase, the athlete’s fitness at LT and VO2max is typically lower than it was at the end of the season. The athlete has essentially been detraining for the 2-3 month Base phase and will need to gain fitness again while racing in the early season. This is a less specific way to build fitness, and the athlete will be more likely to en- counter setbacks. If the athlete is competing in hard races, they will often be stuck in a period of “race and recover” where it is difficult to build base fitness due to the required rest before races and extensive recovery periods after. In addition, since the athlete was effectively detraining for several months, year-over-year progress is impaired.

Things to consider before and after the Base phase With regard to transitioning from the season into the Base period, the coach should be flexible with regard to the duration of the Transition. This time period is after the competitive season, but far enough away from the next season that flexibility is greatest at this point. If an athlete is not “burnt out” at the end of the season, the transition could last only two weeks. On the other hand this transition could last up to a month for athletes who have been through a tough season and may be on the verge of “overtraining”. During this period the athlete should still be active, but the emphasis is not on specific training; it’s simply a mental break. The mental freshness will be of value as intervals start during the Base phase. Table 1. At the end of the Base Phase, moving to specific activity or VO max Interval Recommendations race-specific work depends on the situation. For example, if the ath- 2 v Duration: To train VO2max, intervals should be lete has been focusing on LT work where the efforts are approximat- – At least 3 min ing 40K time trial efforts in training, the athlete is not really lacking – Less than 10 min much in race-ready fitness. The transition to race-ready fitness is v Intensity: Intervals should be not as critical because the athlete has a relatively high level of fitness – Less than 120 % VO2max and has already been performing one element of race-specific train- – More than 80 % VO2max ing. On the other hand, if the athlete will be performing criteriums, road races or mountain bike races, specific work that will simulate LT/MSS Interval Criteria the high intensity and specific demands of the event need to be inte- v Intervals should be at least 10 min long at MSS grated into the training program. This may simply consist of more power (1 hr effort) up to 30 min group rides to focus on a precise activity that is race simulation-spe- v cific. Many of the adaptations associated with race specific training Minimal cumulative time at MSS power/effort should be 30 min per session are anaerobic and/or neuromuscular in nature. These adaptations v take place in a matter of 6-8 weeks. Therefore, if an athlete plans to Maximal cumulative time at MSS should likely be 60 min, maybe more (depending on level) focus on races in July, anaerobic specificity should not take on a – Reducing intensity level slightly results in great deal of importance before May. It is often said that ability to accumulate substantially more time anaerobic/speed work is “icing on the cake”. LT and VO2max based fitness is “the cake” and needs to maintain importance through the LT/MSS Training Adaptations majority of the year, regardless of phase. If the athlete has built a v sufficient foundation of fitness with LT and VO max training in the LT/MSS intervals elicit dramatic improvements in 2 – Sustainable power off season Base phase, they will be prepared to race in non-priority – Duration at pre-training MLSS power races simply as a result of their high fitness. The athlete may not be – CHO oxidation at MLSS able to sprint for the win as they might during the peak of the season, t Oxidative Type II fibers but high fitness will enable them to ride in races quite competently. t By virtue of a more solid fitness foundation, the athlete will Peripheral adaptations enjoy a new level of success during the racing season in selecting either of these approaches to base building.

PAGE 6 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS Specific Flexibility Training for Endurance Bicycling Erik Moen Flexibility is defined as available motion about a joint. Flexibility is affected by mobility of muscle, tendon, joint capsule and ligament. People have varied levels of flexibility or natural motion. Flexibility may be improved by performing the activity of stretching. Stretching is an important part of readiness and recovery for the bicycling endurance athlete. Bicycles were not invented at the origins of the human body. The human body was designed primarily to walk, run, hunt and gather,…not ride a bike. The human body does not naturally tolerate positions on the bicycle. Advanced positions on the bicycle require flexibility unlike that of normal walking and running. An endurance athlete who does not have requisite motion for a given sport puts themselves at risk for an overuse injury. There is an optimal level of flexibility or mobility for the endurance bicyclist. We gain flexibility through the act of purposeful stretching, or stretching that re-enacts motion specific to a given sport. The development of flexibility specific to a sport takes time with intentional effort. Flexibility training is much like fitness training with regards to invested time and effort. Effective flexibility development can take years to develop, much like the time it takes to tolerate and perform racing at an elite level. Appropriate bike-specific flexibility, much like that of good physiological capabilities, is trainable and takes time. Individual variations in baseline flexibility are normal for the human population. Some people have excessive flexibility (hypermobile) and some have very limited flexibility (hypomobile). These two groups of people are those who frequently become injured relative to a given activity. Those people between the two extremes (the vast majority) have reasonable flexibility but will need to work on the fine flexibility details to meet the demands of their sport or activity. Your historical activity level will have an effect on baseline flexibility. Inactive, desk-bound people will tend to have limited flexibility. People from athletic backgrounds tend to have better baseline flexibility than an inactive population. Athletes from running based sports will have mild to moderate flexibility challenges adapting to endurance bicycling. Athletes from skiing and skating sports easily adapt to bicycling due to similar flexibility profiles. An individual’s flexibility can change. Research by Covert et al1 demonstrated that the most effective method of stretching is prolonged static stretches when compared to other forms of stretching. Changes in muscle flexibility will mandate adap- tive changes to your muscle function with regards to torque production, load attenuation, excursion, and sustained postures or positions. Stretching strategies for bicycling can be fairly simple. There are two stretching categories we should consider; goals of stretching and functional groups. Goals of stretching include the ideas of stretching for mobility/adaptation and stretching for recovery. Functional groups of stretching include the ideas that we have different functional motion requirements on the bike; locomotion, ventilatory, and postural. Flexibility training for mobility/adaptation centers on the idea that we are gaining motion in our body around the vectors of pedaling and ability to maintain certain positions. This idea mandates your flexibility training to be bicycling-specific in nature. The end goal of your flexibility training should be your ability to freely attain the required motions and positions of your sport. This becomes more important as you increase your bicycling competency. Increased endurance bicycling competency should include the assumption of more advanced positions on the bicycle (such as TT, pursuit, tolerance of drops). Advanced positions on the bicycle will improve your aerodynamics. There have been numerous studies lately that demonstrate stretching should not be used as a warm up for endurance sports. One such study done by JM Wilson et al2 suggested that stretching before an endurance event may lower endurance performance and increase the energy cost of running. There are other studies that suggest that stretching used as a warm up for an activity does not decrease an athlete’s chance for injury. Most current schools of thought surrounding appropriate warm up activities include functional/dynamic activities that simulate loads consistent with your chosen event. Therefore, the idea of incorporating stretching as a warm up activity is not considered appropriate at this time. This paradigm shift should not dismiss the importance of stretching. This paradigm shift should change the importance of stretching towards a training activity performed slowly over time. Stretching should be viewed as a training parameter that allows you to efficiently perform your chosen activity. You should not depend on a pre-event stretching event to “hopefully hit” mobility requirements for your sport. Flexibility/mobility training as a recovery modality is important. Stressful training creates trauma to the body. This trauma includes strains of muscles. Muscle strains limit muscles’ willingness for normal motion and load inductance/attenuation (e.g. hurts to walk up and down stairs). Light stretching after an activity will help decrease muscle spasm and recover a muscle’s ability to elongate through a normal range of motion. The phrase “move it or lose it” applies here. Recovery stretching is performed at a gentle intensity so as to facilitate/encourage the resumption of normal flexibility. There have been many studies that discuss effective stretching. Studies have compared stretching methods and appropriate dose or duration/intensity of stretching. Research consensus demonstrates that the most effective means of stretching to improve flexibility is a prolonged static stretch. There is not a clear consensus on effective stretch durations or dose. A good research-based rule of thumb is the “two minute rule”. Your goal should be to perform a certain stretch for a combined period of two minutes (e.g. 3x40 sec, 6x20sec, 2x60sec, etc). The critical piece is the investment of stretch exposure with good form. Stretch intensity should be such that you feel a good, moderate stretch but do not compromise good stretch form. “Hard” stretching is often coupled with uti-

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 7 lization of poor, ineffective form. Stretching should not be painful. You can injure yourself with a stretch just like you can injure yourself doing anything else. “Too much, too quickly” strategies puts one at risk for an over-strain injury. Stretching should not cause sharp pains, numbness, weakness or referred pain. If these are occurring, simply back off of your current stretch. The presence of a stretch-based weakness or numbness is an obvious concern. Consult a healthcare practitioner if this occurrence is regular. Make sure you breathe when you perform stretching; controlled, calm breathing in and out. Static stretching implies no bouncing. Flexibility training is just that. Flexibility training needs to be performed consistently over time. Just like physiological training, it needs a minimum frequency of three times a week. Functional groups of stretching are intended to meet the basic needs of endurance cycling. Stretching can aid in the mobility of lower extremity locomotion, maintenance of normal human posture/positions, and the improved ability for ventilation (moving oxygen in and carbon dioxide out). There are many ways and reported methods to stretch certain muscle groups. The intention of this document is to demonstrate some basic stretches that will meet the needs of most bicyclists. The below stretching descriptors include targeted muscles and why you should consider them for stretching. This list parts you are trying to affect and why you want to affect them. There are also suggested ranges of motion that are important to include in your stretching goals. Having goals for any training helps improve motivation and meaning to your training. Congratula- tions if you are one of those that are able to achieve normal flexibility levels. Just maintain and strengthen what you have. Wall Flatteners The wall flattener exercise achieves many things relative to postural and ventilatory muscles and joints. This stretch reverses the flexed position of reaching to the handlebars. This stretch helps improve mobility for the pectoralis muscle group, thoracic spine and suboccipital (just below the back of the head) muscle groups. This stretch is best performed by starting from a basic wall sit, knees at 45degs of flexion. Tighten your abdominal muscles to flatten your low back to the wall. Then flatten your thoracic spine (or mid back) to the wall. Tuck chin and try to flatten the back of your head to the wall. Bring your arms up in front of you with elbows the level of the chin and elbows bent to 90degrees. Keeping your back flat to the wall, attempt to pull your arms back to the wall. Only go as far back with the arms as you can keep your back flat to the wall. Try pulling your elbows downwards to no lower than the mid chest. Hold this position for 10- 20 seconds. Repeat 3-4 times. Normal motion would be demonstrated by a person’s ability to flatten from low back to head and then arms to the wall.

Quadriceps Stretch Quadriceps are the primary muscles of pedaling locomotion. The quadriceps usually has normal flexibility in the bicyclist. Poor flexibility of the quadriceps can put the anterior (front) knee at risk for a compression injury or pain syndrome. The best stretch for the quadriceps is performed from a side lying position. This position will ensure a good stretch vector to the quadriceps consistent with the pedaling motion. This is in comparison to a standing stretch where most people struggle with maintaining balance rather than effective stretch of the quadriceps. Assume a side lying position. Tighten your stomach to prevent an arching of your back to an extended position. Grab your foot/ankle while keeping the leg level and square. Pull heel towards buttocks and then rotate your leg back through the axis of the hip until a stretch in the quad is experienced. A tight quadriceps will limit your ability to bring the femur down to a neutral position in relation to the hip. Normal motion allows heel to buttocks and the femur just past neutral into an extended position of the hip. Hamstring Stretch Hamstring flexibility is important for endurance bicycling. Hamstrings have postural and locomotion rolls for the endurance bicyclist. Combined flexibility of the hamstrings and gluteals allows the pelvis to roll forward about the axis of the hip while keeping the back in a good position/posture. Forward rotation from the pelvis/hip is necessary for the assumption of low, aerody- namic positions required of advanced endurance bicyclists. Poor flexibility of the hamstrings will create strain to the low back, disallow comfortable reach to lower positions of the handlebars and may create irregular motion at the knees from the frontal plane (varus/valgus oscillations). Your hamstrings run from your ischial tuberosity (“butt bone”) to the back of your knee. The hamstrings are comprised of the biceps femoris, semimembranosus and the semitendinosus. A nicely effective hamstring stretch may be performed from standing. Stand in front of a chair-height object (see bench below) with feet hip width apart. Lift one foot/leg onto the chair. Maintain feet hip-width apart and feet straight forward/up. You should keep your pelvis square to

PAGE 8 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS your legs and your back flat. The stretched/forward leg should have a slightly flexed knee. The stretch is actuated by rolling forward through the axis of the hip. The cue of “stick out your butt and chest” is frequently given to help ensure proper rotation through the hip and a straight back. Normal range of motion for assuming aero positions is at least 90degrees of straight leg hip flexion relative to a straight torso. Gluteal Stretch The gluteals serve as one of the primary propulsive forces in pedaling or locomotion. It acts to extend the leg, or push down on the pedal in concert with the quadriceps. Flexibility of the gluteals are important for endurance bicycling. The endurance bicycling position requires a forward bent pelvis and spine which puts the gluteals on a relative stretch bias. Flexibility from the gluteals is primarily required at the top dead center of the pedal stroke. Poor flexibility of the gluteals will result in irregular leg trajectory at the top dead center of the pedal stroke, possible gluteal strain, or onset of low back pain. The below gluteal stretch is preferred. This stretch allows you to easily stabilize your back so that you can focus on stretch of the gluteals. Start from a hook-lying position (aka knees up, feet on ground). Cross your left leg/ankle over the right sided knee. Grab under the right sided knee and pull knee towards your same sided shoulder. You should feel a stretch in your left gluteal. You may accentuate this stretch by pushing out on your left knee to enhance femoral rotation and thus gluteal stretch. Do for both sides. A desired normal for this stretch your ability to pull the right sided knee/hip up to 90 degrees at the hip and then having nearly 90 degrees of femoral external rotation. Calf Stretch The calf muscle is comprised of the gastrocnemius and the soleus. They have a common attachment to the heel through the Achilles tendon. The gastrocnemius has its attachment above the knee, the soleus attaches below the knee. The calf muscle is primarily used to help accentuate the lever of the foot as it transfers force from the quadriceps and gluteals to the pedal/drive-train. The calf and subsequent ankle does not experience its normal range of motion during the process of bicycling. Thus it is very important for you to help maintain the calf’s normal motion mobility. Walking and running over varied terrain requires up to 40 degrees of calf flexibility (dorsiflexion). The motion of bicycling at normal cadences rarely moves the ankle past anatomical neutral for dorsiflexion. The foot and ankle stay in a mostly plantar flexed (mild) position during a normal pedal cadence. This stretch is started by standing in front of a wall with feet hip width apart. Reach out to the wall with your hands (to support your weight) and slowly slide one foot straight back. Keep foot straight forward and back (there are rare exceptions). You should start to feel a stretch in your calf. Keep your foot flat to the ground. Do not raise your heel. Ensure that your pelvis stays square to your stretched calf. Your weight should be mostly on hands and forward leg. You should be able to relax into a stretch at your calf. This stretch makes a primary bias on the gastrocnemius. A stretch may be biased to the soleus by slightly bending the knee of the stretched calf and assuming a similar stretch position. Hip Flexor Stretch The hip flexor muscle is comprised of two conjoined muscles that is known as the iliopsoas. The hip flexor muscle has origins on the front of your lumbar spine and on the inside of the iliacus. This muscle has it’s attachment to the femur. It’s action is to flex the hip. In bicycling, the hip flexor works primarily on the back side of the pedal stroke, helping to return the leg. The hip flexor in cyclists tends to become short as it is maintained in a shortened position on the bicycle. A short hip flexor will limit your ability to stand tall and limit your ability to extend the hip consistent with the normal ability to walk and run. A short hip flexor muscle can be the origins of low back pain. A shortened hip flexor muscle and chronically assumed positions of hip flexion can be a risk factor for the origins of anterior iliac artery compression. This stretch is performed by assuming a kneeling position as pictured. You will need to keep your stomach muscles tight. Tight stomach muscles will keep the back from extending and will help maintain efficacy of your stretch. Shift your weight forward to the forward foot keeping knees over respective feet. You will start to develop a stretch at the front of your aft hip. You will need to ensure that your pelvis stays square to your legs. Reach your arm up over head on the same side of your stretched leg. Normal range of motion is 10-20 degrees of hip extension from this position. Neck Stretch The endurance bicycling position maintains an extended upper cervical spine. Prolonged positioning of the head/neck in extension can be a source of pain and headaches. This simple stretch will help you maintain normal flexibility in cervical spine.

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 9 This stretch is considered a postural stretch. It stretches muscles of the neck, such as the upper margin of the trapezius and the suboccipital muscles (splenius capitis, splenius cervicis, and semi- spinalis capitis). This stretch is performed by starting from an upright sitting position. Hold your hands behind your back to keep your shoulders down. Tuck your chin. Start to roll your head forward to a flexed position. You will experience this stretch at the back of your head/neck and sometimes down into your middle back. Variations of this may be performed by first rotating your head about 45degrees to one side, then tuck your chin and roll your head forward along that rotation bias. Summary Stretching for endurance bicycling should be done with meaningful goals in mind. Just like bicycling training, training without a goal will get you nowhere every time. There are no commercially available short cuts to improving flexibility/mobility. The most effective method of stretching is prolonged static stretches that are specific to the motion demands of your chosen sport. Are there other ways than what has been described above to stretch? Yes. There are many ways to “cook chicken noodle soup”. The above demonstrated stretches are a few that will help ensure that you attain and maintain normal mobility for the performance of endurance bicycling. There are many more stretches that can be performed, maybe even should be performed. Please consult a Physical Therapist (Chain Link www.APTA.org “Find a PT”) to help ensure a proper stretching program especially if have a special orthopedic, neurologic, or recent injury issue. Performance bicycling must include strategies to assume certain positions on bicycles. Low reached, elongated positions on the bicycle require flexibility. Your development of mobility normal for the sport of bicycling will help ensure good bicycling economy and minimize your exposure to overuse injury. En- durance bicyclists should include specific flexibility goals as a critical part of your training success. References: 1 Covert AC et al. Comparison of ballistic and static stretching on hamstring muscle length using an equal stretching dose. J of Strength and Cond Research, 24(11), 3008-3014. 2 Wilson JM et al. Effects of static stretching on energy cost and running endurance performance. J of Strength and Cond Research, 24(9), 2274-2279. Off-Bike Training-Core Posture Ken Kontor Cycling coaches should prescribe an off-bike training program based on the specific needs of cycling athletes based on individual needs of the athletes, racing events competed and time of year. Some athletes have posture, position, flexibility or balance issues. Others may need to improve stability and strength in the core, upper body and legs or maintain lean tissue mass. Still others, such as sprint cyclists, need to improve power and power endurance. Which exercises are appropriate and how the exercise selection changes over time are individual coaching decisions. A warm-up/cool down program that should be done no matter which additional exercises are prescribed. Presents exercises to correct posture, position and flexibility or imbalance issues that may lead to injury and impede pedal power production. Future issues of Performance Conditioning Cycling will present strength development exercises that transfers strength to explosive power for those cyclists that need to develop this component.

Injury Prevention Priority #1 Start Young: At an early training age, start cycling posture, position and flexibility training to gain a confident, functional saddle position by developing muscle, bone, tendon and ligaments. #2 Combine Bike Skills with Training: Teach proper bike skills and pedal mechanics in an environment of good bike position, posture and full range of motion flexibility. Better balance will help improve mechanics. #3 Train in a Quality Environment: Since fatigue during training and competition is a part of the cycling culture, coaches should be attentive to the environment of fatigue during off-bike training. Fatigued muscles will react slower thus providing a challenge to executing proper exercise technique. The exercises presented in these training cards should be done when athletes are fresh and re- cuperated—this ensures quality training. During the competitive season, posture, position and flexibility workouts ideally can be part of an overall warm-up at the start of a ride. This is the best assurance that the athletes are not fatigued but rather are ready to achieve maximum benefits from these exercises in a safe environment. Also, these exercises can be done in the early morning thus allowing several hours of recuperation time before an afternoon training ride. #4 Build Strength: Stronger joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles will prevent or reduce the severity of potential injury. Being stronger will improve mechanics and balance.

Cycling is a sport that is repetitive in nature, requiring the athlete to produce an extremely high number of repetitions.

PAGE 10 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS Whether there is a pre-existing condition that will be exacerbated by such movement volume, improper positioning or biomechanics, force any limb through 5,000-6,000 revolutions an hour and some kind of compensation are bound to occur. Whether this is due to tightness, weakness or both, the result is usually one of discomfort which, unaddressed leads to chronic pain which, in turn can then lead to injury. The following provides the proper approach to a strength and conditioning program, dealing with the issues of good posture, position and flexibility issues. Once good posture/position is achieved, an effective strength/power program can be initiated, but not before. Before starting this program the cycling coach should evaluate the posture of their athletes to look for posture imbalances. The classic model for correct posture is shown in the diagram. The ears are in line with the shoulders, the greater trochanters of the hip, the lateral epicondyles of the femur and the maleoli of the ankle. The back is neither rounded nor hyper-extended. Few cyclists have perfect posture, but to perform optimally and avoid injury, athletes should be within a small percentage of this example.

Exercises to Improve Posture/Position in Cyclists

Choose one to three exercises from each body part as time permits. For the core master the static core exercises before moving to the dynamic core.

Core

Static Core Hold each exercise for 30-60 seconds before advancing.

Prone Pillar (Figure 1) Start/Movement: • Place both elbows on the ground and raise hip so that just the elbows and toes of feet on touching ground. • Body should be straight and in alignment from head to feet. Figure 1 Tips: • Keep back flat, especially the lower back, by contracting abdominals. On this one it may help to imagine pulling your belly button toward your spine with only the forearms and toes of touching. Do not let back sag or arch. • Advance by lifting one leg straight off the ground.

Side Pillar (Figure 2) Start: • Begin lying on side w/ elbow and knees bent at 90 degrees, elbow under shoulder. Movement: • Lift hips until spine is straight and hold. Figure 2 • Advance by extending legs fully.

Hip Bridge (Figure 3) Start: • Start in supine position with hands by side, next to hips, knees bent at 90 degrees and feet flat on the floor, hip width apart. Movement: • Lift hips until spine is straight using gluteals and lower back and hold. Figure 3 • Advance by extending one leg.

Superman (Figure 4) Start: • Lie in prone position with hands by the hips. Movement: • Lift upper and lower body while keeping your legs straight, head in line with spine and toes pulled up towards shins by squeezing glutes and lower back musculature. • Pinch shoulders blades together, hold, lower and repeat. Figure 4 • To advance, bring hand out to sides or in front of body.

Dynamic Core

Reverse Hyperextension (Figure 5) Start:

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 11 • Hang the legs over the rounded seat (table) with the abdomen directly on top of the seat/bench/table. • Hold on to the front of the machine or bench with the hands to stabilize the upper body (when using a bench or table, have your partner stabilize your upper body in position). Movement: • When ready, raise the legs and the pelvic girdle as a unit up until it is slightly higher than the trunk by firing gluteals and lower back. Lower and repeat. • Advance by holding a medicine ball between the legs. Figure 5 Tips: • Substitute a physio ball for the bench.

Prone Jack knife (Figure 6) Start: • Begin in push up position w/ front of lower legs supported by the stability ball. Movement: • Keeping back flat and abdominals in, bring knees towards chest by using hip flexors and abdominals. Lower slowly and repeat. Figure 6 • Advance by performing with one leg.

Wood Chop (Figure 7) Start: • Hold a medicine ball above the right shoulder, body rotated to the right, arms extended, elbows positioned slightly outward, and the feet approximately shoulder width apart with the trailing foot released to prevent knee joint discomfort. • The core should be tight to prevent the belly button from thrusting forward and hyper-extending the low back. Movement: • Initiate a diagonal chopping motion with the ball while keeping the core tight, the lower back "locked in" while dropping the butt into a squat. • The ball should travel from the opposite shoulder area to the opposite knee. Figure 7 • Reverse the ball's direction when it is positioned inside the opposite knee. • Return to the starting position, maintaining a tight core and repeat before changing directions to the left side.

Reverse Wood Chop • Repeat wood chop exercise starting in the bottom position. Stressed-Based Periodization Through Training Stress Score (TSS) Joe Friel

"You must increase stress to produce gains."-Hans Selye

PC: In a previous issue of Performance Conditioning Cycling you identified a common issue in cycling, which was doing too much. Here's your quote: "The most common mistake I see, especially with younger coaches, is that they put too much stress on the athletes. Young coaches see themselves as being paid to stress the athletes, so that is what they focus on. This is likely to lead to overtraining the athletes. My own approach is to find the least amount of stress the athletes need to accomplish their goals. I find that it is always better to give the athletes too little stress in the beginning and then adjust it upward later." What is your approach in dealing with this issue? When using the Training Stress Score (TSS) the first question is to define stress in the context of using the TSS system.

JF: I use TSS, which determines what the TSS of a race will be and then train the athletes for that level by shifting from duration- based TSS to intensity-based with intensity specific to the race demands. Call it 'stress-based periodization.'

PC: O.K., before we get into TSS let's talk about the concept of stress used in the TSS context. How do you define stress?

PAGE 12 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS JF: I wish to clarify one thing about TSS-the concept is not my idea, it's based on the writings of Andy Coggan who came up with the concept. I am a user of the system. To define stress I use the Hans Selye concepts. There are two types of stress: there's Distress, which is the type of stress we normally think about and includes psychological, financial, poor health types of stress that everyone has experienced. The second type of stress is EU-stress, which is to stress the body in such a way that it's able to handle more stress. This is positive stress for athletes. If an athlete is under distress, this is negative and leads to overtraining. In the context of TSS, it is a way of measuring stress load. The next factor in this is that the TSS must be individualized specific to each athlete in order to create the standard that Andy Coggan came up with, which he calls Functional Threshold Power, or lactate threshold, the point where an athlete "red lines". The process can become complicated with formulas and the like but what it comes down to is using a power meter to measure stress relative to an athlete's Functional Threshold Power. Stress is measured in every workout and through a formula the athletes are given a stress score for the workout. The accumulation of stress scores over time is looked at thus allowing coaches to see how the athletes have adapted to stress. This is then applied to the stress score an athlete can handle in a specific race. The stress is a result of intensity and duration and what the combination of the two will produce as a score. The training for a race is to train for that specific score. In training terms, this score is achieved starting out with endurance and evolving to intensity. As the race approaches the athletes convert the intensity into race-specific situations.

PC: How do you determine reliability of the TSS? Specifically, how do you factor in the distress of daily life on each individual athlete?

JF: Here is where the art of coaching comes in. The coach has to interpret what the data means relative to the individual athlete by gaining feedback from the athlete and then modifying the training accordingly. The trick is to modify training so that athletes can achieve the prescribed TSS for the race.

PC: How much data is necessary to collect before you can apply the art of coaching?

JF: We use the result from a 42-day average. Then we look at the weekly average. In applying this to the concept of stress-based periodization it's the coach's job to determine the reliability of the data at which s/he is looking. The bottom line is that I've been using this stress-based periodization for three years and it has worked extremely well. I can look back at the TSS for a particular race; compare how they did in the race and get a good idea of how stressful it's going to be this year in the same race. So I can look at trying to achieve the same stress score. We can quantify it by knowing the race is three hours and that we need to perform 50 watts plus or minus from an athlete's lactic threshold heart rate. Thus I train the athlete to that given duration and intensity and assign a single number to it rather than two numbers.

PC: How does TSS periodization differ from the work on periodization you have done in the past?

JF: The only thing that differs is that it's more precise. In the Training Bible we might ask the question: if I'm training for a three hour race, how long should the longest ride be in the base period? We could all assume that the answer is at least three hours. However, it may be four hours, five hours or even six hours on the upper end. Using the TSS periodization answers that question. We know the race is three hours and the TSS is going to be 280 points. Based on this we can see that the duration to achieve this score in the base period would be something in the four hour range and provide the same stress that a three hour race would produce as the season progresses. Over the course of the year, workouts become more racelike. In my definition of periodization the key is to get more race like as we go along and the shift is to higher intensity so that one workout per week will be at TSS in the build period. It takes out the guess work of how long the workout should be and at what intensity in order to give an athlete the proper dosage of training.

PC: Do the athletes buy into this single number idea?

JF: For many athletes it's a new experience. After about a week or two they start to get the hang of it. We really are only talking about the tip of the iceberg. There's so much data that is generated through this program that I make sure I generate charts and graphs to show them the progression. We talk on the telephone once a week and help them understand the direction we are going. Not only do they accept it, they look forward to it and get a handle on it so they know what is going on. After a few months they become quite knowledgeable in doing this. In the beginning, resistance from the athletes is that it's too many numbers for them. They want to know what their heart rate is, their lactate level, time, etc. They have a hard time with the fact that I can take one piece of data (stress) and interpret a lot of things about their training. Once they try it they are amazed at what the software can do.

PC: How hard was it for you, the coach, to bring yourself up to a level of knowledge that allowed you to use this system with confidence?

JF: The best way to learn and gain confidence is to simply use it on oneself. I still race so I train fairly hard. When I first heard Andy Coggan talk about TSS I honestly didn't know what he was talking about. There was a lot of math and formulas and strange words. I walked away scratching my head. So I plugged it into my power meter and started. It was a slow process but after six months I

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 13 started to get a handle on it. Now I've been with it for three years but quite honestly, I'm still learning. There's an amazing amount of information one can reap from the data. It substantiated some of the things I believed about training and introduced new concepts. If a coach tries it, s/he will learn how it will make training their athletes much more precise. We use it with all the coaches in our group. We have conversations about it and share ideas, which is fun and a great way to learn.

PC: Based on TSS, what was substantiated and what did you learn?

JF: The first thing I substantiated was the peaking process I use with my athletes for a priority race. I can put a number on it and measure form. I try and work up to what is called a plus 20 stress balance. When I get the athlete there, s/he is really ready to go. The thing that was an eye opener was to have a stress score for a race and be able to quantify it. In the past, it was a seat of my paints type of thing-how long a workout should be; how many intervals should I do, etc. was educated guess work. Now I know exactly what the stress should be.

PC: How does the TSS provide you the information to know when to back off if a cyclist is doing too much?

JF: One thing the system does is measure acute training load, which is basically fatigue. New stress produces two things very quickly, fitness and fatigue. The day after a hard workout the athletes are tired but not necessarily more fit. It takes several workouts to realize fitness gain. So we can measure fatigue now and put a number on it. When I call on the athletes I can tell how tired they are! From there, I can alter training to accommodate what their level of fatigue is. It has made my life easier and has taken some of the art out of coaching and made it more scientific and measurable. It's like Star Wars; never did I think one could tell the level of fatigue of an athlete.

PC: Let go back to the art of coaching. If you know fatigue level, how do you know if you can push the envelope a little to gain further results.

JF: What I do is learn over time how an athlete responds to stress. Some athletes recover slowly; others quickly. If an athlete recovers slowly, I change the way the formula is used as an average over several days. I can change the software when the athlete is ready to rest and thus accommodate the athlete's slow recovery process. I make the change based on art. As I work with athletes I realize how they can recover. I'm taking something that is art and trying to quantify it. The software then answers my training question of how far, how hard, and how much.

PC: Have you ever compared the numbers as far as overtraining is concerned with some of the traditional overtraining indicators such as resting heart rate upon rising in the morning, irritability, etc.?

JF: No, I never have taken an athlete to where they are experiencing overtraining syndrome.

PC: Do you have anything graphically that shows how TSS might work?

JF: Yes Figure 1 is a performance management chart of an athlete. This tracks over time (in this case a season) an athlete's fitness, fatigue and form. These are the three dynamics that are hap- pening at the same time.

PC: How are fitness, fatigue and form interrelated?

JC: As mentioned, fatigue is a product of workload or stress. By increasing the volume, frequency and intensity of a workout, I increase the stress. I know two things will happen because of this; the athlete will become both more tired and more fit. If I take it too far, the athlete experiences distress and overtraining; as a result, we aren't going to see more

PAGE 14 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS fitness. Knowing this I always follow the same trend. When fatigue is increasing fitness is increasing, if fatigue is declining fitness is declining. If one sits for a week and watches TV, fatigue will go away but so will fitness. Knowing those two things I can manipulate those things and come into form, which means race-ready and rested. To be race-ready, I want to remove fatigue but not get rid of all my fitness. I can't taper and cut back on training and not lose fitness. I have to give up fitness to get form, but it's a good trade. An athlete is better going into a race having given up 10 percent of fitness but with 0 percent fatigue then the other way around. The idea is to do just enough hard training so that fitness doesn't go away too fast.

Figure 1 Performance Management Chart shows the periodization of an athlete over the course of a year including the interplay of fitness, fatigue and form. 2. Science of Cycling- Bike Fit, Physiology, Psychology, Testing, Biomechanics, and More Medicine of Cycling: Bike Fit Curtis Cramblett

Competitive Road and Mountain Bike Athlete: 2nd place, Downieville, 2006 2nd place NC Norba Series Nationals, 2006 8th place, 2007 Mountain Bike Nationals, Sport Class Finisher of several multi-day 600 + mile rides, including AIDS Lifecycle & X North Carolina Cat 5 Road Cyclist he ideal bike fit is one in which the rider can ride comfortably and efficiently in what is commonly thought of as a neutral position. Unfortunately, most of us are not perfect and acquire more physical ailments with time. Wear and tear of injuries, long hours on a job contribute to stiff, imbalanced bodies, with some areas strong while others remain relatively unused and weak. Many people do not feel immediately comfortable and efficient in the most neutral position on the bike. For some accommodating the bike to the imperfections and limitations of the body can help achieve a fit that is either maximizes comfort or efficiency. Most discussions about bike fit focus on adjusting the bike to the person, but does not assume that the riders will attempt to make their bodies healthier, stronger, and more efficient to be able to live and ride in a non-accommodated bicycling position. Andy Pruitt makes the metaphor of a bike fit to a relationship, calling it a "marriage between bike and rider." Like in a good marriage, there needs to be give and take from each party. The healthier each party is, the healthier the relationship is likely to be. Ideally, accommodations to the bike are a short-term fix, but at times become a long term crutch. Although the accommodation is addressing the problem of pain or inefficiency, it does not address the root of the dysfunction. Using bicycle accommodations as the sole fix to a problem is the equivalent of agreeing to use crutches for the rest of your life after a car accident but not going through a physical therapy course to rebuilt strength. Though this is a simplistic example, the same is true of most underlying issues that call for bicycle accommodations. A good bicycle is a balanced machine. Any imbalance of a rider-machine relationship reflects imbalance of the rider. For an unbalanced body to feel comfortable successfully motoring that machine, the body naturally makes small adjustments to accommodate it’s own idiosyncrasies. These adjustments work in the short term but over the length of an average bike ride lasting at least an hour, the muscles that are recruited to manage the imbalance tire, resulting in pain and inefficiency. This is precisely the role of a proper fit, used to accommodate for dysfunction resulting in obvious biomechanical inefficiencies. In athletes with imbalance who continue to ride without fixing possibly underlying weakness or dysfunction, knees may not track correctly, hips may be rotating un- evenly, neck strain, nerve impingement and other issues that worsen over time. Accommodations of the bike are diagnostic of a dysfunction that requires further evaluation by a physical therapist or physician trained in sports medicine, physical medicine and rehab, or orthopedics to start the rider on the road of improving weakness or imbalance if possible. With these interventions, as many of the accommodations as possible should be gradually pulled out until a more neutral, non-accommodated fit is reached.

Let’s begin with the assumption that there is a neutral fit range for a road bike rider who is looking for optimal handling and performance on the bike. This is the most common position and what most schools of thought on bike fitting aim for. Here we discuss some of the major points of a common bike fit: 1. Pedal Position: There are ideally few to no shims necessary and minimal to no rotation of the shoe. The cleat rotation is set up so that the center of the foot is under the hip and knee, and is ideally over the center of the pedal 2. Statically Measured Seat Position: For height, with foot in a pedaling position, the knee should be 25-40 degrees from straight. The fore/aft position is more controversial, but generally, the tibial tub should be right over the center of the pedal spindle. Another possible goal for a proper fore/aft position is a good balance between the pelvis, femur and foot such that one is able to lift his hands off the bars without having to sit upright. The seat angle should be roughly zero degrees.

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 15 3. Handlebars: The seat to bar drop is very dependent upon the rider's goals. Generally, the torso should be at about 45 degrees to horizontal while in the hoods (racers can reach 30 degrees and riders who most interested in comfort will go towards 50 degrees). With huge variation, this generally means the bars are one to three inches below the saddle. The angle should be such that the rider is able to ride in the drops comfortably down hills and sometimes on flats, depending on the rider's goals. The seat to bar reach will ideally put the rider in a position with a shoulder angle of between 90 and 100 degrees, with the elbows slightly bent. The correct seat to bar reach will result in a rider with a neutral to slightly flexed lumbar spine, a neutral mid-back, knees in neutral going up and down like pistons, hips pointed straight ahead with minimal rocking on the bike. Optimally there is little to no rotation of the upper body or lower body while on the bike, but it will move just slightly in the transverse plane. 4. The goal of this neutral position is to have a body that is balanced on the bike such that there is good weight distribution from right to left pedal and right to left hand, and from front to back wheels. The bike fit should feel comfortable for the rider, and look good to an onlooker.

Some potential reasons why some riders don't function as well in this neutral bike fit position include tightness, weakness, injury and poor alignment. If a cyclist's biomechanics are poor, then the cyclist's power and performance decrease while the likelihood of pain increases. What is a fitter to do besides make bike-fit accommodations that will improve biomechanics and help get rid of symptoms? The most common accommodations can be divided by body/bike part and summarized as follows addressing relatively un- complicated and common issues.

Feet: 1. Tipping Foot – These can include shoe either varis /valgus or toe/heel, can be accommodated with shims on the inside or outside of the shoe. 2. Inefficiencies at the forefoot, midfoot (arch), or rearfoot – Orthotics are traditionally recommended though with little evidence. 3. Leg length discrepancy - This problem is almost always best fixed by figuring out if it a functional or structural problem and then treating sparingly through shimming. 4. Fore/aft cleat placement that puts the body in an asymmetrical/non-neutral position - possibly accommodating for LLD, or a rotation somewhere in the chain 5. Rotation in the pelvis, tibia, or foot - Pedal extenders, asymmetrical spindle length or spacers

A foot that is not in need of accommodations can appropriately pronate slightly on a down stroke, get better weight shifting on a pedal for corners, apply more power with the knees in an appropriate position, take stress off knees and give the rider powerful pedal stroke. These are the most frequently used and abused accommodations.

Seat: 1. Asymmetrical pelvis – Asymmetrical seat placement (left/right), infrequently used 2. Fore/aft placement – This can be used to open up hips or change balance on the bike 3. Comfort of seat, stability on saddle – Angle of saddle outside of level 4. Inflexibility of the hips and back – Adjusting the seat height

Handle bars 1. Severe Scoliosis - Right/left asymmetrically placed bars and asymmetric hood placement 2. Upper back weakness, shoulder blade collapse, and poor posture – Narrow bars 3. Neck pain – Adjusting handle bar height

Bar position is a frequent change that is made that can relieve stress on many structures, but above a certain point (depending on geometry of the bike) can make the bike unstable or handle poorly.

Finally in all this talk about asymmetries and accommodations, one must not forget about a cyclist learning to be a good cyclist through proper pedaling and handling a bike properly. There is a great deal of need for the teaching of proper pedaling mechanics, body position, weight distribution, and other good bike handling skills. Many of these deficits get accommodated for instead of trained out! A good cycling coach may be able to evaluate the rider’s cycling mechanics and fix many problems through correcting technique rather than making accommodations to the bike fit. So when do you, the cyclist, fitter or coach, consider getting more help? 1. When a cyclist needs more than minor accommodations and can’t assume a relatively neutral fit (Some examples include needing more than a shim or possibly 2 in or outside of a shoe; needing a very large arch support/orthotic; needing a very short or high stem; requiring a saddle that needs rotation; or needing cleats that are not symmetrically positioned on the shoes). 2. When you have tried multiple fits and are still not getting things to resolve 3. Where you are finding significant asymmetry in the body 4. When the cyclist has is more than minor discomfort 5. When the cyclist has had an old musculoskeletal injury or trauma that may be causing symptoms (inquire about old injuries, both

PAGE 16 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS on and off the bike) 6. Any red flags that have been mentioned in the previous MOC article

If you do decide that further help is needed to get the cyclist back to a more neutral fit, you have several options. The goal is to have a healthy symmetrical cyclist that meets the bike in a neutral position, allowing for a healthy marriage between rider and bike. Staying on Top of Altitude Training Live High (LH) Training Low (TL) in Terms of an Optimal Dose Randall L. Wilber, PhD “Live high–train low” (LH+TL) altitude training allows athletes to “live high” for the purpose of facilitating altitude acclimatization, while simultaneously enabling them to “train low” for the purpose of replicating sea-level training intensity and oxygen flux, thereby inducing beneficial metabolic and neuromuscular adaptations- better performance. In addition to natural/terrestrial LH+TL, several simulated LH+TL devices have been developed including nitrogen apartments, hypoxic tents, and hypoxicator devices. One of the key issues regarding the practical application of LH+TL is what the optimal hypoxic dose is that is needed to facilitate altitude acclimatization and produce the expected beneficial physiological responses and sea-level performance effects. Research results are mixed in looking for this optimal dose. One possible explanation for the inconsistent results might be relatively small sample sizes, resulting in potential error. A more likely explanation, however, is that a variety of protocols have been used to administer the hypoxic “dose.” There has been great disparity in the altitude—natural or simulated—at which athletes were exposed, the number of days of altitude/hypoxic exposure, and the number of hours per day of altitude/hypoxic exposure. This has led researchers to focus on the question, in using LH+TL, what is the optimal hypoxic dose needed to produce the expected beneficial physiological responses and sea-level performance effects in most individuals? The result is to examine the following key questions: • What is the optimal altitude at which to live? • How many days are required at altitude? • How many hours per day are required? There is controversy regarding the primary physiological mechanism that influences sea-level endurance performance after altitude/hypoxic training. This article will focus primarily on optimal hypoxic dosage related to changes in serum EPO and erythrocyte volume. Understanding Dose In a medical scenario, the physician’s goal is to administer a pharmacological therapy that lies within the “therapeutic range.” In other words, the dose must be sufficient to induce the desired effect on at least 50% of the patients (“effective dose 50”) without exceeding the critical level that proves lethal to 50% or more of the patients (“lethal dose 50”). Any dose below the therapeutic range will be extremely safe but essentially ineffective in curing the illness or disease in most individuals. In contrast, any dose above the therapeutic range might be effective in curing the illness or disease but is likely to “kill the patient in the process.” In an altitude/hypoxic-training scenario, the athlete’s goal is to live and sleep at an altitude—natural or simulated—within the beneficial range. This range should be high enough (and the exposure long enough) to induce the desired acclimatization effect in at least 50% of athletes (effective dose 50) via an acute and sustained increase in EPO and subsequent accelerated erythropoiesis (or other performance-enhancing physiological responses), without being so high that more than 50% of athletes (lethal dose 50) are unable to recover from daily training or experience symptoms of acute mountain sickness or more debilitating high altitude afflictions. This leads us to examine how coaches and athletes can design LH+TL altitude-training programs within the “beneficial range” for enhancing sports performance. Optimal Dose In defining the optimal hypoxic dose, the pertinent questions are how high and how long in terms of days and hours per day. But the first question we need to address is: What is the optimal altitude at which to live? The question of optimal altitude range has been previously investigated in the laboratory and in the field. One important study on 48 competitive runners were initially evaluated for serum EPO response after a 24-hour exposure to each of 4 elevations (1780, 2085, 2454, and 2800 m) via simulated hypobaric hypoxia. Subjects were then randomly assigned to live for 4 weeks at one of 4 natural/terrestrial altitudes (1780, 2085, 2454, 2800 m) after being matched for gender, prealtitude running performance, and the percentage increase in serum EPO at a simulated altitude of 2454 m. All 4 groups trained together at 1250 to 1780 m (high-intensity training) or 1700 to 3000 m (moderate-intensity training). Collectively, the results suggest that the optimal altitude range for LH+TL altitude training is approximately 2000 m. (6,667 ft.) to 2500 m. (8,334 ft.). Elevations ≤1780 m (5,934 ft.) might be too low for effective acclimatization and stimulation of a significant and sustained erythropoietic response in most individuals. Elevations ≥2800 m (9,334 ft.) do not appear to provide an additional erythropoietic effect (vs~2500 m). In fact these elevations might be too high and could potentially induce some negative acclimatization effects that ultimately compromise sea-level endurance performance. Thus, based on these data, it appears that the optimal altitude range (beneficial range) for the LH+TL model

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 17 is approximately 2000 to 2500 m for most athletes, keeping in mind that there is considerable individual variability in the altitude- acclimatization response. How Many Days Are Required at Altitude? Several LH+TL investigations, as well as altitude training “camps,” have employed an altitude exposure of 28 consecutive days at moderate altitude (2500 m), based in large part on previous studies of exogenous EPO supplementation (injection) and its effect on erythropoiesis. There is little change in hemoglobin concentration or hematocrit for the first 7 to 10 days, and then only a minimal increase after 2 weeks. There is, however, accelerated erythropoiesis during weeks 3 and 4 post-EPO injection, as evidenced by significant increments in hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit. Hypoxic exposure ≤2 weeks in duration will probably not increase erythrocyte volume; rather, a minimum of 3 to 4 weeks appears necessary for accelerated erythropoiesis to occur. This “4- week minimum” guideline for inducing accelerated erythropoiesis is supported by a number of published and unpublished studies. How Many Hours per Day Are Required? Natural/terrestrial altitude of 2000 m to 2500 m with hypoxic exposure ≥22 h/d should be sufficient to stimulate an accelerated erythropoiesis and enhance post altitude sea-level endurance performance. Using simulated altitude hypoxic exposure of 12 to 16 h/d might have similar erythropoietic effects, provided athletes are exposed to higher altitudes (2500 to 3000 m). It appears, however, that there is an additive effect as hypoxic exposure increases beyond 12 to 16 h/d, as illustrated in Figure 1

Figure 1 — Comparison of 3 live high–train low protocols of varying duration of daily hypoxic exposure. Mountain House = ~22 h/d in hypobaric hypoxia via natural terrestrial altitude. Nitrogen House = 12–16 h/d in normobaric hypoxia via nitrogen dilution. Nitrogen House = 8–10 h/d in normobaric hypoxia via nitrogen dilution. Reprinted by permission of Springer from Levine BD, Stray-Gundersen J. Dose–response to altitude training: how much altitude is enough? In: Roach R, Wagner PD, Hackett P, eds. Hypoxia and Exercise. New York, NY: Springer; 2006:233-247.32 The data shown on the left side of Figure 1 (mountain house) employed a hypoxic exposure of approximately 22 h/d for 4 weeks at a natural altitude of 2500 m and resulted in significant pre-altitude versus post altitude increases in erythrocyte volume (8%), treadmill VO2max (4%), and 5000-m-run performance (1.3%) at sea level. The middle set of data in Figure 1 evaluated the efficacy of LH+TL altitude training in Finnish endurance athletes using a nitrogen house. The hypoxic exposure was 12 to 16 h/d for 25 days at a simulated altitude of 2500 m, resulting in substantial pre-altitude versus post altitude increases in erythrocyte volume (5%) and treadmill VO2max (3%), which were slightly lower than the increments seen in the 22-h/d protocol. Finally, the data shown on the right side of Figure 1 (nitrogen house, 8 to 10 h/d) evaluated the efficacy of LH+TL altitude training in Australian national-team cyclists using a nitrogen house. The athletes completed a daily hypoxic exposure of 8 to 10 hours for 12 days at a simulated altitude of 2650 m, which did not significantly alter hemoglobin mass. Collectively, the data from these 3 representative investigations suggest that:

PAGE 18 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS (1) a daily hypoxic exposure of ≤8 to 10 hours is inadequate to stimulate erythropoiesis; (2) a daily hypoxic exposure to simulated altitude of 12 to 16 hours appears to be sufficient to stimulate erythropoiesis in most individuals, provided the simulated altitude is 2500 to 3000 m; (3) a daily hypoxic exposure ≥22 h/d at a natural altitude of 2000 to 2500 m should accelerate erythropoiesis and enhance post altitude sea-level performance in most individuals. In summary, hypoxic exposure of approximately 22 hours at a natural altitude of 2000 to 2500 m should be sufficient to stimulate the erythropoietic pathway and enhance post altitude sea-level endurance performance. When using simulated altitude (normobaric hypoxia via nitrogen dilution or oxygen filtration), hypoxic exposure of 12 to 16 h/d should have similar erythropoietic effects, as well as some performance-affecting nonhematological effects, provided that athletes are exposed to higher altitudes (2500 to 3000 m). Daily hypoxic exposures of ≤8 to 10 hours appear to be ineffective in terms of enhancing erythropoietic response and sea-level endurance performance. Integration of LH+TL in Elite Sport The US Olympic team in long-track speed skating represents an example of the successful integration of several LH+TL altitude-training methods. This team initially used LH+TL in preparation for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Three years before the Salt Lake City Olympics, the speed skaters began living in the Deer Valley/Park City area of the western US state of Utah (~2500 m) to enhance erythrocyte volume and acclimatize at an elevation markedly higher than the altitude of their competition venue (Utah Olympic Oval ~1425 m). The athletes continue to use Deer Valley/Park City as their base of operation and use different LH+TL methods depending on the specific phase of the competitive season. During the base phase of the season (~4 months), the speed skaters focus almost exclusively on moderate-intensity, high- volume, dry-land training at 2000 to 2500 m. There is minimal emphasis on high-intensity training during this phase, so essentially the athletes adhere to the traditional LH+TH model at this time. There are also some sea-level training blocks during the base phase, but the training intensity remains moderate. During the pre-competition phase of the season (~3 months), the speed skaters use a LH+TL regimen in which they continue moderate-intensity, dry-land training at 2000 to 2500 m. They complement this with high- intensity office interval training using in-line skates on an oversized treadmill while breathing supplemental oxygen, which allows them to temporarily and conveniently train at “sea level.” They also spend significant time on ice during the pre-competition phase, with emphasis on technical refinement, as well as continued advancement of their conditioning. During the competition phase of the season (~5 months), the emphasis is on high-intensity, race-pace training, and the speed skaters use the Utah Olympic Oval (1425 m) to train low. In addition, they use supplemental oxygen (portable backpack unit) in conjunction with select high-intensity on-ice training sessions at the Utah Olympic Oval during the competition phase. Approximately 4 weeks before a major competition such as the World Championships, the speed skaters abandon use of supplemental oxygen. The US national-team speed skaters compete internationally and therefore spend several weeks away from their natural/terrestrial altitude-training base in Park City. In an effort to maintain altitude/hypoxia acclimatization, they have frequently relied on simulated altitude devices. Initially, they experimented with using hypoxic tents while traveling to Europe but found them difficult to transport and relatively uncomfortable to sleep in, thereby compromising recovery from training and competition. In recent years, however, the US speed skaters have worked out an agreement with several of the Scandinavian speed-skating teams to use nitrogen apartments and dormitories located in those countries. In addition, they make use of several hypoxic apartments at the Petit National Ice Center during select sea-level training blocks in Milwaukee, WI (176 m). The US long-track speed skaters enjoyed unprecedented success in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, with 6 athletes winning 8 medals, including 3 gold medals and 2 world records. The athletes continued to use LH+TL methods in the quadrennium before the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics, during which time they established themselves as one of the best and most consistent speed-skating teams in the world based on World Cup and World Championship performances. Similar to the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, US long-track speed skaters performed very well in the 2006 Torino Olympics, capturing 3 gold, 3 silver, and 1 bronze medal. In summary, the US Olympic team in long-track speed skating has been a leader in the use of LH+TL altitude training to enhance elite performance. The US speed skaters have credited LH+TL as an important part of their success over the past 10 years and have served as a model for other US national-team athletes to integrate LH+TL into their training programs. Included in this group are the US Olympic marathon runners, who enjoyed unprecedented success at the 2004 Athens Olympics (Deena Kastor, bronze; Meb Keflezighi, silver) after using natural/terrestrial LH+TL altitude training.

Coming to Terms: Hypoxic, Hypoxia, or Hypoxiation: is a pathological condition in which the body as a whole (generalized hypoxia) or a region of the body (tissue hypoxia) is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. Variations in arterial oxygen concentrations can be part of the normal physiology, for example, during strenuous physical exercise. A mismatch between oxygen supply and its demand at the cellular level may result in a hypoxic condition.

Erythrocyte: Red blood cells (also referred to as erythrocytes) are the most common type of blood cell and the principal means of delivering oxygen (O2) to the body tissues via the blood flow through the circulatory system.

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 19 Erythropoiesis: is the process by which red blood cells (erythrocytes) are produced. It is stimulated by decreased O2 in circulation, which is detected by the kidneys, which then secrete the hormone erythropoietin.[2]

Normobaric Hypoxia: simulated altitude training in an artificial environment (e.g., altitude tent) where the hypoxic conditions are due to a decrease in oxygen concentration, not barometric pressure.

Hematocrit: The hematocrit (Ht or HCT) or packed cell volume (PCV) or erythrocyte volume fraction (EVF) is the proportion of blood volume that is occupied by red blood cells. It is considered an integral part of a person's complete blood count results, along with hemoglobin concentration, white blood cell count, and platelet count.

Hypobaric: A hypobaric chamber, or altitude chamber, is a chamber used during altitude research or training to simulate the effects of high altitude on the human body, especially hypoxia (low oxygen) and hypobaria (low ambient air pressure). Some chambers also control for temperature and relative humidity. The On and Off Muscles of Cycling:

How They AffectBernard Condevaux Performance This article identifies the ON muscles used in pedal force production and the OFF muscles that either stabilize or are antag- onists to this force production. The nature of this cyclic movement can create a mechanism for muscle imbalance that could lead to injury and a reduction in power output. With some basic testing and intervention strategies, cycling coaches can assist their athletes with improving performance.

ON Muscles of the Cycling Pedal Stroke The ON muscles of the power stroke are twofold: those involved in the downward stroke and those in the upward stroke. On the downward stroke the ON muscles include the gluteus maximus, muscles of the hamstrings (as hip extensors) and the quadriceps (as knee extensors). To a lesser extent is the gastrocnemius. While muscles of the downward stroke work one side, a different set of muscles is working simultaneously on the opposite side upstroke. These muscles include the iliopsoas, rectus femoris, and sartorius (as hip flexors), hamstrings and gracilis (as knee flexors), and the tibialis anterior for ankle dorsiflexion. To summarize, when pushing down the extensor muscles do most of the work. On the upward stroke the flexors do the bulk of the work. Of note, some research has shown that, with the exception of sprints or uphill surges, a cyclist does not generate enough force on the upstroke to effectively “create” power. During the entire stroke there are transitional moments when the extensors and flexors switch—the pedal dead spots. One factor in this transition is momentum. Ideally, these dead spots can be minimized. There are different theories on this. One is to have the athletes visualize an oval shape pedal stroke rather than a circle shape stroke. The push is down and forward for the down stroke. This tends to promote a better circular pattern. Other coaches advocate the concept of focusing on pulling through the bottom of the down stroke continuing the hip extension and hamstring push into a knee flexion, as if trying to scrape gum off the bottom of the shoe. There is a dead spot and the idea is to minimize its affect on power output. The hip extension will generate a lot more force than the hip flexors. Because of this, some look at the upward stoke as an unloading of the pedal just to minimize a slowing of the opposite down stroke, or basically “getting out of the way” of the opposite downstroke.

OFF Muscles of the Cycling Pedal Stroke These are the stabilizers and antagonist muscles. They include the hip abductors such as gluteus medius and minimus. To a lesser extent are the muscles of hip adductors—these act more as stabilizers. They are the tibialis anterior, which counters the gastrocnemius and soleus. In activities such as mountain biking we see a greater importance of the muscles of the trunk as well as the scapular stabilizers, which give stability to the shoulders and neck, and help stabilize riders during rough downhill sections.

How ON and OFF Muscles Create Imbalances Cycling is a forward motion activity with very little lateral movement (some exceptions are cyclocross and some mountain bike activities, which may require jumping off the bike). Forward motion creates heavy reliance on flexion and extension movements. Imbalance occurs because most cycling training happens on the bike, engaging the flexors and extensors without much input for the stabilizers. The hip abductors start to demonstrate an imbalance by decreasing pelvic/hip stability on one side or the other, thus costing power because of the resultant unstable platform from which the power must be generated. This often results in a breakdown in form and/or overcompensation from back muscles, upper body, or hip flexors and extensors to try and “make up for” the instability. The core stabilizers are also potentially OFF muscles, and poor core stability results in back and/or neck pain with longer rides, decreased power, and can result in fatigue later in a race or training session because the power-generating muscles don’t have a stable

PAGE 20 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS base from which to work.

Measuring Imbalances On the Bike Coaches can measure imbalances through power testing. Devices such as the SRM and Power Tap have some capabilities where a coach can see how much power is generated on each side of the body, right versus left on the whole curve. The question then becomes what imbalance should be of concern. Using straight percentage differences (e.g. 2%-3%) between power productions from the right to left side may be measurable; however, I am not aware of at what point this information can tell a coach if the athlete is at increased risk of injury or significantly diminished performance. From a practical perspective, potential red flags can be observed. For example, in mountain biking where the terrain is usually uneven it’s very important to have a smooth pedal stroke. Therefore, if a mountain biker is having trouble climbing loose terrain, imbalance in the pedal stroke is measurable and of concern performance-wise. On a track this may not be as critical since the activity is maximum power generation on a consistent surface. There is a high RPM but for it to affect performance in the right-to-left difference, it would have to be a significant difference due to the amount of power generated. In road cycling, there are people who are able to ride with imbalances; however, this becomes a matter of at what point do they start to develop injuries. On long stages they may be getting fatigued more on one side. Their performance is unaffected for the first two and a half hours but four hours into it, performance may start to deteriorate due to fatigue on one side. In summary, imbalances can manifest themselves in different ways based on the event.

Measuring Imbalances Off the Bike There are field tests that a coach can perform to measure imbalances. Unlike power measuring on the bike with force production or power measuring devices, field tests are not as exact a science; however, they are important. Some people prefer Cybex and Biodex isokinetic units as measuring devices. A concern here is that they aren’t sports specific unless one is really trained in doing Cybex movements. Because of this, are the results accurate? Is the knee extension done in an open chain environment the same as the knee extension performed on a bicycle? Because of the different movements, more than one muscle is involved in the generation of power. The numbers are more objective but the question becomes, what do the numbers really mean, and how does the coach translate those numbers into a more effective program? There are several activities that can be done to measure left to right imbalances. They include the Five Hop Test and the Single Leg Squat Test (see the “How-to-Do” section for more information). The five hop test is more dynamic and measures muscle action imbalance where the single leg squat measures stabilizing muscle imbalances to a greater degree. In the squat test a coach can see the position of the pelvis and the way an athlete may lean differently from one side to the other. There may be a weakness in the hip abductors when stabilizing the pelvis. If the weakness is in the right hip abductors, the coach would notice the left hip dropping when doing the test—a lot can be seen just by observing the quality of the movement. Coaches’ knowledge of their clients will help in this area. With the hop test a coach can see the power generation from each side. This is a good measure to see the explosive power of each side and the difference between the two. The data isn’t hard numbers but it will tell coaches when they need to address the issue. To be truly effective, field tests need to be repeatable. Coaches should try and replicate the location and the conditions as much as possible to make the results more meaningful.

On- and Off-Bike Strategies Dealing with imbalance issues can be addressed both on and off the bike. Both are presented here since some cyclists don’t have the time, resources or interest in doing off-bike type activities. Coaches should recommend doing both on-bike and off-bike to insure that the situation is dealt with in its entirety. During both the season and off-season there is a certain amount of on-bike training that the athletes will do, but more off-bike training in the off-season can address specific weak spots, as well as maintain mental “freshness.” One of the most effective methods for on-bike training, single leg intervals, is usually done in the off-season on rollers or a trainer. This exercise forces athletes to focus on all elements of the pedal stroke. It forces them to pull through with the involved leg without the momentum offered from the opposite leg downstroke. Start by doing intervals at 30 second repetitions (2-3 per set) with each leg and mix it in with normal cycling. This one leg/two leg sequence should be repeated. Alternating like this provides the athletes with an opportunity to benefit from the facilitated neurological recruitment created by single leg pedaling and immediately apply it into the normal pedaling. It really helps to iron out imbalances in the pedal stroke and reinforce those changes. If one uses a power meter during this drill, the athletes will be able to see the differences in force production right to left (and thus an imbalance in the pedal stroke). If a power meter is not available, a heart rate monitor can reveal the difference in effort required for the same movement, right vs. left. Generally, if an athlete is not as smooth on one side, power generation will be less and heart rate will increase on the imbalanced side. Off the bike general strength training exercises are recommended, and the coach/trainer may have his or her preferences. If an athlete has access to weight machines, the single leg press is a good option. Another useful exercise is step-ups onto a box. This exercise should focus on position of the hips (keeping them level throughout the movements) and mimicking the cycling movement by pushing down and raising the body with the leg on the box (not pushing up from the other leg). Another exercise is the single leg bend and reach (with or without resistance), where an athlete reaches forward as far as

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 21 possible, bending at the hip and knee. This is great for hip extensor development, pelvic and core stability, and balance. The athlete affects multiple systems by doing just one movement (see “How-to-Do” section for more information). Understanding the mechanism of pedal stoke and looking for potential imbalances will go a long way in providing athletes with quality force production and improve results in an injury free environment.

How-to-Do Tests and Exercises Five Hops/Jumps for Distance Start/Movement This is a strength and power test that also tells if one has muscle imbalances between the left and right sides. • Jump five times forward on both legs and measure the distance of the final jump. • Hop on right foot five times for distance. • Hop on left foot five times for distance. • Measure the distances of each foot and compare. • Rest three minutes and repeat twice. Record the best effort.

Single Leg Squat (Hold each position ten counts.) Start/Movement • Stand on one leg with the opposite (non supported) leg forward for balance. • Squat on the supported leg proportionally bending the ankle, knee, and hip. Keep the weight distributed over the whole foot. • Squat until the thigh just breaks parallel and hold. • Return to starting position. • Repeat with the other leg. Common Errors 1. Failure to proportionally bend all three joints. 2. Weight forward on ball of the foot rather than distributed evenly. 3. Failure to bend at the waist.

Step-ups Start • Stand 12 to 18 inches from a box high enough to create a 90° angle at the knee when a foot is placed on top of the box. • Keep body erect. Movement • Inhale and step with lead leg onto top of box placing foot in the center with toes straight ahead. • Keeping body straight, shift weight to lead leg (on the box). • Pull body with lead leg to a standing, balanced position on the box. • Body should be fully erect at the top position. • Shift body weight to same lead leg. • Exhaling, step off box using unweighted leg. • Body stays erect while placing foot onto the floor followed by foot of other leg. • Balance feet and repeat using other leg as lead leg. Tip • Be sure lead leg does all the work when stepping up onto box.

Single Leg Press Start • Adjust seat so there is slightly greater than 90 degree angle in knee when weight is lowered. • Place foot in the right center on footplate such that knees track over ankles during movement. • Keep back and torso flat against pad. Movement • Lift weights off supports and turn supports outward. • Quickly lower weight to a position slightly above 90 degrees knee flexion. • Keep hips and back flat against pad. • Knee tracks over ankle. Maintain complete foot contact on the foot plate. • Inhale during descent. • Press weight quickly to full leg extension without locking knee. • Do not jam or accelerate machine at top of movement. • Repeat with opposite leg.

PAGE 22 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS Single Leg Bend and Reach Start • Hold small dumbbell in each hand. • Have 3 cones positioned on floor in a triangle such that touching farthest cone requires full extension of the arm and bend at the waist. Movement • Standing on one foot, take one hand and touch the cone to the left then completely return upright while maintaining balance on single leg. • Using same hand, touch middle cone; return upright. • Then touch cone on right. Use same hand and leg for balance then reverse the procedure (right to left). • Repeat for each hand and leg. • To increase challenge, stand on unstable surface. 3. Cycling Injury Prevention Medicine of Cycling: Hip and Knee Pain in Cyclists Claudette M. Lajam, M.D.

Knee pain is the most common lower extremity problem in cyclists. It can result in decreased participation, enjoyment and performance. Hip dysfunction can also cause significant pain and detriment to performance and enjoyment. While it is impossible to cover all types of pathology in this article, we will address the more common sources of pain. A vexing challenge in treatment of lower extremity pain is to identify the pain generator, or “PG.” Pain can be caused by systemic disease, lumbar spine issues, hip pathology, knee pathology, neurologic conditions and vascular conditions. It is important to seek out a physician who understands cycling and the unique stresses placed on the body when riding. It is also imperative that each cyclist have a primary physician who can monitor general health and who can provide pre-participation evaluation before periods intense training or competition.

Knee Pain The knee takes on tremendous stress during cycling. With average cadence of 80 rpm, the knee performs thousands of repetitions of the singular pedaling motion. Most stress is undertaken in the patellofemoral compartment (the area under the kneecap). Injury to this area can result in pain and decreased performance. Remember that any inflammatory condition within the knee joint can cause a part of the quadriceps muscle to shut down, thus magnifying any muscle imbalances that have already occurred. It is important to heed warnings of pain and swelling in the knee with early treatment so that the problem does not become worse! Also, know that the PG for knee pain can be the hip or the lumbar spine. If pain in the knee is vague or seems to shoot into the groin or the back and does not go away with treatment, evaluation of the hip and spine is recommended. 1. Chondromalacia of the patella: Chondromalacia means “bad cartilage.” It is characterized by changes in the joint surface cartilage on the undersurface of the patella, on the groove that the patella rides in, or in both areas. These changes can come from trauma, can be age-related or can occur because of natural alignment of the joint. a. Symptoms: pain behind the kneecap, swelling, catching (the knee gets stuck in the extended position and needs to be wiggled to bend). Pain precipitated by hilly rides, riding in bigger gears or at slow cadence. Pain also with stair- climbing or descent, squatting or deep knee bends. b. Diagnosis: the doctor will examine the knee for alignment (“Valgus” knees are more likely to have this condition), motion and telltale signs of the condition. Xrays are taken to view the joint spaces and to exclude fractures. Cycling history to determine bike fit, riding habits and injury history can help with diagnosis. c. Treatment: A period of lower resistance training (high cadence and flat terrain) along with anti-inflammatory medication, icing and muscle balancing exercises – including strengthening quadriceps and stretching IT Band, hamstring and calf muscles – is usually helpful. Cleat and saddle position should be checked to rule out fit issues. If the problem is purely anatomic, sometimes realignment surgery is an option. 2. Patellar tendonitis: Inflammation of the tendon between the kneecap and the shin bone can be very painful and tough to treat. a. Symptoms: Pain when pedaling or extending the knee against resistance. Location is in the tendon and soft tissue just below the tip of the kneecap. There may be swelling of the tendon and tenderness to the touch. b. Diagnosis: Physical examination shows swelling and tenderness in these locations. Xrays are usually negative. MRI will show inflammation of the tendon and the absence of other pathology.

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 23 c. Treatment: Bike fit is very important. Cleat and saddle position should be checked to see if too much lateral stress is being placed on the tendon. Training modification to flat terrain and low resistance riding is recommended until pain-free. Focused icing and NSAID medication is helpful to reduce inflammation. Formal physiotherapy can assist. Injections with steroids are NOT recommended. This condition is very frustrating and may take a long time to treat. 3. Meniscal or ligamentous tears: Internal pathology of the joint can occur in all age groups. In younger athletes, twisting injury or trauma is usually involved. In older patients, degenerative meniscal tears can cause irritation within the joint and start a cascade of events that can affect performance. a. Symptoms: Meniscal tears can cause swelling, locking in a flexed position and catching of the knee. Pain is usually on the inside or the outside of the knee. Ligament tears cause instability and difficulty doing cutting or twisting motions. b. Diagnosis: Physical examination alone can give a lot of information. Xrays to rule out fractures or arthritis are performed. If conservative treatment fails or if ligament tears are suspected, an MRI may be ordered to see the soft tissues. c. Treatment: Most meniscal tears in older people can be treated non-surgically. If this fails and MRI shows significant tears, arthroscopic surgery can be helpful. Ligament tears are treated according to the particular needs of the patient. Many cyclists who are older elect not to have ACL reconstruction, as cycling does not involve cutting and twisting. Younger patients will usually elect to have ACL reconstruction so as to decrease instability and perhaps delay onset of arthritis in the joint. 4. Iliotibial band syndrome: results from friction of the expansion of the Iliotibial band (ITB) on the outside of the femur bone during repetitive motion. The band moves from anterior to posterior during pedal motion. When inflamed, it can cause severe pain on the outside of the knee. a. Symptoms: Pain on the outside of the knee, often stabbing or burning, that occurs in concert with the pedal stroke. There may also be pain at the outside flare of the hip and down the lateral thigh to the outside of the shin bone. Pain goes away with rest early on, but with increasing severity there is pain all the time. b. Diagnosis: physical examination is the key. Tenderness, positive Ober test for tightness of the ITB and sometimes even snapping of the band along the condyle. MRI has limited utility here, but is performed sometimes to rule out other confounding conditions. c. Treatment: nonsurgical treatment is useful in most cases. Bike fit should be examined, particularly cleat positioned too internally rotated or too forward on the shoe. Cleats with too little float can also exacerbate this condition. Fo- cused stretching, cross-fiber ice massage, rest and NSAID are helpful. Foam roller stretching of the ITB can help prevent the condition from returning. Surgery to release the posterior fibers of the band can be performed in the most stubborn cases. 5. Plica syndrome: The normal knee is enclosed in a capsule of tissue. When this capsule becomes inflamed, sometimes folds or shelves of the capsule become a mechanical source of pain in the knee. These folds are called “plica,” which means “fold.” a. Symptoms: Pain, swelling and mechanical clicking, usually on the inside of the knee. Pain is brought on by motion and improves at rest. b. Diagnosis: Physical examination is important, since on MRI the plica may appear as normal capsule. c. Treatment: Elimination of inflammation is the key to treatment. NSAID medication, focused icing and training modification to exclude painful activity are the best treatment. Surgical treatment with arthroscopy can remove persistent plica. Hip Pain The hip is increasingly recognized as a source of pain in athletes. Improvements in understanding of the joint, along with advances in technology have allowed better surgical treatment of early problems. Again, the PG for hip pain may be a lumbar spine condition. If hip pain is unexplained by thorough evaluation, a lumbar spine evaluation is recommended. 1. Snapping hip syndrome: When snapping is painless it does not require treatment. For painful snapping, there are two types: Internal and External. Internal snapping is caused by the iliopsoas tendon’s sliding over the front of the femur during movement of the hip, particularly during a “frog kick” type of movement. External snapping is caused by the upper portion of the Iliotibial band when it passes over the greater trochanter of the femur. a. Symptoms: For internal, the athlete may have deep groin pain and will experience a snap when the hip is moved in a frog kick type of motion. The snap sometimes can be Internal External

PAGE 24 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS heard across the room. For external, the athlete may believe that the hip is “dislocating.” The outer edge of the hip can be seen to push out during motion and then come back in. Pain is over the outside of the hip. b. Diagnosis: Internal snapping can be tough to diagnose. Physical examination is the key, along with imaging studies to rule out other issues. Bursography, which involves the injection of contrast into the bursa, can be of value in certain cases. External snapping is also diagnosed with physical examination and imaging to rule out other causes if necessary. It is very important to establish an accurate diagnosis before undergoing any surgery. c. Treatment: For internal snapping, an intensive stretching program focused on the lower back and hip is recommended. NSAID treatment and modification of training to exclude painful activities is important until pain is gone. Core strengthening can be helpful. For external snapping, modification of training and treatment of inflammation are key. Strengthening of abductors and the foam roller may be helpful in decreasing snapping. Surgical treatment for persistent internal snapping involves release of part of the tendon from the lesser trochanter of the hip. This can now be performed arthroscopically, but only after other measures have failed. 2. Impingement Syndrome: Abutment of the bones in the hip can cause pain and dysfunction. When the cycling pedal stroke causes this event, pain and limitation of performance can occur. a. Symptoms: Persistent pain in the groin area, brought on by flexion and usually internal rotation of the hip. b. Diagnosis: Physical examination and plain X-rays to rule out other issues are important first steps. MRI is helpful if an associated soft tissue lesion is suspected. Diagnosis is tricky as there are many PGs within the hip joint. c. Treatment: Modification of activity, a stretching program and anti-inflammatory medication can be helpful. Bike fit should be assessed to ensure there is no excessive hip flexion during pedal stroke. When pain is persistent, surgical treatment with arthroscopy and removal of the impinging part of the bone can be performed. Recovery from surgery takes 6-12 weeks, depending on the procedures performed. 3. Labral tears: The soft tissue rim around the hip socket is called the labrum. When tears occur, the loose piece may flip in and out of the joint and cause inflammation and pain. Tears are also thought to cause loss of the suction effect of the joint, thus creating micro-instability. a. Symptoms: Groin pain with motion, especially when the hip is brought into flexion. The athlete may feel a click or catch inside the hip. The athlete can sometimes remember a traumatic event after which the pain began. b. Diagnosis: Can be difficult, but combination of physical examination, x-rays and MRI with contrast can show the lesion. c. Treatment: Early treatment includes training modification, stretching and NSAID medication. If this fails and a labral tear is seen, the athlete may elect for surgical treatment with arthroscopic repair or debridement. If surgery is performed, it is important that the surgeon address any bony impingement. Recovery from surgery is 6-12 weeks. 4. Arthritis: When the bearing surface cartilage wears away, athletes may feel pain and stiffness in the hip. a. Symptoms: Pain and stiffness in the groin and hip. Pain occurs with weight bearing. The athlete may limp on the affected side. Cycling might not be painful, even with severe disease. b. Diagnosis: Plain x-rays along with history and physical examination will show arthritis in the hip. MRI is generally not needed if x-rays show the condition. c. Treatment: Conservative treatment includes NSAID medication, stretching and core strengthening. Cycling can continue so long as the athlete can tolerate it. Fit may need to be adjusted so that the stiffness in the hip does not affect the other joints and the low back. This can be done by raising the handlebar position to more upright. Arthro- plasty hip surgery is the only reliable surgical treatment. Hip resurfacing or replacement may be performed depending on the severity. 5. Fractures: Traumatic fractures of the hip can occur after crashes or trauma. These are fairly obvious and should be treated immediately. However, stress fractures of the femoral neck can occur over time and are more difficult to diagnose. Catastrophic conse- quences may occur if a stress fracture becomes a complete fracture in a young person. Many cyclists have low bone mineral density from lack of weight bearing activity and are at risk. a. Symptoms: Groin pain, mostly with weight bearing activity and sometimes at rest. Pain may be vague. This condition may also present as vague anterior knee pain or thigh pain. b. Diagnosis: Evaluation and plain x-rays may not show the fracture. If pain is persistent and not explained by examination, MRI should be performed to rule out stress fracture. c. Treatment: Depending on location of the fracture, surgery may be indicated to place screws across the area so as to prevent completion of the fracture. Some types of fractures can be treated conservatively with protected weight bearing and modification of activity. If stress fractures are seen in young athletes, assessment of bone mineral density and evaluation by a general doctor is recommended to rule out other conditions. Conclusions Lower extremity pain is common in cyclists, but many conditions can be treated conservatively. It is important to recognize these issues and treat them early so that they do not affect performance long-term. Bike fit is critical in prevention and minimization of lower extremity pain. Most athletes can continue cycling at low intensity during treatment and recovery from injury.

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 25 4. Fueling and Recovery- Nutrition, Recovery Methods and More Overreaching vs. Overtraining Understanding the Difference Randall L. Wilber

Coaching Observation “More performances are spoiled by slight overtraining than by slight lack of fitness.”

“An athlete who is 50% conditioned for an event will do better than an athlete who is 0.5% overtrained.” -Bobby McGee

Understanding the difference between overreaching and overtraining are important considerations for the coach in the development and planning for their athletes. One can lead to optimal training advances, the other can lead to disaster. Overtraining is the worst case scenario for the athlete, but it is the more easily defined of the two. Overtraining is a long-term effect that goes for weeks and possibly months and doesn’t seem to be reversible with normally scheduled recovery periods. Performance suffers chronically, which means the athlete may have to end the season because they are not able to recover from the effects of overtraining. In contrast, overreaching is a smaller, less serious version of overtraining. It is a period where performance suffers, but typically only for a couple of days. The effect is expected because it is the result of several days of hard training. It would be expected that performance would suffer, but only on a temporary basis. Overreaching is reversible after a normal, planned recovery ranging from a few days up to a week. The impact of overreaching is that it is a very necessary, positive aspect of training—particularly at the elite level. When working with elite athletes, one should remember that the body must be stressed in order for it to adapt, get stronger and ultimately perform better. The line between overreaching and overtraining becomes finer as the athlete advances along the developmental continuum. It is important to note that the amount of stress before adaptation that can occur is lessened for the beginning and recreational athlete.

OVERREACHING -Short term (days) -Reversible with recovery -Positive training adaptation - necessary to improve performance especially at elite level. OVERTRAINING -Long term (weeks, months) -Irreversible with recovery -Negative training adaptation - performance suffers chronically - competitive season is over.

Characteristics of Normal Recovery Recovery is essential in the overreaching process and overtraining avoidance. The recovery process is a highly individualized situation. This is especially true for the recreational or beginning level athlete who works 40-50 hours a week and the sport participation is not their job. This is where the coach plays a key role. Knowing the athlete’s recovery rates and how hard the athlete works on a given day helps the coach determine how much recovery to give the athlete before the next hard workout. The coach should be on the lookout for signs in the lack of both physical and psychological recovery. It might be the fact that the athlete is not able to successfully complete the initial stages of a hard work out. This is a good sign that the athlete is not recovered and not ready to complete the scheduled hard workout. If this early difficultly is observed, the coach can either end the workout or choose alternative activities that would be less stressful on the athlete. This will hopefully facilitate recovery so that the athlete can come back the next day and have a successful hard training session. There are things that a coach can monitor, such as sleep, which can also give some insight to recovery or the quality of recovery that does not require blood work. These topics will be addressed in a future article. A lot of gauging recovery is intuitive by the coach. This stems from knowing their athlete well from a training/recovery perspective and being able to make the “no workout” or “reduced intensity workout” calls quickly. This takes discipline for the coach. If a workout is taken off the board, the coach must have the maturity and confidence to avoid feeling that the athlete has missed a quality workout and that it must be made up. The coach should avoid this thinking and realize that the athlete needs to recovery naturally and in their own time. It is accepting the idea that it is necessary to sometimes take one step backwards to move two steps forward.

Acute Overload and Overreaching Table 1 illustrates the intensity, volume duration, frequency continuum and the relationship of acute overload and over-

PAGE 26 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS reaching. The trick is to advance from acute overload (half full bucket) to achieve overreaching (full bucket), but avoid overtraining (tipping the bucket over). This table illustrates that training is a continuum with both positive and negative zones. The athlete should strive to keep their bucket at least half full without tipping it over. I liken the acute overload to today’s workout. The athlete has a structured, challenging workout (acute overload) which is designed on a micro (weekly) cycle to stress the body. If this acute overload is done correctly over several days, you have positive physiology adaptation and minor performance improvements. A track athlete does a workout of 10 x 400 meters at race pace with minimal recovery. That is a hard workout that is an acute overload bringing about positive physiological adaptations. The workout is designed to help the athlete run a faster competitive mile at some point in the future. If you take this further for several workouts that are similar but not back-to-back and with proper recovery, we now get into the part of the continuum that is overreaching. We may have several weeks of the 10 x 400 meters, but other workouts similar to it are designed to push the athlete to the overreach line, from positive adaptations to optimal physiological adaptations and performance. The key word is “optimal,” whether the athlete is at a beginning, elite, or Olympic level. Trying to optimize training for optimal competitive results is the center of every coach-athlete relationship. The balance imposes physiological stress through workouts which are designed to allow stress without being overstressed or overtrained.

Seasonal Considerations The next question or challenge is to apply this acute overload and overreach model to the different training seasons, pre-in- and off-season. As the seasons change, the nature of training changes. Accomplishing acute overload is an easy task that anyone who can write a workout or a week’s worth of workouts can accomplish. The challenge is that a season can last several months. The concepts of periodization and designing the systematic workout properly lead to the ultimate goal—having the athlete give their best performance at the most important competitions. This is more difficult than designing the single-week workouts. Creating a workable, optimal season plan is difficult under any circumstance. The biggest challenge for the coach and athlete is to do it effectively the first year. This does not mean the first year will be disastrous, but a lot of things can happen as the coach and athlete learn about each other. The first year should serve as a blueprint for the coaches to understand what they can do with the long-range plans. This is in terms of how hard they push an athlete and when to rest an athlete in order to bring them to peak performance. A lot of coaches tell their athletes that the first year is a learning curve and that the athlete should hang in there for the year. But there is an exponential increase in that learning curve from year one to year two. The intuitive coach will look at what areas need improvement and design seasonal strategies. It is a huge challenge to take the athlete from one acute overload to several over a few weeks’ time which overlap with pre- and competitive seasons. It is best for the coach to err on the conservative side so that the results are positive, but not optimal. This leaves the athlete with a positive feeling. That will build trust in what the coach is doing. If 80% of the goals are met within the first year, this will be a great way to improve the blueprint without making drastic changes to the blueprint. That way, 90% of the goals can be achieved the next year. This is a great way to build a long and lasting relationship. The athlete must realize that it is important to be mature and disciplined in the decision-making process. There should be that understanding between coach and athlete that this is a commitment. It will take some time. The analogy can be made that a husband and wife date a few years before the relationship is optimized. The same is true of an athlete.

Symptoms of Overtraining Identifying overtraining is not a simple, quick fix where one thing will serve as a bull’s-eye to identify the condition. Over- training is a complex picture that is changing by the year because of research with many gray areas. The more information for a coach, the more characteristics can be evaluated, determined and checked off. The coach will also be better able to make judgments as to whether an athlete has overreached or overtrained.

Performance Symptoms -Consistent decrease in performance compared with: +earlier in the current season +at the same point in the previous season -Prolonged recovery after WOs & competition -Reduced toleration of training load - inability to complete WOs -Decreased muscular strength -Loss of coordination -Deterioration of technical skills

This is an area where a coach can observe a great deal without the reliance of medical/laboratory testing and data. This is where the coach of the beginning athlete should focus on how the athlete is responding to both the training and competitions. One can hope that the training is telltale enough to indicate problems before the athlete gets into the competitive environment. If a beginning-level athlete enters a competition in an overtrained state, their result may be poor and this novice will be dealt a psychological blow that will be difficult to get over. This creates doubts with the coach, the program and whether the sport is for them. Watching the early performance of a workout can immediately tell the coach that the athlete is not ready for the work to come and can be adjusted accordingly. The coach can cut the workout short, change the intensity or send the athlete home. If this continues, it is a good indication that the athlete may be on the road to overtraining. If the coach acts with maturity and discipline, many overtraining

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 27 situations can be avoided before they become serious. Performance symptoms are the first line of intervention indicators. These early indicators occur even at the elite level. I have seen coaches here at the training center send athletes who have been ranked number one in the world home right after warm-up. If the athlete is not ready for the scheduled stress, the stress applied will do more harm than good. The coach can make the mature, disciplined decision to send the athlete home to let the body get the additional rest it needs. The stress will then be applied at a later date.

Physiological Symptoms -Increased HR at rest, during submaximal exercise & recovery -Increased O2 consumption during submaximal exercise -Reduced maximal exercise capacity -Decreased blood [HLa] during submaximal & maximal exercise -Decrease in total body weight and body fat -Poor sleep and chronic fatigue -Loss of appetite and GI disturbances -Muscle soreness -Increased muscle & joint injury

One of the areas that a coach can explore rather easily is sleep. The athlete can be asked to chronicle not only how much sleep they get, but also the quality of that sleep. This can be easily done with a diary. Another area that can be evaluated rather simply is appetite and diet. All the other areas require a laboratory set-up to measure.

Immunological Symptoms -Increased susceptibility to colds/flu/allergies -Swelling of lymph glands -Bacterial infection -Abnormal WBC differential ( lymphocytes, eosinophils) -Minor cuts heal slowly

These too require a laboratory set-up, and some are rather sophisticated. From my experience as a coach, the area that always pops up at the time of major competitions are illnesses such as colds and the flu. This is a time when athletes seem to be the most susceptible to these types of illnesses. Lifestyle changes such as contact with people during this delicate time can help reduce the chances of illness.

Biochemical Symptoms -Reduced muscle glycogen concentration -Elevated serum cortisol -Decreased serum ferritin (Fe depletion) -Mineral depletion -Menstrual dysfunction (oligomenorrhea, amenorrhea) -Decreased bone mineral density

These symptoms are based on objective blood tests or other fairly sophisticated tests. The menstrual dysfunction is one that a coach can monitor as long as the athletes are honest and candid. Blood chemistry can be a good investment for some intermediate and beginning-advanced athletes because it is not overly expensive for the objective information that is obtained.

Psychological Symptoms -General apathy and lethargy -Lack of concentration -Mood changes -Decreased self-esteem -Fear of competition -Gives up when the going gets tough

A good sensitive and intuitive coach can pick on most of the items in this list. If the coach checks off five or six items on this list and three or four items on the performance list, then the coach should be aware that overtraining may be occurring. Adjustment must be made quickly. If the coach sees an athlete who is normally very competitive complaining and/or lethargic during warm up, this can be a huge red flag. There is a distinction between fear of competition and anxiety that the coach should have a handle on. This is another intuitive scenario. Competition anxiety is something I would equate to putting on a game face. The athlete is serious, focused and

PAGE 28 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS anxious to get started. There is a challenge ahead, but the athlete is confident that s/he is ready to meet that challenge. The competition is tough, but the athlete is up for the competition because that is why they are an athlete—to compete and give it their best. The fear of competition is the “what-am-I-doing-here?” look or the “ I-don’t-want-to-be-here” look. Body language is lethargic and the face is fearful—not a game face. Another indicator of fear is expressed verbally. The athlete makes excuses for poor results in advance of competition. The words “I can’t” come up frequently. This is an especially good indicator for athlete who otherwise is very positive.

Table 1 adapted from: Armstrong, LE, and JL VanHeest. The unknown mechanism of the overtraining syndrome: clues from depression and psychoneuroimmunology. Sports Medicine, 32: 185-209, 2002. Table 1 Increasing Training Variables

Acute Overload Overtraining Undertraining Over Reaching Bucket Bucket Bucket Bucket

Minimal training Some training Full training adaptations, Training adaptations stop, adaptations, performance adaptations and small high performance in- performance decreases the same performance increase crease

Zone of positive training Medicine of Cycling Nutrition and Bioenergetics - The integration of Nutrition, Metabolism and Performance Dr. Iñigo San Millán, PhD Nutrition is a crucial field in any athlete’s performance as without a proper nutrition it is impossible to obtain good performances. Every athlete is born with a genetic makeup and a defined physiology. The main goal of training is to alter and improve the physiology an athlete is born with. However it doesn’t matter how well we train or how good a coach a cyclist works with is, we will never be able to improve that physiology correctly and therefore improve performance if we don’t eat properly. I have personally seen many situations where a talented athlete is leaving the exercise physiology laboratory with defined goals, training zones and information to improve performance and everything is ruined by a wrong nutrition. Unfortunately there is too much misleading information on nutrition, magic diets, urban legends and myths that seem to keep hunting not only cyclists but their coaches year after year By being part of the academics I am a firm believer of the importance of education in order to have a better understanding about nutrition and its interactions with physiological and metabolic responses and the impact on performance. It is the intention of this article to present a scientific review of the basics of bioenergetics, carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism and the integration of nutrition, metabolism, physiology and performance. BASIC EXERCISE BIOENERGETICS - Where do we get the energy and why nutrition is so important? The capacity of an athlete to exercise ultimately depends on the ability to transform chemical energy into mechanical energy. For this, skeletal muscle needs to synthesize Adenosine-5’-Triphosphate (ATP) for muscle contraction. ATP is responsible for all energy processes in human cells ATP needs to be synthesized constantly during exercise as it is indispensable for muscle contraction. ATP generation is achieved by two mechanisms: anaerobic and aerobic metabolism as well as through fats and carbohydrates (CHO) mainly, with some contribution from protein. Fats and CHO are stored in skeletal muscle and in the case of fat it is stored primarily in the adipose tissue but also in skeletal muscle and in the liver. Each energy system and substrate will be activated depending on the metabolic and physiological stress, contractile necessities for ATP generation of the muscle (exercise intensity) and the fiber recruitment pattern. A large majority and range of exercise intensities can generate ATP through Fat and CHO generate ATP through aerobic metabolism, also called oxidative phosphorilation. Depending on the level of fitness of an individual fat can sustain the biggest part of ATP generation aerobically up to 55-75% of VO2max intensity although CHO is also used at small rates during low and moderate exercise intensities. Beyond this point ATP generation needs to be faster in order to keep up with a higher frequency and power in muscle contraction and CHO will become the major energy used by skeletal muscle up to 100% of VO2max. When exercise intensities are very high and maximal or close to maximal and therefore above 100% of VO2max, ATP cannot be generated by the aerobic PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 29 mechanism so the ATP needs to be generated through the anaerobic mechanism also called substrate phosphorilation. CARBOHYDRATE - Metabolism during Exercise Carbohydrate (CHO) metabolism is of great importance during exercise, especially during high exercise intensity where it is the predominant energy subtracts for skeletal muscle. Glycogen is the storage form of glucose and carbohydrates (CHO) in animals and humans. Carbohydrates are a very limited source of energy accounting for only about 1-2% of total bodily energy stores (Good- man, 1988). Furthermore, about 80% of total CHO is stored in skeletal muscle, about 14% is stored in the liver and about 6% in blood in the form of glucose, so this would represent about 300-400g of glycogen stored in muscle and about 70-100g stored in the liver (Sherman, 1995). Glycogen cannot be utilized for energy purposes by muscle so it needs to be broken down to Glucose 1- Phosphate by an enzyme called enzyme phosphorylase. This is the process of called glycogenolysis. The process of glucose breakdown in muscle for fuel utilization is called glycolysis which at rest, accounts for 15-20% of peripheral glucose utilization in skeletal muscle. At an exercise intensity of 55-60% VO2 max, glucose utilization by skeletal muscle increases to about 80-85% of whole- body disposal (Kjaer et al., 1991). Since muscle glycogen is crucial for ATP synthesis during exercise, proper glycogen storages are of great importance for athletic performance. Multiple studies show that glycogen depletion is associated with fatigue and decrease in performance and that athletes who have low carbohydrate diets or low glycogen storages will decrease exercise capacity ( Coyle et al., 1983; 1986; Coggan & Coyle, 1991; Sahlin et al., 1990; Maughan et al., 1997; McConell et al., 1999) as well as an increase risk for overtraining (Sherman & Wimer, 1991; Sherman, 1995; Snyder et al., 1995). Glycolysis occurs mainly in the cytosol and this process can be aerobic through the complete oxidation of Pyruvate (oxidative phosphorilation in the Mitochondria) or anaerobic (substrate phosphorilation in the cytosol). Exercise intensity determines the substrate demands of skeletal muscle to generate ATP. During exercise skeletal muscles use primarily Fat and CHO for energy purposes and at low exercise intensities fat is the preferred substrate although there is always some glucose oxidation. At higher exercise intensities of about 50-60% of VO2max, ATP synthesis demand increases and fat cannot entirely meet the rate of ATP synthesis so glucose oxidation increases. Although the oxidation of fat yields a much higher amount of ATP, glucose utilization is much faster and therefore necessary for ATP synthesis during higher exercise intensities. Exercise intensity is the main regulator for skeletal muscle CHO utilization and the mechanisms responsible for CHO utilization during exercise involve hormonal and local factors as well as glycogen availability. Epinephrine (Adrenaline) is the main hormone involved in CHO metabolism during exercise. B-adrenergic activity increases with exercise intensity and Phosphorilase is the enzyme responsible for glycogen breakdown to glucose and it is regulated by epinephrine. The release of epinephrine from the adrenal medulla is directly proportional to exercise intensity. Epinephrine stimulates muscle glycogenolysis by increasing phosphorilase activity thus it is a major regulator of CHO metabolism during exercise. Availability of free fatty acids (FFA) during exercise is also closely regulated by epinephrine. During high exercise intensities epinephrine reduces the blood flow to adipose tissue eliciting a constricting effect on adipose tissue therefore reducing plasma FFA availability to the muscles during high intensity exercise (Romijn et al., 1993; Roberts et al., 1996). Muscle fiber composition and activation patterns play an important role in substrate utilization. During high exercise intensities, contraction time is lower, shortening velocity is higher and power production is higher as well so Type II muscle fibers are recruited at these exercise intensities (Gollnick et al., 1974). Since Type II muscle fibers have a higher glycogenolyic capacity and lower mitochondrial density, glucose utilization in these fibers will prevail over fat. Exercise duration also plays an important role in CHO metabolism during exercise. Since glycogen storage capacity is about 500g in muscle and liver the length of the exercise activity will be very important for the regulation of CHO metabolism. Glucose uptake in skeletal muscle is dependent on glycogen content (Hargreaves et al., 1992) and hypoglycemia during exercise can be pre- vented by the sufficient intake of CHO (Coggan & Coyle, 1991). Exercise duration is intimately related to glycogen storages as low glycogen storages during endurance events are associated with hypoglycemia, fatigue and decrease of performance (Hermansen et al., 1967; Coggan & Coyle, 1987; Coyle et al., 1983; 1986; Sahlin et al., 1990; Maughan et al., 1997; McConell et al., 1999). LIPID METABOLISM DURINGE EXERCISE Lipids are a very important energy source for endurance exercise. Although ATP generation for muscle contraction from lipids is slower than carbohydrates, the amount of ATP produced by lipids is far higher than that from CHO which makes lipids the fuel of choice by skeletal muscle during endurance exercise as well as it will have a glycogen sparing effect. The main source for lipid metabolism is subcutaneous adipose tissue. Even the leanest athletes have more than 100,000 Kcal of potential energy in their adipose tissue. Lipid metabolism during exercise is a highly coordinated and integrated process starting at the adipose tissue and ending at the mitochondria in skeletal muscle. This process involves mobilization or breakdown of adipose tissue, circulation from adipose tissue to skeletal muscle, uptake and final mitochondrial oxidation in skeletal muscle. Lipolysis is the first step in lipid metabolism and it is the breakdown of adipose tissue as well as intramuscular triglyceride. Triglycerides in the adipose tissue and muscle are broken down into free fatty acids (FFA) and glycerol by hormone sensitive lipase (HSL). Hormonal control of lypolysis is tightly regulated by several hormones, especially catecholamines (Epinephrine and Norepinephrime) which are probably the major hormones regulating lipolysis. Catecholamines bind to both β-adrenergic and α2- adrenergic receptors on the fat cell (adipocyte) membrane. This activates a cascade of cellular signals which starts by the activation of adenylate cyclase (AC) which increases cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) which activates cAMP-dependent protein kinase which ultimately phosphorilates HSL which finally elicits lipolysis. At rest low level of plasma catecholamines bind to α2 receptors eliciting an inhibitory effect on lypolysis while during exercise plasma catecholamines increase and stimulate β-adrenergic receptors stimulating lypolysis (Arner et al., 1990). However, during very high exercise intensities, catecholamines have an inhibitory effect on lypolysis probably by causing a constriction in

PAGE 30 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS capillarization and blood flow to adipose tissue (Roberts et al., 1996; Romijn et al., 1993) and eliciting a potent glycogenolytic effect. Although it seems to be different catecholamine thresholds for both lipolysis and glycogenolysis (Galster et al., 1981) the exact mechanisms and catecholamine concentrations to elicit either lipolytic or glycogenolytic effects is not entirely understood. Insulin also regulates lipolysis although its effects during exercise are not as profound as when at rest or as powerful as catecholamines during exercise. At rest insulin inhibits lipolysis (Jensen et al., 1989; Campbell et al., 1992; Galbo, 1992) but during exercise, insulin secretion decreases allowing higher a lipolytic activity (Wasserman et al., 1989). Upon adipose tissue lipolysis, FFA must be transported to skeletal muscle. . Once inside the muscles FFA are attached to coenzyme A (CoA) which forms fatty acyl-CoA which then is transported across the outer mitochondrial membrane by carnitine- palmitoyl transferase I (CPT-I), and finally transported to the mitochondrial matrix by carnitine. Once inside the mitochondrial matrix, fatty acids undergo β-oxidation where fatty acyl-CoA is degraded to Acetyl CoA which can then enter the citric acid cycle. Skeletal muscle also contains small lipid droplets called intramuscular triglycerides (IMTG) which are stored in the cytoplasm of skeletal muscle cells close to the mitochondria. Depending on different circumstances such as endurance exercise and low glycogen content IMTG can play an important role in the contribution to lipid metabolism during exercise (Gollnick & Saltin, 1988) which depending on the exercise duration and glycogen availability can contribute to a great extent to lipid metabolism during exercise. PROTEIN METABOLISM Although not considered a major contributor to energy during exercise, the metabolism of proteins during exercise can be important, especially depending on the exercise intensity, type, duration and nutritional status of the athlete. Proteins are made up of amino acids and there are over 20 amino acids and are divided in two groups: Non-essential, which are those that can be synthesized in the body and essential, those ones that need to be obtained from the diet. Amino acid metabolism is a sum of very complex and different mechanisms. Amino acid metabolism although accounting for a small percentage of total ATP synthesis during exercise may play an important role in the intermediate metabolism and performance as well as recovering after training/competition. There are several amino acids that play an active role during exercise activity. Amino acids may provide between 3% to 10% of the total energy during exercise depending on exercise intensity and duration (Felig, 1973; Wahren et al., 1973; White & Brooks, 1983; Philips et al., 1993; Tarnopolsky et al., 1995). Although these percentages may not be very high but may play a very important role in exercise performance especially when glycogen levels are low and in this case the contributions to energy from amino acids will be greater (Lemon & Mullin, 1980). There are several amino acids that are quite important during exercise. Alanine is an important glucogenic amino acid, especially during endurance exercise and it is synthesized in the muscle and then exported to the liver to be converted to glucose through what is called the glucose-alamine cycle (Felig, 1973). Leucine, isoleucine and valine make up the branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) and may also play an important part during exercise. Leucine is a ketogenic amino acid, isoleucine is both ketogenic and glucogenic whereas valine is a glucogenic aminoacid. BCAA seem to be the kind of amino acids most used by the muscle during exercise. Since these aminoacids are building blocks of the muscle, an excessive utilization of aminoacids as what happens during intense and long exercise along with decrease glycogen content, may lead to an excessive muscle breakdown and a catabolic situation for the muscles which causes muscle damage and would be detrimental for performance. Therefore a BCAA supplementation during endurance exercise may have some sparing effects on endogenous muscle BCAA utilization and therefore decrease the possibilities of muscle damage (MacLean et al., 1994). THE IMPORTANCE OF A PROPER NUTRITION After discussing general bioenergetics and substrate metabolism we can clearly see that nutrition is a key part of the training regime of any athlete. Ingesting insufficient amounts of calories (Kcalories-Kcal) can result in a lack of important macro and micro nutrients. This is especially true when it comes to carbohydrates. Unfortunately many societies “demonize” CHO and there are multiple books and diets out there claiming that high protein and or high fat diets along with an important CHO restriction are the appropriate way for an athlete to lose weight , have a healthy diet and even improve performance. However, most of these books and diets lack of scientific evidence. This is especially true for athletes who restrict CHO as there is massive amount of scientific evidence that clearly shows that a good CHO diet is crucial to maintain performance. As previously discussed, multiple studies show that fatigue and decrease in performance is associated with low carbohydrate diets causing glycogen depletion (Hermansen et al., 1967; Coyle et al., 1983; 1986; Coggan et al., 1987; Sahlin et al., 1990; Maughan et al., 1997, McConell et al., 1999) and how low glycogen levels may cause overtraining (Sherman, 1995; Sherman & Wimer, 1991; Snyder et al., 1995, Achten et al, 2004). Since glycogen storage capacity is very limited many high performance athletes may find it difficult to even keep up with CHO intake and therefore end up with some patterns of glycogen depletion (Costill et al., 1988, Kirwan et al., 1988; San Millan et al., 2011). The potential problem many cyclists with a low CHO diet face is that if glycogen levels are low or there is glycogen depletion, muscles increases the utilization of protein and amino acid utilization as a gluconeogenic precursor increases (Tarnopolski et al., 1995; Lemon & Mullin, 1980) and since protein and amino acids are the building blocks of muscle, the latter one may enter a catabolic situation (muscle breakdown) as the muscle may “eat itself to feed itself” by increasing the amount of protein and amino acids used for energy purposes. This situation may lead to muscle damage and furthermore this may lead to chronic overtraining as it has been shown that muscle damage limits and interferes with glycogen storage and synthesis (O´Reilly et al., 1987; Costill et al., 1990) so even with a high CHO diet it would be difficult to maintain glycogen storages and therefore enter a vicious circle which may lead to overtraining and decrease in performance. Endurance athletes elicit a great deal of physiological stress to their bodies activating so many physiologic and metabolic responses. Both macro and micro nutrients are of great importance for the regulation of these responses and therefore for performance.

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 31 By having a well balanced diet we will assure that we can supply the body with the necessary macro and micronutrients important for all physiological functions during exercise as well as during recovery. Of all macronutrients carbohydrates are of crucial importance for cyclists due to the high rate of utilization on a daily basis and the very small storage capacity in our body (500g). Our body can handle a dietary deficiency of many macro and micronutrients for a few days, but a deficiency of just 1-2 days of carbohydrates for a competitive cyclist may have a strong negative impact on performance. A competitive cyclist should have a good CHO diet with up to 7-12g/Kg/day of CHO both on long and intense training days as well as on competition days. (Costil et al, 1988; Achten et al, 2004, Halson et al 2004) It is important to have a proper CHO intake throughout the entire day and especially during training and competition. Regarding the necessary daily protein for an endurance athlete, current research indicates that a daily protein intake of 1.2– 1.4 g/d for endurance athletes should be sufficient (Lemon 2004). high quality protein foods like dairy products, eggs, meat, fish and soy products should be chosen. As a summary, it is important to understand the metabolic responses to exercise and the different substrate utilization patterns in order to properly integrate nutrition, metabolism and performance in competitive cyclists. 5. From the Coaches- Q and A, Interviews, Favorite Exercises, Roundtable Discussions and More Conditioning the Mind Interview Pre-Race Routine, Ritual and Dealing with Race Day Adversity Kristen Dieffenbach, PhD PC: We’re going to talk about pre-race routine and its psychological importance. Then we’ll talk about things that go awry. Let’s talk about planning for racing and that ritual. Why is that important to cyclists?

KD: In sport psychology we talk about setting up a pre-race routine as opposed to a ritual. Rituals are often similar to superstitions and riders can get caught up in them and become very rigid. Pre-race routines are more fluid and flexible. The routine used should vary depending on a lot of factors such as the type of event, length of the event, weather conditions, and the time of season the event occurs. Further, there are many things that can happen the day of a race that can necessitate a last minute change in the pre-race routine. If riders are locked into an inflexible ritual, they can be thrown off psychologically and have a very hard time adjusting. Having a well thought out pre-race routine, which is flexible, is the key to an optimal warm-up. When helping athletes prepare, coaches should strive to teach them how to build well-planned, flexible routines that are based on the event as opposed to rituals. Having said that, everybody has their little race preparation quirks, be it the CD they listen to on the way to the race or wearing their lucky race socks. As long as these things do not become more important than the actual physical preparation, these scenarios are all right; they are part of the game day experience.

PC: In the planning process, every time you have a checkpoint it creates a pressure. What would be best in planning for a trip, be it across town or across state? Psychologically, how should you approach this planning process as far as telling yourself how important each one of the checkpoints is? In other words, how do you make sure the checkpoints don’t become pressure points, but helpful procedures in the planning process?

KD: Athletes are more likely to experience distracting pressure or stress when things feel out of their control or when they feel like they can’t accomplish everything in the time available. Thus, using preparation checkpoints can help athletes take charge of the things that are actually within their control and it will help them use their time wisely in order to be as prepared as possible. The more organized an athlete is with his or her preparation, the more stress sources can be eliminated or at least managed. In preparing for an event, I have some of my athletes write down all the steps they need to take to prepare for the race—everything from packing their race bag and putting it in the car to getting directions from MapQuest to the type of physical warm up they will do. Organization shouldn’t be a stress source; rather, it’s a matter of taking-care-of-all-the-elements-I-can-take-care-of and by doing so, I have more control over my environment. For individuals who aren’t used to doing this, it is best to start small with just a few things so that the process doesn’t create more stress. Athletes should experiment with different levels of organization in getting ready for an event to find out what works best for them. Overall, athletes should try to think and plan ahead as much as possible. Waiting until the last minute makes for disorganized organization, and that’s where people get into trouble. When creating a pre-event routine it is important to remember that no two races are exactly the same and even year to year the same event on the same course could still be different. A pre-race preparation template can help an athlete remember to consider all the different important components of getting ready for an event. Important questions to answer prior to each event might include:

PAGE 32 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS Where’s the race? Who is driving? How much time will I need for my physical warm-up? For some people, this can be just a checklist in their heads—it depends on how they feel best prepared and how long they have been racing. For other people, a written list of questions or points will help them best prepare. Structure in preparing is important, but the nature of that structure needs to remain flexible. Your pre-race preparation should be flexible enough to take into consideration the things that can interfere with your preparation such as weather delays, late teammates, and long registration lines. For example, when you know where the race is and you are driving, you usually have a pretty good feel for your travel time and can work around your own warm-up needs; but, when a teammate drives or you are going with a group of people you might need to be more flexible with your pre-race plan. Lack of preparation flexibility causes a lot of pre-race anxiety for athletes and can even ruin their readiness and confidence for an event. Getting people warmed-up and properly prepared for races becomes a question of knowing their minimal and maximal physical and psychological needs for being prepared and how these needs can be achieved. If your athletes know that they like to have an hour warm-up, that’s lovely. What’s going to happen if, due to traffic delays, they only have 45 minutes or only 20 minutes? Or, if weather delays the start and they have 2½ hours to kill before their event? How will they adjust everything from when to get out of the car and start warming up to when to eat and how to start the race? It’s all a matter of being flexible enough to recognize what is optimal, what might interfere with the optimal, and how to adjust accordingly. Discussing and creating plans for different possibilities ahead of time will help athletes not only be physically better prepared but will also help them feel more prepared, which in turn will enhance confidence.

PC: Something goes awry. Let’s discuss how you talk yourself down from this. Do you take a worst-case scenario approach?

KD: The best way for athletes to deal with adversity is to first recognize that something went wrong and that things are not optimal. That said, they must recognize that it’s over with and most likely, they are in a position where they can’t fix or undo what went wrong. The athlete can either get stuck in the moment and vent about what’s just happened, or they can figure out what the next step is and move forward. Figuring out the next step will help the athlete make the mental shift between being angry and frustrated to having the focused and determined they need to get back in the game. The athlete can rehash the problem and go vent to the race di- rector or teammates later if necessary. But the moment something goes wrong, it is critical that athletes learn how to switch tracks, realize they have a race coming up and do what they need to do to be as ready as they can be given the situation. Coaches should work on helping their athletes build the tools they need to cope with frustration and adversity whenever possible. For example, I had an athlete last year who rolled to the start line only to get a flat tire just as the gun went off and the officials wouldn’t delay the race for him. He had two options: get angry, throw the bike, and go home, or fix the flat and give chase. We had talked about different things that could hinder his start ahead of time. We had discussed a variety of conditions that weren’t optimal and prepared a contingency of solutions for how he could handle these situations. Thus, when such a situation presented itself, he was able to fall back on this preparation, keep his cool, fix the flat, and get back in the race for a strong top 10 finish. Ultimately when racing, staying in the mix is the most important thing, so problems need to be identified, solved and overcome rapidly in order to stay competitive. It’s hard to do this when you’re stressed out, but with practice and foresight, it can be done. The more worse-case scenarios you are prepared for, the less often they seem to happen, especially those that are within your control. When unfortunate situations do occur, you will find that you are better equipped to handle them since you have practiced them and they aren’t completely new situations.

PC: What is the role of the coach in dealing with adverse situations? Are there some outward signs that a coach can immediately recognize to help set a plan to work with the cyclists beyond helping getting the inner tube out to repair a flat? What are clues for the coach?

KD: The amount of stress or adversity someone is experiencing is not always apparent. The degree to which a situation stresses an athlete depends on what the adversity is and how well equipped the athlete is to cope because everybody reacts differently. For the most part, athletes who don’t cope well with changes in training or to poor training days are more likely to have trouble with race day frustrations. In general, pessimistic people who have the tendency to always see things as out of their control, who have an “it’s not fair” kind of attitude, will often have problems coping with adversity. Finally, those that don’t cope well with the little things thrown at them in a bike race are probably also the same people that don’t have the skills to cope in other areas of life. Another thing to watch out in identifying athletes who might have more difficulty dealing with adversity is the athlete who put too much emphasis on the outcome of a competition. These riders tend to lose sight of all the little steps that must be done right to make a positive outcome possible. They are so hung up on the outcome that when little things go wrong, they are completely thrown off their game. One of the Olympic training mottos is to train like you want to compete. This is very appropriate for cycling and is applicable to both physical as well as mental training and coping skills. As a coach watch how your athletes handle small training frustrations and help them in the day-to-day training. Help them see opportunities in practice where they can practice coping and choosing how they will respond. Coaches can best help athletes learn to cope with adversity and frustration by helping them understand that racing is a process, that they must do many little things right from training on a daily basis, to remembering to put their shoes in their race bag, to warming up properly, to keeping their head cool before and during the race. Teaching athletes to focus on striving to do the little steps properly will give you both a better idea of what needs work and it will give the athletes a stronger sense of control and

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 33 ownership over their own performance.

PC: Let’s say an adverse situation occurs. In athletes’ minds, what is the first thing they should say to themselves?

KD: Before even thinking about the situation, athletes should first take a deep, relaxing breath. They should practice doing relaxation exercises to the point where they can take a deep breath, exhale, and release the tensions so they can calmly approach the problem. An example would be after a crash when adrenaline is rushing and the athlete is shaking. Jumping right back on the bike might lead to another mistake such as missing the need to straighten a tire, which could lead to another crash. The proper reaction is to stand up, take a deep, cleansing relaxation breath, and gather yourself so you can do a fast bike and body inventory before taking the next step.

PC: What’s after the cleansing breath?

KD: After taking a cleansing breath the situation must be assessed. It can be anything from checking for a flat tire to re-orienting yourself on the trail after smacking a tree. The athlete needs to answer the question “what needs to happen now”? If somebody just said to you that they postponed your race for 2½ hours because they didn’t know a train would be crossing one of the main race roads, you should take a deep breath, realize you now have another 2½ hours, assess your options and then determine what is optimal. The next step would be following through with your decision, be it lying down or getting back on the bike. Following a crash things may happen faster but the process is still the same. Do whatever needs to be done. After all is said and done, in every event, be it the most successful you’ve ever had or the worst, debrief it. In the heat of the moment, you may only think of one option. Learn from each experience to see if you could have done something different. Post-race is self-evaluation time.

PC: How does the coach support each of these steps?

KD: I like to remind the coaches I work with that once the athletes step onto the field or arena, or to the line, they are on their own. You must prepare them before hand and then let them do what they have trained for. In competition, it is really up to the athletes and you are there just to support them. The first thing to do in your day-to-day preparation is to make sure that you have the foresight to teach them different coping and problem solving skills like deep-breath relaxation. It is also important to guide athletes in seeing and assessing problems for themselves. In training, you can stop them to point out mistakes and explain how to fix them; but, in competition, they need to be able to do these things for themselves. In the final preparation leading up to an event, monitor your athlete for signs of stress. Before the competition starts you can offer support, help assess the situations, and help brainstorm solutions. Once the event is underway and you are watching from the sidelines and you see an athlete under stress, be careful about throwing out a lot of instruction. Adrenaline is rushing for the athlete and s/he will have a hard time absorbing a lot of outside information or instruction. Keep all instructions brief. Better yet, have the foresight to use coping keywords routinely in training. When used regularly in association with positive coping and moving on, things like “Breathe!” and “Shake it off!” will become triggers to help athletes automatically respond favorably without becoming stressed or distracted.

PC: What is an example of the conversation during a debriefing session?

KD: You want to be really aware of how the athletes handle the event debrief. The last thing some athletes want to do, especially coming off a disappointing and frustrating event, is talk about it. Debriefing doesn’t have to be done immediately, but sometime in the 24-48 hours after the event it is important for the athletes and coach to go over what was done well and what needs to be improved upon—even after the most successful events. Debriefing should be done in private and one-on-one. There should be no outside cri- tiquing from parents, spouses, or other teammates. Avoid using the race debrief as a time to point out personal faults or problems and maintain focus on situation-specific problem solving. Discussing it as ‘you did this or that wrong’ can make the debrief feel like a personal attack and can result in bad feelings that will hamper the athletes ability to hear what you have to say and improvement. This is especially important when working with younger athletes as negative debriefing techniques can also have a serious impact on confidence. Of course as coaches, it is crucial to provide feedback and that includes criticism when appropriate, but that does not mean that criticism can’t be delivered in a healthy manner. Thus, know your athletes because different athletes can handle different levels and types of criticism. In a debrief, look at situations encountered, what the responses were, and consider what else might have worked. I feel strongly about making athletes coach themselves. Ask them first what they saw and experienced and how they felt about their responses. Only after they have spoken should you provide your insights. You want the athletes to be able to do this process during the race when they are in those critical situations. The more practice they get, even if it’s in retrospect, the more fluid the thought process when they must do it on the spot. Further, there will be times when you are unable to attend an event and you want your riders to be as self-sufficient as possible. Even elite athletes need outside critical eyes, so you’re not going to work yourself out of a job. It’s always important to have a second or third person perspective. By creating capable athlete-coaches, you will be creating a powerful ally in your quest to help the athletes reach their peak potential.

PAGE 34 PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PC: Let’s talk about adversity. You mentioned that you must simulate competition in practice, that there’s a direct correlation between the two. Some coaches purposely create adverse conditions. How advisable is this and what are some of the things you feel would be a good training session versus bad training session in creating adverse situations so that the athletes could learn? Is it advisable to allow the athletes to deal with adversity?

KD: You can go too far with it. Yes, it’s important to practice getting out of frustrating situations. For example, you need to mountain bike into a difficult rock garden even if you know it will frustrate you, because you must do it over and over again to be able to ride without dabbing or falling over. So you do want to practice with adversities to some degree; however, you want to be careful of how you create those situations. You don’t want them to be punitive to such a degree that the athletes feel picked on or that you’re creating such extreme situations where there’s no opportunity to succeed and overcome. You want athletes to experience success in training and you can progressively turn up the level of challenge; however, you don’t want to challenge them at such a level in a training situation that they throw in the towel before they ever get to that adversity in a competitive situation. For example, when teaching novice riders how to handle themselves in a challenging criterium pack, you want to start by doing bumping drills on the grass and then progress to more aggressive riding and boxing-in drills on the grass. Make sure that they have the skills necessary to handle the adversity and frustration of bumping, being boxed in, and falling (safely) before moving to doing the drills on the road in race simulation terrain. This helps people build a sense of confidence in knowing both what to expect and in their own ability to respond. When practicing coping with adverse situations, you want to make very sure the athletes have the skills because otherwise you just create a situation where they will see adversity happen and they won’t even want to get near it, or they will be so frustrated that they can’t respond well to it. Those are the most important things. One, don’t be punitive and do not pick on just one person when creating adverse situations in training. Two, make sure the athletes are prepared to handle the adversity you introduce so they can learn from it and improve.

PC: So just as in training, which is progressive, adversity administration should progress?

KD: Definitely. You want progression for all skills. Every skill is a progressive learning process. You never take a ski jumper to the top of the hill and say, “We want you to land way out there. Go!” You start small and build up to it. Our physical abilities and even all the psychological skills we take for granted didn’t come about in just one day. They were a process of going from baby to two years old to four to six—crawl, walk, then run. With our athletes, when we’re introducing skills they didn’t get along the way or aren’t as polished at as they could be, the training needs to be progressive and it needs to be practiced routinely. You can’t just say, “Here’s the skill; go do it.” As a coach you must look for ways to put it into training. One of the drills I use with some of my intermediate and advanced mountain bikers is a leapfrog passing drill where we send them out on the trail in small groups of two or three. If you’re in the lead, your goal is to not let anyone pass you. The riders following the leader practice trying to come around safely and at speed. Consequently, riders leading and those following practice fighting through frustration and staying cool while performing. We are simulating a common race scenario, but because it is done in practice, I know ahead of time exactly what we’ve worked on, that the athletes have the skills to pass, and I use it as an opportunity to discuss different ways the athletes can handle different situations before they actually experience them in an event.

PC: What would be examples of a light, medium, and heavy adversity? What would be an example of progression?

KD: Let’s talk about mountain bikes because it is an easy scenario to set up. For example, you have a very technical section of trail and you’ve got middle-level riders. To throw them on a very advanced section of trail is going to frustrate them and if it is over their heads, they may walk so much that they get almost no riding practice. For the most efficient learning and growth to take place, you want to look for a challenge that is equal to or only just barely above their current skill level. You may even want to go back to basics and work on fundamental skills. You can create something simple in a backyard with logs and obstacles, then progress to a moderately rocky section of trail, and then progress to the challenging rock garden. This allows riders to develop the speed, balance and agility necessary to increase their challenge abilities. If we were to use a road-riding example, one of the biggest frustrations for many athletes is getting dropped off the back of a pace line and struggling to catch back on. If the athletes can’t stay cool and calm once popped, they won’t ever get back on. Of course, there are a lot of fitness components to this as well but assuming that the athletes have the necessary fitness, working on the mindset is an important part of returning to a pace line. Athletes can practice handling getting popped by doing simulations on fast training rides where someone purposefully drops back from the pack a certain distance. The pace line will speed up to create a gap and then the person at the back focuses on powering back to the line. S/he should concentrate on both physically riding smooth and strong as well as using positive thoughts and a sense of strong focus and concentration. When we do this drill, we start off with a relatively easy pace so they can get back on. As they practice and get stronger, keep their focus and concentration and don’t get frustrated, we may take the pace line speed up a notch, or make the gaps to be closed a little bit wider. As the athletes get more proficient at that, even if they don’t always quite make it back on, they are putting in the effort until they no longer can, as opposed to getting frustrated and wanting to pull out. As athletes get better at focusing and coping with the frustration of being off the back, we might add a hill to where the pack group crests before the individual off the back does so they can practice handling the difficult task of catching back on after a climb. They must practice staying calm and collected, and focus and concentrate until they can either get

PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING - UNLOCKING COACHING SECRETS PAGE 35 back in touch or are totally spent. Either way, this kind of effort in a race is a maximal performance effort that they can be proud of, as opposed to seeing the group ride away, getting frustrated, and bagging it.

PC: Just a brief side note on age considerations dealing with younger athletes versus the more mature ones. You alluded to it once. Can you just give some pointers to the junior versus the Cat 2, Cat 1 persons? What do you see there?

KD: Junior racers are typically not as well equipped to handle frustrations. They usually don’t have the skills or their skills are very basic because they haven’t had as much experience. This is particularly true with juniors who may have experienced a lot of success in the relatively small junior ranks but who are now trying to cope with the larger playing field of upper level men’s Cat 3, 2, and 1 racing. As you nurture young riders up to higher levels of competition, you really need to focus on preparing them to cope with adversity. The vast majority of juniors will come into the big pond of adult competition and will be chewed on for a while by all of the bigger fish already there. Some juniors may have never had to cope with pre-race adversities such as were mentioned earlier. Coaches really want to make sure that juniors are well prepared to handle all adversities by discussing them and by making sure that emphasis is on the performance it will take to achieve success as opposed to just the success they want to achieve. Our whole society tends to get very caught up in the outcome. So, simply stress, “You have a road race today. This is what it’s going to take to be successful.” At the end of the race is when you go through the checklist and ask them how successful they were at achieving the small steps you outlined before the event. Ask: How did it go? What happened? Have any trouble with goals A and B? This gives you a great way to evaluate what skills, both physical and psychological, need to be addressed in training. It also gives the athletes something concrete to work on and they aren’t just left with the thought that they didn’t finish where they wanted to or where others expected them to finish. Cycling is seeing an influx of middle-age and older riders who are picking up the sport for the first time. With athletes of all ages, it’s important to address the fact that age and maturity aren’t synonymous. Age and skill level are not necessarily synonymous. Just as you may have a fifty-year-old who is mountain biking for the first time and can’t get over pebbles, you may have forty-year- olds whose skills for coping with adversity are not the best despite the fact that they are successful in other areas of life. I find it interesting to see that a lot of older riders have the skills but they don’t know how to transfer them. They’ve been successful in their job and coping with work-related adversities, but they can’t see how to apply those abilities to sports because it’s a new venue and they’re not used to being totally new at something. Or, the frustrations experienced aren’t what they expected. They may have expected to be tired but they didn’t expect some of the other things that come up. I would caution coaches not to assume too much about older riders. The same goes for working with athletes who have been racing at high levels for a long period of time. Typically they have good skills, but this may not always be the case. Assess skills carefully and keep an open mind, because athletes may not know what you think they should given their age or experience level.

PC: What about gender?

KD: Gender is a really tricky area and I am speaking in terms of gross generalizations here. How men and women act and react to adversity and stress has a lot to do with socialization and the experiences they have had. Unfortunately, many girls are socialized such that they take adversity and frustration more personally. This further emphasizes the importance of finding out how each individual you work with copes with adversity and to make sure that the self-worth of the athletes with whom you work is not contingent on their performance. It’s unfortunate, but girls and women often internalize poor performance. When they experience a frustration or poor outcome, they may get wrapped up in the notion that they are bad athletes rather than assessing something as a bad move or a bad decision. As a coach, be aware of where the athletes (male or female) are coming from and the assessments they are making regarding different situations.

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