SHANE EVERSFIELD’S Zendurance Cycling The Brillance of Efficient Technique Copyright 2012 Shane Eversfield, All rights reserved Preface Are you willing to challenge yourself and work towards mastery? What Makes Zendurance Cycling Unique? Zendurance Cycling Technique e-Guide emphasizes long term You make Zendurance Cycling Unique. Using this Zendurance guidance, not short-term fixes. These products do not provide Cycling Technique e-Guide, you develop your optimal cycling answers, they provide guidance and structure for your quest: Your technique. It is optimal for your current goals, abilities, strengths, Quest for Velo Mastery. weaknesses... and optimal for the bike(s) you are currently riding. Navigation: Using this Guide And when any of these change and evolve, you have the tools and skills to refine your technique. There is no limit to your potential. This version of the Zendurance Cycling Self-Study Guide There is no “Magic Bullet. Zendurance Cycling does not offer a “one- incorporates 3 mediums – text, video and audio. In this version, size-fits-all-prescription” on cycling technique. After all, there is no all three are separate formats – a hard-copy DVD, this PDF file one single bike that fits every rider. and a series of MP3 audio files. This file separation requires the user to provide the integration. (For a completely integrated Cycling technique is based on a dynamic and harmonious relationship version, check the Apple Store.) between you-the-cyclist, your bicycle and gravity. You (and gravity) have a unique relationship with each bike you ride. There is no single You can use this e-Book as the skeleton or scaffolding. It will superior cycling technique that is valid for every rider on every bike in introduce each video at the appropriate time and context. Ideally, every condition. Beware of any sport technique program that claims you can then watch the video at that time, and return to the text. to have the “best” technique. If it is not convenient to “ping-pong” between this text and the This Zendurance Cycling Technique e-Guide provides you with self- videos, I suggest reading through a section of the text (perhaps a study tools and guidance to improve your perceptive capacity and chapter) and then watching the videos presented in that chapter. your technique with your road and triathlon bikes. Alternatively, the videos are “stand alone” so that you can watch I want to emphasize that these tools challenge your perceptual and work with them independent of this e-Book. However, the capacity. They fuel and inspire your personal investigation and your text does present the complete methodology in an optimal unique pursuit of excellence. sequence. It’s easy to ride a bike. Heck, my nephew was able to ride before he The Audio Guides are introduced near the end of this e-Book, in was 4 years old! But... Velo mastery is a very, very subtle skill. It’s a Chapter 7. The purpose of the Audio Guides is to provide lot like tracking an animal. It requires patience, practice and a high instruction for drills and exercises as you ride on the stationary level of perceptual capacity. The rewards are worth it – especially if stand. There are specific instructions for using some of these you are hungry! Audios – best to read those before using the audios (on your ii stationary stand). I recommend transferring the Audio Guides to an iPod or similar device and using ear buds or headphones. (You can also use headphones plugged into your computer.) Copyright Notice All materials, including the texts, videos and audios are Copyright © Shane Eversfield. All rights are reserved. No part of these publications may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, magnetic and photographic – including photocopying, recording, downloading/uploading, or by any information or retrieval system with prior written consent of Shane Eversfield. iii Chapter 1 Zendurance Cycling Learning to master the techniques of efficient and safe long distance cycling. Section 1 Introduction, Theory and Basics THE BRILLIANCE OF EFFICIENT TECHNIQUE Before we jump into the specifics of cycling technique, let’s step back and look at the Big Picture. Introduction In endurance athletics, the value of mastering efficient, economical and graceful technique for performance gains is most clearly evident in the discipline of swimming. For novice and average swimmers, just a one percent increase in efficiency can yield a twenty-five to fifty percent – even a one hundred percent – increase in performance. Metabolic gains of this magnitude are virtually impossible for an active, healthy adult. Efficient swim technique yields speed for both sprint and endurance events, yet it looks soft and relaxed. In other disciplines – like cycling or running – efficient, economical and graceful technique probably will not yield a performance increase as substantial as it does in swimming. In fact, of these three basic activities from childhood – swimming, biking and running – an earnest pursuit of technical proficiency in cycling may seem to offer the least in speed gains. So, why bother pursuing cycling technique at all? Why not just fake it? After all, you just saddle up, clip in and crank! First, technical mastery does provide a significantly reduced risk of injury, in every endurance sport – including cycling. The reduction of cycling injuries is two-fold – a reduction in injuries caused by poor pedaling biomechanics and a reduction in crashes due to poor handling skills. Second, consider the amount of time cyclists and triathletes spend in the saddle. For the serious road cyclist, this can easily amount to 20 or more hours per week. Triathlon races and triathlon training programs are also “bike-heavy”: The triathlete 5 spends far more time training and racing on the bike than Most conventional training programs focus on metabolic training swimming or running. The athlete who chooses to pursue the without enough attention on neuro-muscular development. subtleties of efficient cycling technique as she/he rides for those Granted, VO2 Max is an accurate measure of performance countless hours – both outdoors and on the stationary trainer – is potential. But, efficiency and economy indicate how effectively more engaged and stimulated. Yes! Riding stationary, there is that energy system potential will actually move you forward. more to do than stare at the power meter or the TV screen - slipping into “auto-pilot”. VO2 Max and aerobic capacity can certainly be improved with training. However, they are to a great extent genetically pre- Efficient cycling technique enhances stability and comfort. determined. Your neuro-muscular capacity for economy and Improved stability translates to better handling skills and efficiency is far more trainable. That’s called technique! consequently a decrease in the potential to crash over those long hours in the saddle. (And, after all, one crash can ruin your whole An earnest pursuit of technical mastery in any endurance sport – season! Safety is not an option, it’s a necessity.) with all its complexities and subtleties – requires a patient, diligent and reserved approach for accurate perception and Together, stability and comfort will significantly improve your intelligent response. This is why the world’s fastest swimmers endurance on the bike. As most cyclists know, endurance is the conduct up to 90 % of their training well below race-pace. real key. An hour of power and speed won’t help you through a century ride if you’re unstable and in agony for the rest of the ride. For optimal cycling and triathlon performance, it is essential to develop metabolic capacity as well as biomechanical efficiency. Stability and comfort also increase your enjoyment. Enjoyment? Training metabolic capacity for performance does require a Well, isn’t that what fuels our passion for training and racing? judicious prescription of high-intensity training. In any discipline however, every training session – regardless of intensity or Energy System Training Vs. Neuro-Muscular Training duration – is indeed a valuable opportunity for neuro-muscular There is often a heavy and singular emphasis in performance- training, to develop and refine technique and biomechanical oriented endurance training: Drive your body hard to develop a efficiency. greater capacity and tolerance for high-level exertion. Develop Even the most intense interval training should be performed with metabolic capacity, without regard for improving technique and a focus on technique and efficiency. biomechanical efficiency. “Push thyself, and push hard!” Meanwhile, pray that you remain injury-free and still enjoy the As endurance athletes, we train three systems: muscular, training. metabolic and neurological. Of those three, it is the muscles that respond and improve the least to training. It is the neural system 6 that responds and improves the most. With effective training, peak. These iron-distance pros derive a greater performance novices do experience the greatest initial improvements advantage from the additional 5-10 years of technical proficiency metabolically – increasing capillary density (for improved gain than the 5-10 years of metabolic loss. What they lose in circulation) and increasing mitochondrial density (for increased youthful aerobic capacity they more than compensate for in cellular energy production and improved fat metabolism). kinetic intelligence. However, all of us eventually reach a metabolic peak. Beyond that metabolic peak, our best prospect is to vigilantly stave off the Kinetic intelligence is the capacity to perceive, analyze and deteriorating effects of aging through consistent and effective respond to the subtle underlying principles of physics and metabolic training: “Hold on to what you got!” “Use it or lose it!” biomechanics that are at play in an individual body executing a specific movement pattern. This requires neural training. While However most of us need more than the fearful prospect of losing a competent coach can be invaluable for developing proficient aerobic capacity to fuel our lifelong passion for athletic technique, the athlete alone must constantly monitor and fine-tune excellence.