We'd like to give a huge thank you to Emily Monroe-Jones for a great clinic on Tuesday!!!
At the clinic we announced our first Joyride Ladies Club fully supported ride. Mark your calendars for Saturday September 14th. All of the details will be posted shortly. This gives beginning riders something to train for and provides seasoned riders a way to unwind after a full season.
At the clinic we announced our first Joyride Ladies Club fully supported ride. Mark your calendars for Saturday September 14th. All of the details will be posted shortly. This gives beginning riders something to train for and provides seasoned riders a way to unwind after a full season.
Emily had some great advice to share with riders of all levels. Here are some of the points that came out last night.Start incorporating them into your plans now to be ready for our Ladies Club ride in Sept.
First and foremost you need to set a goal. The goal needs to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. It can be one of any of the fabulous rides that are set up for the season, including our ride. Without a set date and a goal to work for you will not have the same motivation to train.
Believe in yourself and be willing to work for your goal.
Set up a plan. Emily strongly recommends a plan which is based on periodization. (We will be having upcoming blog articles for those new to periodiaztion).
In a very tiny nutshell, periodization training divides your training into specific phases. Each phase focuses on a different aspect putting your body under different stresses working towards your goal. Whether designing your own plan or using a coach, you need to define and work to improve your limiters. Plans can be complicated, and having the guidance of a coach is strongly recommended.
For beginning cyclists:
Emily recommends riding 60-90 min multiple times per week. Initially all of these rides are at a comfortable pace that you enjoy. The goal is to get your body used to the time on the bike and to build your aerobic base. After 4-6 weeks start pushing yourself on one ride per week to the point that you can't speak easily. If you want to ride hard more frequently try to limit the hard to 10-15% of your weekly training volume.
Cross-training is an important piece to balanced training, incorporate other activities such as strength training, walking, yoga, pilates, and swimming. You need these to build a strong core and functional foundation.
First and foremost you need to set a goal. The goal needs to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. It can be one of any of the fabulous rides that are set up for the season, including our ride. Without a set date and a goal to work for you will not have the same motivation to train.
Believe in yourself and be willing to work for your goal.
Set up a plan. Emily strongly recommends a plan which is based on periodization. (We will be having upcoming blog articles for those new to periodiaztion).
In a very tiny nutshell, periodization training divides your training into specific phases. Each phase focuses on a different aspect putting your body under different stresses working towards your goal. Whether designing your own plan or using a coach, you need to define and work to improve your limiters. Plans can be complicated, and having the guidance of a coach is strongly recommended.
For beginning cyclists:
Emily recommends riding 60-90 min multiple times per week. Initially all of these rides are at a comfortable pace that you enjoy. The goal is to get your body used to the time on the bike and to build your aerobic base. After 4-6 weeks start pushing yourself on one ride per week to the point that you can't speak easily. If you want to ride hard more frequently try to limit the hard to 10-15% of your weekly training volume.
Cross-training is an important piece to balanced training, incorporate other activities such as strength training, walking, yoga, pilates, and swimming. You need these to build a strong core and functional foundation.
Emily's Tip: Pick an audible reminder, something that will stick out to you. This can be when you hear a text come in, the phone ring, kids saying 'mom.' When you hear the reminder, immediately focus on your posture: Sit or stand erect, put shoulder blades in back pockets, pull abs into back bone especially on exhale and breathe deep. Little by little your core will get stronger just from doing this several times a day.
For Everyone:
Make sure you have a plan in place. Stick with it, but not to the point it takes over your life. We live a the real world. With the stress and demands it is important to have a plan that allows for sickness, travel, fatigue etc.
Find out your lactate threshold heart rate. On rides you will hear cyclists say things like, "I'm allowed to push myself only as high as a zone 3 today." When cyclists speak about zones, they are talking about how hard their heart is working and what energy system is predominately being used. Zones (heart rate or power) are crucial to ensuring you work at correct intensity.
The test is done on the bike. You must have a heart-rate strap and a computer with a lap feature to do this on your own. If you choose to have a coach, they will talk you through it. It is meant to push you to your limit. All of your training zones will be determined from this data. This is very important to anyone who is really trying to improve their cycling.
Schedule in recovery days and weeks. Your body will not improve if you are constantly wearing it down. Hard rides need to be followed by easier rides and off days. Make sure the recovery days are written in to the training plan or you will fill them with the wrong type of rides.
Strength train. All cyclists, but especially women, need to do resistance training or weight training.
Emily recommends 3 days a week during base training. This drops to 2x a week for most of the rest of the periodization schedule. The weeks before your big event, (your taper), will drop to 1, with no weights on your event week. Don't just focus on a quads and hamstrings, Although those are the primary cycling muscles, failure to work the supporting muscles and multi-planar movements can lead to diminished range of motion and quite possibly injury.
Vary your training. Plan various styles of rides: recovery, aerobic/endurance, interval, strength and anaerobic. Do hill climbs. Long and short intervals. Ride long Endurance rides. A good plan includes all of these.
Eat well. Our July clinic will focus on nutrition. I won't spend much time on this other than to say "You are what you eat." Make sure your body is getting the proper nourishment.
Emily recommends that at each meal, one-half of your plate is green. The remaining half is split between lean protein, carbs, and fats (oils, unsaturated fat). Minimize empty calories aka soda, sugary food, pastries.
If you're interested in getting coached by Emily, you can reach her at:
[email protected]
or 801.971.5580 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 801.971.5580 FREE end_of_the_skype_highlighting
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