Do you ride with a purpose or simply ride? When fatigued and unmotivated, do you force yourself to ride? Do you respond to a poor race result with more frequent and harder workouts?
Answering “yes’’ to any of these questions would put you in a large group of competitive cyclists, most of them fumbling in the dark trying to find the light switch to illuminate the key to success. But you won’t find many of them consistently on podiums.
It also would indicate a need for guidance, a second voice to ask, “Do you want to train to be tired all the time or train to succeed?’’
This is what a qualified coach can provide. At TrainingBible Coaching, founder Joe Friel boiled down his philosophy simply:
“Do the least amount of the most effective training at the appropriate times.’’
Easier said than done by yourself, but with a coach designing your training plan, progress will occur in proper increments. Every ride with a purpose.
Probably the biggest benefit a coach can provide an athlete is monitoring intensity. Competitive cyclists are mostly Type-A personalities. If a little intensity is good, a lot is better, is the typical thinking. Intensity is no doubt important; it’s what hones your racing edge. It’s also quite stressful, and appropriate recovery time must be allowed.
A lot of athletes who train themselves don’t factor enough recovery. Training tears down your body; recovery rides and/or a day off is what allows for adaptation.
While monitoring and prescribing the right intensity at the right time is a key role for a coach, the creation of the annual training plan is the map an athlete will follow to race faster. You’ll build base fitness, consisting of long steady distance and focusing on improving economy, speed and force-generating skills. By the end of base training, threshold fitness develops. In the build phase, intensity increases and race fitness strengthens. This leads to a peak period where fitness should be at its zenith.
Every ride with a purpose.
If you’re ready to get serious about cycling, hiring a coach is the first step toward achieving your racing goals.
Dean Yobbi of TrainingBible Coaching is a Level III USA Cycling coach. He can be reached at http://dyotraining.blogspot.com/
