The benefit of the weekly HARD bike ride and using HR.
Thursday, August 6, 2009 at 1:44PM We have a weekly time trial here in my hometown during the summers.
The course is 20k, which equates to 12.4 miles. These
races are fast, all-out efforts for half an hour or more. Riders are
fired off one at a time at one minute intervals. You want to catch the
guy in front of you and you don't want to be caught be the guy behind
you. A proper effort has you nearly collapsing after the finish line.
I've noticed that doing the race weekly leads to dramatic improvements
in performance. Speed can vary due to wind and sometimes I'm pulling
my 4 year-old on a trail-a-bike, so speed isn't a good indicator;
Heartrate is.
Week after week, the max heart rate you can acheive keeps climbing.
The muscle memory for fast and powerful turnover improves and allows
you acheive a higher RPM. Miss the race for just a few weeks and the
highest HR you can get is a good 5 to 10 BPM less than before.
The results also show up in your other workouts. Because you have a
higher max HR, everything else seems easier. MUCH easier. Because it
is.
If you're looking to increase your performance, give the weekly sprint
a try, just for about 30 to 35 minutes. As the saying goes, "Start of
going as fast as you can. Gradually increase speed."
Reader Comments (1)
Hey Brett, I love your freakin podcast man. I am down here in the sunshine state and i love to listen to your show while i go on my run or bike. I just ordered some hornet spit and I will let you know what I think when I get it and start taking it. I heard about this product from your show and I figured i would give it a shot. Anyway, keep up the good work brother. Jaydog out.