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Big Mistake
From the questions I am getting from racers, I
am learning of a very serious mistake being made and that is, using
percent of heart rate for training.
Far too many of you are just going out and running your training up
to the desired percent of heart rate for the desired period of time.
This is causing you to develop a strong sustained steady state or
power output but nothing else.
You will make great time trialists but lousy road racers.
Great road racing is much more than just going hard for a long
period of time. It involves attacking, chasing, bridging, breaking
away, sprinting, and recovery from all of this so you can do it
again and again. It involves climbing and flying on the flats. It
involves spinning the little gear and pushing the big one. If you
ignore developing the fitness characteristics for any of these
things, you will not develop the fitness to effectively do these
things.
This will develop fitness and tactical weaknesses in you and your
racing that people like me will gladly take advantage of. If you
don't do it in training, you can't do it in racing.
This is why it is necessary to develop complex and structured
training programs, which will focus on doing these things. I have
warned about this problem in my other chapters and cannot over
emphasize it.
THERE IS MUCH, MUCH MORE TO CYCLING THAN JUST BEING ABLE TO SUSTAIN
A GIVEN LEVEL OF OUT PUT FOR A GIVEN PERIOD OF TIME.
Don't forget that.
If you can't attack, sprint, or recover, I will quickly learn it and
destroy you with it. The first round in boxing is always spent
testing for weaknesses in your opponent's boxing style. The same is
true for cycling. The first attacks or sprints are spent looking for
weaknesses in your competition. You attack, jam, and jump to see
where your competition cries and then use that to break their legs.
Where are YOU weak? That is where I will attack you. You say you
don't have good leg speed? Good, that is where I will attack you. I
will take the speed up until you are spun out and then attack you.
You will start bouncing in your saddle which will make you want to
back off and your muscles wont be able to release fast enough to
relax between down pushes causing the blood flow through them to
decrease and they will cramp. I will break your legs.
You say you didn't develop the strength to accelerate quickly? Good,
then I will attack you repeatedly causing your muscles to
prematurely fatigue and break. You say you didn't do your intervals
so you don't have recovery? Good, then I will change pace constantly
causing you to quickly fatigue and break. You will breath so hard
you will swear that there isn't any air left in the world as you
watch me ride off.
Please explain how all this sustained HR training is going to help
you if you don't develop the right fitness characteristics to do
these things.
You better develop that sustained riding ability very well because
you are going to need it to chase me down again and again as I break
your legs every time. And then, even if you catch me for the sprint,
what are you going to do when you have no top end speed or
acceleration to beat me in the sprint? You will have suffered
miserably for the entire race only to be pitifully defeated at the
end because you don't train to develop fitness characteristics. You
only train to develop sustained effort or power.
Oh, did I tell you that I also train to develop power and endurance?
You know what will happen? I will break your legs, you will have to
slow to spin them out and recover while I gain distance on you, and
you will spend the rest of the race chasing me with your sustained
HR fitness.
Does that sound familiar to you? If it does and you are doing
sustained HR training, it is because other riders are already doing
it to you. Think about it.
You MUST do fitness characteristics development or people like me
who do will crush you again and again. If you don't do fitness
characteristics development, then people like me will love you very
much and thank you for making it easier for us to beat you.
On their behalf, I say "Thank you."
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