Jens Voigt- Insight into an animal

My Favorite Enemy

Photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

 
For a cyclist, pain is a familiar—and valuable—companion
 
By Jens Voigt
 
It is not a big secret that I have an interesting relationship with pain. Pain is good! Most people who follow the sport know that I think this. But the big question is why.

First of all, I like the feeling because it proves you are still alive—because you are aware of something, even if it’s a sensation most people consider bad. After my awful downhill crash in the 2009 Tour de France, at a really high speed, doctors had to stitch me back together. When I woke up afterward, the first thing I did was to actually check all my body parts to make sure they were still there and functioning. I started out with my fingers, seeing if I could move them. And I was honestly happy that my fingers shouted at me when I wiggled them. That meant I was still able to feel them and ­control them. Then I checked my legs. Again, I was happy to hurt when I tried to move them. My whole entire body communicated distress, but this showed me that everything was going to work once it all healed. I felt bad everywhere, but I knew this meant I would become healthy again.

During my recovery from that crash, pain proved very handy—it forced me to take it easy on my workouts. I was so eager to return to the sport that sometimes I would start pushing too hard in my exercise regime. When I did, my body would scream its resistance so much that I had no choice but to back off.

Read on...

More TDF data!

Some cool info from the guys at Powertap from week1 of the Tour

Tour de France Infographic It's Tour time, and Vacansoleil-DCM is putting some serious wattage out and have consistently been represented in the breaks. No wins, yet, but check out some of their power data during three key stages of the first week of the Tour de France in our latest infographic at powertap.com

Injury 101

If you have been injured lately you will know how massively frustrating it can be! Fortunately, here is a good article from the guys at Precision Nutrition on how to deal with it, and not to ignore what seems to be a little niggle!

How to get in great shape, even after an injury

For most guys, an injury means skipping the gym for months at a time. Sometimes, they retire their workout clothes for good.

But here’s the good news: there’s always a way to work around an injury and build the body you want. This post will show you how.

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When I hit the loose gravel, I knew I was in trouble.

That’s when I did the very thing you’re not supposed to do during a motorcycle skid: I put my left foot down.

The good news is that the bike didn’t drop; I made it through the roundabout on two wheels.

The bad news is that knee ligaments, even strong ones like mine, aren’t meant to withstand massive torque.

Screw it! What’s a little knee pain?

I knew something felt weird and a little “off”, but there wasn’t much pain. It might have been the distraction of trying to keep the bike upright. Or maybe the fight or flight hormones kicking in.

But since I was on my way to the gym when it happened, I didn’t think twice about it. 

Read on...

TDF Stage 2 SRM power review

Great power analysis from Stage 2 of the Tour by the guys at SRM.

Stage 2 of the Tour de France traversed the Corsica mountains and ended in a short uphill where RadioShack Leopard Trek’s Jan Bakelants held off the sprinters and won his first Tour de France stage.

"I could see in the final that it’s going to happen and I knew I would probably also take this yellow jersey. Maybe it will be the first and the last time in my career, but today I wear it. I saw in the last 500 meters that I still had a gap and I told myself, ‘Come on, hold this. It’s going to be the nicest day of your life!’ And then I did it,” he said.

Continue reading..

Nutrition Focus

Is your diet broken? How can you fix it?

There is a great article about all of this from the guys at Precision Nutrtion, that helps to de-bunk some myths and also highlights how individual and specific each person's nutritional needs are to them.

In this article we’ll share the 3 main strategies we use to help clients fix a “broken diet” and start eating better.

We’ll also share how we troubleshoot eating plans when they’ve “just stopped working” and you don’t know what else to try.

And, finally, we’ll show you how to use these powerful and purposeful strategies to improve your own eating. Or to help others do the same.

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Nutrition “advice” often comes in buzzwords and slogans. We’ve all heard at least one of these gems:

• “Just eat whole foods.”
• “Only eat food that your grandmother would recognize.”
• “Eat more fat and fewer carbs.”
• “If it doesn’t run, fly or swim – or it isn’t a green vegetable – don’t eat it.”

It’s easy to simplify healthy eating into a five-second pitch. But soundbytes aren’t enough to actually help people fix their eating and get better results.

You see, when you’re an actual nutrition coach who works with real humans in the real world, slogans don’t get the job done. Continue reading.....

Can you feel the power!?

Great article hear from the guys at Peaks Coaching Group on training with a power meter. 

 PEAKS COACHING GROUP: AN INTRODUCTION TO TRAINING WITH A POWERMETER

A power meter, as we all know, is a measuring tool. It measures the torsion (twisting) of a bicycle part that has been twisted as a result of your pedaling. This can be measured in the “spider” (the part between the chain rings and the crank), in the hub, on the twisting of the chain itself, or in the crank arms or pedals.

Power is torsion multiplied by angular velocity (angular velocity in cycling is how fast you pedal). Power is output in watts. The typical trained cyclist can average 250 watts for one hour, but what that number means in the real world is dependent on rider weight. For example, two cyclists producing 250 watts for an hour can have drastically different power to weight ratios:

• A 115lb (52kg) cyclist will have a power-to-weight ratio of 4.8 watts per kilogram
• A 180lb (81kg) cyclist will have a power-to-weight ratio of 3.0 watts per kilogram

Wattage is the measure of work that you can do on a bicycle. While heart rate can measure intensity of effort, it is dependent on rest, hydration of the rider, outside heat, and humidity. Heart rate is a response mechanism to work. Wattage is the “dose,” and heart rate is the “response.” If you’ve been training with a heart rate monitor, you’re basing your training on a response. But what causes that response? Why did your heart rate go to 150? Was it because a dog just chased you? Was it because you just did a hill sprint? Was it because you’re just hyped up as you sit on the start line waiting for the race to begin? Heart rate gives us some information, but it doesn’t tell you how much work you’re doing. A power meter does.

Once you’ve forked out the dough for your new power meter and gone through the laborious process of installing it on your bike, calibrating it, charging the computer, and figuring out how to use the buttons, you might ask yourself, “How do I use this thing to improve my cycling?” That’s a great question, because improving is exactly what you want to do with your new training tool.

Continue reading...

Pro Rider insight: Jack Pullar

A great little vide featuring British pro rider Jack Pullar and how he feels and prepares ahead of a round if the much publicised and lucrative Tour Series

Ups and Downs of Circles

VAM insight- Alex's thoughts

So things have been going very well for me of late- VAM Performance has been kicking off nicely, we have a great range of gear online, our new website has just launched and online sales are going well- oh and the expansion is set to continue!!

Also in my private life I have been enjoying some good cycling form. 11th place in the Brenig Road Race- a big regional event, was a pleasing result. Couple that with 3rd place the week before and then 5th place in an evening Crit race made for a happy chap.

However in cycling as in life things can turn quickly, a crash in a mid-week crit race where I felt very strong, coupled with a bout of man-flu- which will most likely mean a weekend of planned racing being missed, makes for an un-happy chap.

So I am sat blogging feeling a little sorry for myself. 'Pull yourself together' is on order I think! As if the last week proved anything that while things can turn from good to bad quickly, they can also do the very opposite- so time to get on the Paracetemol, get better and get back out fighting!!

Have a good weekend riding, running and racing,
Alex, VAM

Take it easy now and again!

There is a lot of high-intensity bias in fitness journalism. Many people will advocate the faster sessions like hill repetitions, speed intervals and time trials. These workouts are seen as being more interesting than slower, steadier sessions such as recovery and aerobic base workouts. The last thing people in my position want to do is bore our readers, so more often than not we overlook the vanilla low-intensity workouts and write about the sexy high-intensity ones.

In the aggregate this bias gives athletes the impression that high-intensity workouts are more important. This is unfortunate, because the opposite is true. Low- to moderate-intensity swimming, cycling and running are the foundation of the most effective triathlon training programs. The world’s best triathletes spend most of their training time working at very comfortable effort levels.

Many of the world's best athletes use the steady base run, ride or swim as the cornerstone to their training routine. Also the high intensity interval sessions require a certain amount of base level that you can only attain though steady state exercise. Moreover the high intensity sessions will take a lot out of your body and put a large stress on your recovery system meaning that they cannot be performed frequently. 

I have learnt the hard way not to neglect my base sessions- so yes while the speed sessions are necessary- don't forget to plod along every now and again!

Strava!!

Ok so there are a lot of very keen and competitive runners and cyclists out there- wouldn't it be great if you could see how you stack up against your friends and even pros on the local 10mile commute route or your 50mile Sunday ride course?

Well Strava has been around for a little while now and I am hooked! You need a GPS device or the Strava app on your smartphone and then you can upload workouts to the site and see how you compare- it will rank you over popular segments over the course you rode or run such as a challenging hill or long straight drag. You can then head out on your next ride and try and PB. There are a lot of cool challenges on there to get involved with, and you can also track how much training some of the pros do also- mind blowing
Warning though it is addictive! www.strava.com

Blast on the indoor rower

Fancy something a bit different when you go into the gym? Lots of people only seem concerned with pounding away on the treadmills of lifting heavy weights.
The indoor rower is one of the best workout choices you can make. It's non weight bearing, low impact and is a great combination of strength and cardio.
This morning I knocked out 3x10 minute stints at my Threshold Heart Rate or race pace which for me is around 1:54/500m. I had a few good minutes of recovery in between with some easy jogging on a treadmill. That session was not for the faint hearted believe me!
I don't suggest you go for anything like that right away- build up gradually. When you are building up your levels of fitness and strength check out http://concept2.co.uk/ for some great ideas and some cool charts to see how you compare- sure way to fire up your motivation!
Ditch the hamster wheel and train smart!

Bored of the gym?

Why do you train? Ebbs and flows

Sometimes I am not sure why I hit the gym, go for a cycle or whatever may take my fancy that day. Is it always structured and towards a defined goal? Nope! Is it always relevant to my needs? Nope! Is it always fun? Nope!
People train for all kinds of reasons such as vanity, insecurity, for a competition, boredom, self-improvement, and of course enjoyment. For me there isn't many things better than a great cycle with a group of like-minded people, but other days there is nothing worse!
I think over the course of the year, what motivates me to get out and train is constantly varying as is my enjoyment, but one thing that remains stable and that is the pleasure you get when you have completed your workout and you can sit back with a big bowl of pasta and feel very smug indeed!