Talk to me about being coached....

I went with a coach earlier this year when I decided I'd just about reached the limit of what my own knowledge could do and my training felt a bit 'samey'. We do a yearly plan and then a weekly diary that gets sent across, I fill in results against each training ride and get feedback at the end of each week. We adjust the plan dependent on my schedule, how I'm feeling, results, etc, etc.

So, is it useful? For me I'd read the bible so understood the basics but having a coach really helped crystalise the basics in my mind, there is no doubt my training wouldn't have been as effective left to my own devices. I find it helps to bounce ideas off, discuss what's working, whether I've been pushing too hard, etc, etc. Having said that I have a natural tendency to get too focussed and over train, a coach has helped me by lecturing me when I do that.

Having said that I think the biggest benefit is the first 3-4 months. I've continued past that point as the cost isn't prohibitive for me.

As you've imagined there can be some great advantages to either having a coach, or a training plan. Training that is structured around your goals, that is tailor made for you will help you to improve significantly.

I would suggest that the order of importance for doing things is
1) Any training is better than no training!
2) Reading articles from the internet/magazines and haphazardly putting some training together
3) Using a book to formulate a plan
4) Getting a Training Plan
5) Getting coaching

There's also the skill of the coach, and what they use as their 'background' to develop the training. if the coach is just copying something like you'd find in the JF "Bible" then this is something you'd be able to put together yourself with a little bit of thought. But, your coach also acts as someone who can analyse your data, motivate you when you're feeling down or not wanting to train, and importantly tell you to take a rest when you need one.

Benefits of having a coach include

- not having to waste your valuable time thinking about what to do - the coach does this for you
- doing the correct training - rather than thinking, ah it's nice n sunny today i'll go and ride with my mates and have a laugh!
- motivation: everyone has days or periods where they're tired or wondering why they need to train so hard, and a shoulder to cry on can be quite useful
- we can help you understand why you do the sessions and what benefits they bring to you

At RST Sport we've worked with athletes like you: whether you're a masters riding fitting in training around work and family, or an elite athlete aiming for the world championships we can help you. We've done it before and have literally hundreds of athletes who have met or exceeded their goals. We use an evidence based approach to coaching, and have redefined and introduced many new aspects of remote coaching providing levels of coaching that are above what you'd get if you were on the GB team or a pro cyclist.

If you want results backed up by the highest levels of coaching (don't forget we've provided coaching to squad riders on GB and Australia as well as other national squads) then please give me a shout on rst@rstsport.com

cheers
ric

P.s. I is also worth noting that despite all the claims made for 'scientific' training, power meters and all the rest, it is debatable that these have actually led to a higher level of performance than in the 'old' days when people just went on winter club runs, enjoyed riding their bikes and raced. For example, although we have vets in their 60's time trialling faster than they did in their 20's, this can be pretty much be attributed to the use of modern aero equipment.

It could be argued that the main benefit of 'modern' approaches is that the sort of focused, high-intensity training that is often prescribed these days simply makes the best of the limited time many people have to spare. I.e there is nothing magical about modern methods, above and beyond the simple observation that the less time you have the harder you need to go in order to get an effective training stress. In fact, if you have the time, 'old school' approaches may actually give better results. There has been much debate about this point in running circles, where the standards in UK distance running are lower now than 30 years ago, despite 'modern' training methods and the large number of people who run to keep fit, many of whom progress into competition. See this blog:

http://acceptableintheighties.wordpress.com/

PPs. Whilst you need to find what works for you, what works the best may change over time as you body becomes habituated to the stresses placed on it. Hence after a few seasons you might need to try new things, or swap things around a bit. For example, doing high-intensity work in the winter (especially if you have access to a track) instead of 'getting the miles in', but then doing more distance work in the summer (when the weather is better in any case) to compliment the high-intensity efforts from your racing. Some of the best form of my life came after a winter where I got into running and didn't actually do that much on the bike. YMMV...

Best place to start might well be to think back to your last season and reflect on what worked, and what sort of training you might benefit from doing more of. For example, perhaps more winter miles on the road, weather permitting of course, this time around.

There have been a few books over the years that have tried to give a complete overview, but these tend to reflect the preconceptions of the writer as much as any coach's training plan! The Cyclists Training Bible by Joe Friel seems to be popular these days. I have not read this myself but it is probably better than Peter Ward's King of Sports and the Italian Cycling Federation Training Handbook than I started off with! If you have faith in the current fad for power meters, Training and Racing with a Power Meter by Hunter Allen and Andrew Coggan will be your 'bible'.

To illustrate just how every writer and coach will have their own perspective on things just compare the following articles, each of which provides a very different perspective on 'base' training. In reality each approach probably works to some degree for all riders, and each may well be optimal for some riders. The real task is finding out what works for you, and whatever coach you employ there is no guarantee that their own interpretation of what 'works' will result in a training program that is optimal for you.

http://www.biketechreview.com/index.php ... format=pdf

http://www.endurancecorner.com/Intervals_for_Base

And a more 'traditional' approach.

Ace of Base
by mark allen

Hello 1996! Even though it's almost the official beginning of spring, if you are anything like me, I'm still trying to find my rhythm in training. Should I try something new or go with the basic routine I've done in the past? Something extravagant? Forget it. It's nuts and bolts time. Everything we do now on the roads and in the pool will pay off during the summer and at that final race of the year in the fall. The trick is to do enough training in the right way without overdoing it. It may seem like quite a balancing act, but in reality it's quite simple to lay the groundwork now in a way that will carry you through an entire season, and on into the next. I'm going to throw out most of the entertainment value during this article and give you the essentials I consider absolutely necessary to do this time of year to help make your season as a whole a success.

But first I want to share with you the secret of how I have trained for the last 12 years. I'm going to tell you exactly what I have done every winter and spring since 1984. I'm not superhuman, so this secret is not reserved for the genetically superior being. I have a family and other commitments outside of my training even though I do this for a living, and this secret works within those constraints as well. I can be lazy with the biggest slouches, and have also overtrained like the most neurotic type ‘A’ person you've ever met. But this secret has helped me overcome both of these extremes. Do you want to here it? Are you ready for it? The secret is... BASE!

You're probably saying, "Base'? So what? Everyone knows you need a base.”

I know you know you need base, and that you probably don't want to read another article on it because you've already been bored to tears with the topic. But I'm going to give it to you once again anyway, because if you can finally get it right, I guarantee you will have a better overall season than you have ever had in your life. Period! So bare with me, and let's get going.

The number one thing I'm going to ask you to do right now is to put your ego in the vault for the time being. We are talking about no frills base building. This is the biggest determining factor in performance later on. It’s not intricate like threshold work or interesting as are variances on a theme at the track. But it will bring the results you want. Base is the big potato. Without enough of it, all the speed work in the world won't turn your VW engine into a Masarati.

The problem with base work is that it doesn't really feel like you are going 'hard' enough. Base comes from going out for the daily grind at or below your Maximum Aerobic Level. But since it doesn't have the same shock feel of speed work, day to day it doesn't really feel like you are getting anywhere with it. It doesn't satisfy our mind's need to see big jumps and changes in a short period of time. But trust me. It works. Building your base is putting money in the bank for later. The more you put in now, the more there is to take down the road. Speed work draws on that account, and the energy taken out goes to 'buying performance'. Save the big 'bucks' for the big races. Use the big withdrawals to accomplish your big picture goal. Don't let yourself get caught in the anaerobic trap of draining your physical account bit by bit over too long a period of time. If you do, there may not be anything left for the big dance at the end of the year. Have you put your training ego on hold? Okay, then we're almost ready to get training.

But first, let's talk a little science. Your body is a big energy converter, using mostly fat and carbohydrates to move. In action, you change stored fuel into forms your muscles can 'eat' for contraction. This requires enzymes. The more enzymes you have to make these conversions, the quicker the whole process works. More enzymes for energy conversion is like hiring more workers to help on the construction sight. You can saw a thousand pieces of wood, one at a time, or bring in a thousand people to saw thern all at the same tirne. It's obvious which is quicker. In the body, more enzymes makes you more metabolically efficient.

Metabolic efficiency, the ability to convert stored energy into food for muscular activity, is built over time, with the right level of intensity during training. Anything we are doing in triathlons is going to be achieved predominantly with the burning of fats, even in Olympic Distance races. Therefore, as you have heard before, we need to increase our number of fat burning enzymes. You do this by building a base. This requires training at or below your Maximum Aerobic Level. This is the highest heart rate you can train at and still be predominantly training your aerobic (fat burning) systems.

Figure your MAL right now before continuing...

Okay, back to the programme. As you build base, your MAL stays essentially the same within each season. But your pace at that particular heart rate will gradually get faster. You can measure your progress by going to the track once every two weeks and, after warming up, time one mile at that MAL heart rate and see how your speed at that MAL changes. When I first started training this way, my time for the mile on the track was a 7:45. Now, at that very same heart rate, my pace is a 5:25 mile! Same heart rate, very different speed. And it all came from building those aerobic enzymes.

There are three keys to making this base system work.

* The first is to be very consistent in your training. You don't necessarily need mega miles to become more efficient. Simply try, within the constraints of your life, to make an aerobic workout a daily part of your routine. Even training for twenty minutes a day in this zone will make improvements in your pace at your MAL.

* The second condition for maximizing your time spent during the base period is to NEVER train above your MAL heart rate. Remember, this is the time when you are putting money in the bank. Anaerobic work (anything above MAL) takes big chunks out and erodes the base you are building. This is the hardest thing for people to do- to trust that a seemingly moderate effort in training will ultimately enable you to really crank it out at the high end later. Have the patience. You will be doing the fast stuff soon enough, but not now.

* The third key is to as much as possible, keep your lifestyle stress free. That's almost impossible in these times. But try. The reason is that your body reacts chemically to stress in the exact same way it does to anacrobic training. It turns off the fat burning systems and turns on the glucose burning systems. Every time you get overstressed, it's as if you just did a track workout, rnetabolically speaking. So if you aren't seeing any improvement in your pace at the MAL track test, take a look at your lifestyle and see if there are stress factors that might be working contrary to your base programme. And as always, change those that you can and don't worry about the rest. I haven't given really any specific advise on the actual miles you need to be doing right now. That is relatively unimportant in relation to your pace. Don't be fooled by the simplicity of what I have presented to you, I know very few people who have the patience to train their base miles in the way I have just outlined.

In fact, I'm going to present the challenge to you right now. Go to the track this week and find out what your pace is at your MAL, Then for the next rnonth, train consistently at or below your MAI. The actual mileage shouldn't be the main concern. Train roughly the same miles you have been, but without doing anything fast (above MAL). Reduce a few of the changeable stress factors. Then before you read the next month's 220 Magazine, go to the track and do the MAL pace test once again. See if there isn't a change in the positive direction. At that point we can talk about the next phase of your training. Good Luck. I'll see you next month!

two twenty april 1996.

give it a rest Trev, there's so many holes in your arguments that it's just drivel. at least come up with something more interesting or create a new name this week.

Hmmmm

Anyhow, Milese, here's an article suggesting what is known as 'Reverse Periodisation', that is doing high quality training and then adding the distance stuff on later, which I mentioned earlier.

http://iceskatingresources.org/EnduranceTrainingPlan.pdf

A paper on the periodisation versus threshold debate:

http://www.sportsci.org/2009/ss.pdf

And another...

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/endurance-training-large-amounts-of-low-intensity-training-can-develop-base-conditioning-and-aid-recovery-41932

Given all these different approaches, one might be excused for thinking that it doesn't really matter much what you do, as long as you get a mix of training stresses and, whatever you do, you do it for long enough to produce a sufficient training load to promote adaptation. Most simply put, you feel tired afterwards!

It is also worth noting that no training program, no matter how much you pay for it, can overcome the limitations of your own physiology. Most fundamentally your VO2 max is genetically determined, and you will reach that ceiling withing a year or so of starting intensive training. Secondly, the degree to which you adapt in response to training is also genetically determined. You might have the best training program on Earth, but if you are a 'low responder' it might never produce that much of a change in your capacities.

BigFatBloke wrote:

Ric/RSTSport wrote:

give it a rest Trev, there's so many holes in your arguments that it's just drivel. at least come up with something more interesting or create a new name this week.

A lot of people get called Trev these days.

Yawn. Hi Trevor

BigFatBloke wrote:

A good one is the Catford Hill Climb which has a long history.

http://www.catfordcc.co.uk/hillclimb/pa ... px?sm=21_5

Fastest winning time was 1983.

So you are assuming that conditions were the same each year? There might have been a howling tail wind in 83...

BigFatBloke wrote:

This is also interesting seeing as you mentioned Sky & BC.

I didn't.

madasahattersley wrote:

This explains why Brailsford is now telling Sky and British Cycling that they don't need their power meters, and they should just ride through winter at 15mph stopping for cake after 30 miles every other day if they want to remain the best, most successful athletes in the world.

Since when has emulating what the pros do being the best way for a hobby rider to train? To start with pro riders are a very special, self selecting sample who will naturally be able to tolerate high and more frequent work loads. Given the money involved, and the closeness of the competition, it also follows that the use of something like a power meter might well be worthwhile to a pro, no matter how marginal the gain.

You also have set up something of a 'straw man' with your portrayal of 'old school' winter / club riding. Back in the early 80's most 'club runs' round my way were 80 - 100 mile suffer-fests run off at 18-20 Mph with everyone trying to drop everyone else on every climb, and if we did ever stop at a cafe, no one ate cake and even the beans on toast were ordered without any butter!

What matters is what a rider needs to do not to remain one of 'the best, most successful athletes in the world', but what they can do to get the most out of their sport. I would argue that getting out on a ride with your mates and trying to hammer each other into the deck at every opportunity will prove to be a lot more fun, and will get you as close to your personal performance ceiling, as any training program based on 'Billy no mates' turbo sessions and solo power-meter directed rides, and even if the latter does give an extra 1%, so what? Unless you are a pro it is all supposed to be about enjoying oneself!

Imposter wrote:

BigFatBloke wrote:

A good one is the Catford Hill Climb which has a long history.

http://www.catfordcc.co.uk/hillclimb/pa ... px?sm=21_5

Fastest winning time was 1983.

So you are assuming that conditions were the same each year? There might have been a howling tail wind in 83...

Looking at those times, what is most amazing is the consistency over the years, with 'modern' times being only a couple of seconds quicker than the norm for the 1960's!

That the boom in 'scientific' training, coaching, power meters and all the rest hasn't led to a revolution in performance is also evident in the middle /long distance running world, as I noted earlier.

BenderRodriguez wrote:

P.s. I is also worth noting that despite all the claims made for 'scientific' training, power meters and all the rest, it is debatable that these have actually led to a higher level of performance than in the 'old' days when people just went on winter club runs, enjoyed riding their bikes and raced. For example, although we have vets in their 60's time trialling faster than they did in their 20's, this can be pretty much be attributed to the use of modern aero equipment.

While I'm no great fan of power measuring anyone properly training and of a decent level at RR or TT would drop a group club ride for fun whilst riding in a training manner. You don't need any great use of science and tech, just train in a structured methodical way looking at the needs of your own races and resting is training too which people are not confident enough to do.