Thursday, October 4, 2012

CYCLING FITNESS TESTS

If you don't know where your fitness is now, how do you know where you want to go?

 
This series of tests has been specifically taken from a sports science exercise lab scenario and brought into the indoor cycle class using music to guide us and inspire us to explore our aerobic & anaerobic capacities. During these tests you must  be true to yourself and push to your ABSOLUTE limit in order to achieve a true picture of our current fitness If we are able to successfully measure our fitness levels, we can use our newly aquainted calculations to create specific goals as to where we would like to go in terms of our cycle-in fitness.
 
TESTING PROTOCOL 1: 35 WATT INCREMENTAL TEST
 
The testing begins post warm up and is comprised of a 35 watt increment test. Each increment occurs over a 2 minute period.  Each participant will push to their absolute maximum level and try to maintain their peak for as long as possible. You must apply force over the crank evenly so you produce the correct amount of watts- consistency is the key!
 
Of course the first few stages will feel really easy, but please don't let this fool you. Don't make the mistake of going over and beyond the designated Watts too early otherwise you will cave in too early and tests will appear invalid. Also to make this really really accurate you are remain in the saddle at all times (thus reducing interference/influence of body mass upon the test result data)
 
Once you really cannot hold the watts any longer (your absolute top effort) remember to record the watts you reached and the level you achieved as well as the time you were able to maintain your peak power output.
At this point your test scenario will have terminated HOWEVER remember we are in a group fitness class so have a short break and then attempt to return to your peak wattage. It is highly likely that everyone will possess different fitness levels therefore if you are able to join back in the game it will help the fitter participants to push their boundaries further. It is really important to do this as it will motivate all the class to achieve even higher power peaks as a group.
 
This chart will help you to measure your current power peak and help you to set a target to use after a designated training period.



Playlist for 35w/2min Power incremental test

1. Warm up. Ill house you-Jungle Brothers.
2. Test Protocol start: Sunglasses at night Tiga Zyntherius
3. Southern Sun. Masif DJ's. Steve Hill Vs Technical
4. Up to No Good. Carl Nicholson
5. Get into Da Groove. Junk Stylez
6. Fire. Ant Reynolds
7. Attack Dog. Technical.

TESTING PROTOCOL 2: SIMPLIFIED WINGATE TEST

After a small recovery from the above testing scenario,we now perform a battery of tests which show our capacity to work anaerobically.2x30 second shots at producing your biggest power output, I like to simulate a really steep ramp during my teaching during this protocol, so that as a participant you can make more sense of the high demands of the test. When the gun fires, there's no room for thinking,  we have to EXPLODE to produce impressive power!

Love it or hate it, the Wingate test is the ultimate test for our anaerobic capacity! Working anaerobically means that cells in our body have to produce energy immediately and as a result the body cannot utilise O2 as a fuel for the delivery of this energy to suffice the demands of work placed on the muscles we are solely dependant on our immediate energy sources such as ATP -PC within these tests (I don't want to bore you with the details but it means you will be absolutely gasping for air at the end of the 30s and you just cannot sustain your absolute energy power output).

The test scenario measures our peak power output within 30 seconds as well as the drop off in power. So record your peak/absolute power and then try to beat this next time. Also you would measure your drop off in power. This means that during the 30s test you would measure the highest power peak that you can hold for at least 5s and measure this against the lowest power sustained over the 30s period. Once these numbers are obtained you would simply take the highest power output away from the lowest power output as follows

Highest Power Output (sustained for 5s) - lowest power output (sustained for 5s) = Anaerobic Fatigue

When you have calculated your score, the whole aim upon the repeat of the test would be to reduce the gap between the highest power and the lowest power thus reducing the value obtained. This means that in real life you should be able to hold higher power for longer periods which makes you be able to perform better whilst in training and competition.

Your anaerobic capacity is measured by taking the power output at each 5 second interval and adding these together. So the bigger this number is the better. If you want to get really scientific you would express this value as kilogram-Joules (1 kg-m = 9.804 J. All that is important, is to produce the biggest number and get an even bigger score when you perform the test after a 6-week period. Typically you would perform the test after the 6 week training protocol which I have designed as it is progressive in nature so you would almost certainly perform better once you repeat the tests.

1. Preparation ride- Rock the Rhythmn Tom Drummond
2. Wingate test 1: CANDIDATES TO REMAIN IN THE SADDLE AT ALL TIMES DURING TEST Time 2 Burn by Andy Whitby & Klubfiller
3. Wingate test 2: CANDIDATES TO REMAIN IN THE SADDLE AT ALL TIMES DURING TEST. Give Me Everything (Handz up Remix) Changi
4. Recover Broken Mirror Fleur Cutline

Enjoy knowing where you are right now, looking into the future with your newly acquired goals as well as smashing your own objectives!







 


 
 
 
 
 
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Tuesday, October 2, 2012

TAKING YOUR ENDURANCE TO A HIGH!

Bringing Sydney BACK! With an endurance training protocol & PPCA free playlist. These tracks used are some of the of best that were taught during the latter stages of Canberra group fitness classes.

Feel free to comment on your thoughts once you have completed the protocol a couple of times. What did you think gave the greatest training benefits ? Personally I thought the three and a half successive hill climbing was rather chaotic but in a great way.

TERRAIN DESCRIPTION

So the ultimate challenge of strength speed, power & acceleration has arrived. These elements of your fitness during this protocol are to be challenged under endurance conditions. That is; we must hold on even when the going gets tough. Its team coach's job to get you to the right place at the right time, whilst, it is your job to keep yourself in the game! The longer you can hold on the intensity (especially during the final stages) the more you will build your physical and mental stamina.

Post warm-up there is a 3 and half track climbing challenge. These climbs all require something different from you as they have incredibly different terrains and feels. For example; the first part of the ascent (let the sunshine in) focusses on smooth transitions and strength as we apply body weight out of the saddle and then work on the raw muscle power as we hit the saddle whilst improving our riding efficiency .This will feel tough, especially as we hit the end of the track. Remember it is your job crew to hold on tight at this point.

From here on in,  the hill becomes a very mean mountain AKA a Hors catégorie!  It's what I love...'I love rock and roll' We use the slow and heavy beat to tackle this acute gradient and we driving through our biggest gears. At at the end are giving our absolute 100% push to the crank, are we struggling to maintain the beat?...well congratulations then, you're in exactly the right place.
When we hit the first category 4 climb we truly hit the cardio training factor; do we need a doctor? We may well do, as we bulldoze through 3 successive ramps with massive momentum, driving force through the pedal and use huge gears...big watts equals better performance! Once we have achieved our breathlessness gasping point, we learn to control the breathing so we just utilise oxygen for energy again before we once again ascend and blitz our body into total chaos. All you have to think here is 'embrace the burn...the burn is good!'....Don't drop the gears too far, we are still 'awakening' ourselves to strength, endurance & power during our final component of our ascent challenge.
We work up the gears to stimulate a steepening climb until we hit an all time high. Reminding oneself of how to achieve results is to push over and beyond oneself giving 101% and above will send us over the edge of the mountain. Pushing out of the slip steam in short sharp bursts will put you in to a more favourable position in this race. This is an absoute must so we can create a stimulus to which our body will respond. Finally the downhill phase is here, focus on active recovery and then uptaking the gears to simulate the flat without of course losing any momentum!
We hit the training ride, using 'i got five on it' to drive & accelerate through big gears allowing us to produce stronger starts in the veledrome, your lungs and legs will feel the burn - hold on to this feeling as this is your results!
The final competition is here,  we make use the skills developed during our previous training ride. This final component of your training protocol requires massive determination comprising of repeated extended power intervals, during 'shooting star' you have to hold on to your biggest power through 4 maximum during the intervals. The rider who can hold on to the biggest wattage for the longest period of time through each time trial interval,  is the rider that wins the competition! So drive hard before you drive home & shoot for the moon at the same time :-)

  1. . WARM UP. EASY BUMPY ROAD Moves Like Jagger (Dizzy Bootleg Mix) by Audio Jack.Genre = House, RPE 40/50%/60%
2. CATEGORY 1 CLIMB  Let the Sunshine 2012 (Tocadisco Remix) by Milk & Sugar  Genre = House.RPE 70%-80% 
3. Hors catégorie (HARD CLIMB) I love Rock n Roll (Tribute to Joan Jet & The Blackhearts) by Studio All-Stars. Genre = Pop. RPE 80%-90%-100% ((Strength))
4. CATEGORY 4 CLIMB  I Need a Doctor by Dark by Design & Steve Hill. Genre = Hard Dance. RPE 90%-100%
5. CLIMB CATEGORY 3, DOWNHILL & FLAT Awakening By Rank 1. Genre = Trance. RPE 80%-90%-100%
6. INTRO TO THE VELODROME Police Radio Intro (Time Bandits Mix) by Alexander Metzger. Genre = DJ Tools. RPE 40%
7. TRAINING RIDE (ACCELERATION UNDER SPEED/ ENDURANCE CONDITIONS) Five on it by JFB Genre = Drum & Base. RPE 80-90%
8. COMPETITION TRACK (ACCELERATION & MAINTAINENCE OF POWER ON THE FLAT) Shooting Star by Bang! Genre = Happy Hardcore. RPE 100%-40%
9. ACTIVE RECOVERY The Sun is Shining (Dub Version) by Bob Marley. RPE 40-30%
10. STRETCH  When Soldiers Cry (Intro) by Minor Rain. RPE 20%