Height — 1.79 meters (5 feet, 10.4 inches)
Weight — 71 kilograms (156.2 pounds)
Resting heart rate — 50 bpm
Lung capacity — 5.69 liters (1.48 gallons)

Organising yourself, your preparation and training in line with
what you want to achieve is obvious and is probably what the
majority of riders try to do.

But what about all the other things you can do – all those little
things that may appear less important and somewhat trivial? Tasks
such as maintaining your bike properly and regularly, researching
the web for training information and tips, and making sure you have
the correct gear: all these things matter.

In fact, putting in the hours doing all these small tasks that may
appear unimportant could be the real difference between ultimate
success and failure.

You may consider some of these things as the “dirtier” jobs but if
you tackle all these minor challenges and spend extra time on
researching these issues, then you are much more likely to succeed
in your overall goal.

But going the extra mile has got to be down to self-motivation. You
are unlikely to have a full-time coach so it’s down to YOU. If you
want to make progress, you’ve got to take the bull by the horns and
make things happen.

The more action you take to improve your cycling performance and
the more positive habits and attitudes you develop, then the easier
it will become for you to commit to a strong and ambitious training
program.

You need to give your training the attention it deserves. When you
give your daily training session the highest priority, it’s much
more likely to be successful.

Be stronger for longer periods! Plyometrics exaggerate athletic gesture in the most fundamental ways; the faster the stretch, the stronger the contraction (eccentric phase and concentric phase). By stimulating the stretch sensory receptors, one increases speed, elastic force, and strength of the muscles.
Plyometric training is usually done without weights or equipment. One dynamic weekly session with a series of programmed exercises is sufficient (stop plyometric training at least 15 days before a competition, because it can traumatize muscle fiber and generate muscle soreness). Bikers and runners who wish to work their lower body with this 100% natural technique will repeat horizontal or vertical jumping exercises with their feet touching one another or doing jumping steps. Jump ropes, benches, and obstacles may be used as accessories.

Guess what happened. The high-intensity group had much greater reductions in skin-fold measurements when expressed in relation to energy expended. This was the result of increased fat metabolism during periods of rest between training sessions. The high-intensity group also had significant increases in the enzymes that burn fat for fuel. The low-intensity group had no changes in these enzymes.

Note that the intensity of these two groups was extremely different. Low heart rate zone 1 is so easy you’d wonder if you were doing anything of value for your fitness. The high intensity was very high. Typically any extra weight athletes have gained over the holidays gradually come off in the following weeks as training intensity increases gradually without going to extremes in training.

A little experiment: Try stretching your left leg and NOT the right leg after next hard training session. Did you notice any difference?

As has been usual these past few weeks, the group headed out the Tulla road, turning off to Broadford shortly after Tulla itself (via o’callaghans mills). Then it was over Broadford hill and a few km’s after that the group took a right turn and continued over hilly ground on small roads to Sixmilebridge. From there directly to Newmarket and back to Ennis:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/134118213

As all were wet and cold there was little interest in a coffee stop. Thankfully there were no punctures either with the only technical difficulties being a cleet problem. The group started and finished together with the leading cyclists either holding up or doing U’ies after hills to allow regrouping occur. As with recent club spins the pace was reasonable with an emphasis on keeping the group together.  So if you’re reading this, were thinking of joining a Dolmen cycle and can average 27-28KM on your own over flattish territory for about 60KM, now is the time to come along ! 

paulh

At Bodyke the group made a right turn and all was uneventful until just around Broadford where there were another couple of punctures.  Main group cycled on and split further on Broadford hill.  There was a stop the other side of the hill at the garage in Parteen where all regrouped and refuelled:

On restart the group headed into a moderate wind and the increase  in effort resulted in a split along the dual carriageway back towards Newmarket with the front group getting back to Ennis a bit later than normal at about 1315.

Garmin Stats for cycle here

• Weekend Spin Reports
• Links to weekend spin Garmin Data
• Links to articles you recommend on training, nutrition or hydration
• Notices about upcoming Dolmen events which the wider public should be aware off

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