FIRST TIMER FACTS TO FOLLOW

By USAT Level 2 Coach Lee Zohlman

It’s pretty unanimous that the bike is most athletes’ favorite part of triathlon. Whether they are fast, slow or middle of the packers most people enjoy the exhilarating feeling of flying down the road in a full aero tuck watching the scenery pass them at a bullet’s pace. No matter what level rider you are, the off season provides a time for a single sport focus, so why not make your bike your weapon this off season. You’ll be able to put in the hours since your swimming and running volume will be reduced. No, I’m not just talking about riding more miles, although you will be. I’m talking about what type of workouts will help you go faster next season, what you can do take weight off the bike and what can you buy to get more aero and have less drag. We’ll look at some ways of making road bikes into tri bikes and how much time really can be saved with aero equipment. So strap on your helmet and grab a gel, we’re going to dive head first into your body and the bike.

“Ride lots” is what the great Eddy Merckx said when asked how to get faster on the bike. The reason to put in big miles is to help your body build a large sport specific aerobic engine. You’ll increase your body’s ability to uptake oxygen and this is the most crucial component to cycling. If you can get more oxygen to the working muscle groups then you will ride faster. In essence you are improving your endurance on the bike. You’ll also improve your body’s ability to burn fat as an energy source. The off season is not the time of year to hammer the rides two or three days per week. Rather, to achieve that big engine you’ll need to do lots of riding between 65-75% of your maximum heart rate. If you’re currently riding 6-8 hours per week then start increasing your time in the saddle by 10-15% until you are riding 12-14 hours per week. Aim for one long steady ride of 3-4 hours of uninterrupted time. You can throw in some surges of two to four minutes to break up the monotony of riding at one pace and group rides are also good to mix things up. The group rides are also good to develop better reflexes and handling skills. You can also work on pulling through the bottom of the pedal stroke to help develop a smoother power transfer from your legs to the pedals. One great workout is 6 x 2:00 on each leg focusing on this basic but crucial element of cycling.

 

Go carbon. If you are looking at taking more weight off your bike then buy some lighter components. Carbon fiber bottle cages and cranks are a good start. The best things to save weight on are those that are rotating, like tires, pedals and crank arms. Going from aluminum cranks to carbon can save you 80-100 grams and going from aluminum to carbon bottle cages can save 40-50 grams. As well, reducing one pound from your pedals and shoes will help decrease your power requirement by 2.3 percent. If you want to climb better then aim to reduce more of the static weight from the bike like seatposts, bars and stems. You can even buy some nifty titanium bolts to replace your aluminum ones. All the little things add up to big weight savings and we didn’t even mention the holiday turkey and stuffing.

 

Maybe you’re on a road bike and are looking to retro fit it into a tri bike. Many people do this with varying degrees of success. Over a 40K race you can save significant time by adding some time trial equipment. A set of aero bars will save you nearly three minutes and help you gain a one to two mile an hour advantage, an aero front wheel will save you up to a minute, lightweight pedals and shoes will save you up to a minute and even racing tires and tubes will save you close to a minute. These are all good reasons for spending a bit of money.

But what about tightening up your legs? Yes, hit the gym but don’t break your hand. Strengthening your legs in a sport specific manner is a great idea in the winter. The following are examples of cycling specific exercises: squats (preferably with a swiss ball against the wall), step ups, lunges, single leg squats, and calf raises. If you’re just beginning to get in the gym then start with 1-2 sets of 12 repetitions. Don’t forget that your abs and lower back have to work while you’re on the bike as they are constantly contracting to maintain balance. So make sure you do your sit ups, oblique crunches and low back raises.

 

With all this work to do in the off season you won’t have time to visit too many donut stores and thus you won’t put on too much weight. Really, you can enter next season with a really strong bike and an excellent foundation to build speed upon.

 
Lee Zohlman is Owner and Lead Coach of BodyZen Multi Sport Coaching. He is USAT and USAC certified. He can be reached at
 www.bodyzen.com or info@bodyzen.com.