Between sessions last weekend Master Instructor Cameron Chinatti took me aside and told me how impressed she was with the quality of Instructors at the conference. Wanting for you to hear it first hand, I invited Cameron back for a post conference interview for the latest episode of the ICI Podcast.
We also discussed Cameron's BIG RIDE where she had everyone working together as teams of 4 on the new FreeMotion S11.9 Indoor Cycles with Power.
Coming to ICI/PRO Members Oct 10th – Cameron and I recorded a special PRO Podcast where she explains how she uses this format to introduce Power in a fun and inviting setting.
ICI/PRO members will be able to download Cameron's complete PROfile.pdf so you can introduce this class to your club or studio as early as next week.
I now have access to both Schwinn A.C. Performance Indoor Cycles
and FreeMotion S11.9 Indoor Cycles in a super secret location* I'm planning a comprehensive review of both cycles over the next couple of months.
Both the Schwinn AC and FreeMotion have the latest Power Consoles from each manufacture.
I've already had the the chance to teach a class on the FreeMotion S11.9 and feel you will enjoy riding them at the conference this year. I may have discovered one distinct advantage of measured power that we can use to solve one of the biggest challenges we face as Instructors.
This is going to be very interesting 🙂
*OK, it's not so secret… they're at the Life Time Fitness in Chanhassen, MN. If you are near by, connect with me and I'll let you know when I'm teaching there again.
Gene Nacey tipped me off about this new Freemotion S11.0 Indoor Cycle
with power from a company called Foundation Fitness. What's interesting about this Indoor Cycle is that it uses magnetic resistance (the best system in my opinion) and it's wattage readings are based on measured power, through a strain gauge in the left crank. This may prove to be an improvement if it reduces or eliminates the need for frequent calibration. Why is this important? Because some question the accuracy and repeatability (consistency between one bike to the next) from a system based on calculated power; i.e. the Keiser M3 and the Schwinn AC performance.
I'll be digging in further and will report more soon. I find all of these new bikes with power to be simply fascinating. We all have a front row seat to watch Indoor Cycling 2.0 unfold and blossom right before our eyes 🙂
While I was in Boston last week meeting with Tom Scotto, Bill Pryor and Kenji Freedman, Gene Nacey was at this years IHRSA in California. It's the largest fitness equipment show in the USA and Gene was there checking out all the new Indoor Cycling bikes (or should I say cycles) that offer Power. Take a look at his video report.
Training for improved climbing is one thing. Training for the Dirty Dozen is another. Given the fact that probably less than 1% of the hills one normally climb are as steep as those of the Dirty Dozen, it doesn’t make sense to train for this level of power requirement. That is, unless you actually want to survive the 5 plus hours in November as you climb more steep ascents in one day than you normally do in an entire season. Throw in the fact that I am prone to cramping if I don’t really keep the legs fresh, and this is not something I can take lightly.
When I put a training plan together for myself or a student, I’ve gotta’ work backwards. Where do we want to end up, and then back it up to where we are, and the rest will fill in by measured and deliberate progression. As an endurance rider, and someone who helps people do their first epic ride or century, we have the luxury of focusing on a slow periodized program from start to finish with more and more time in the saddle.
However, this total event is only about 50 miles in length, with 3 food breaks. Endurance is not what I need to train for. My focus needs to be on producing the required power for each grade of hill I will encounter, sustaining heart rates above threshold for varying amounts of time, and keeping the legs from siezing up in the process.
Consequently, instead of a 6 day a week riding schedule with rides between 1 and 3 hours long, I’ll be training 3 to 4 days per week where all but one of those days each week will be fairly intense; very little time in Zone 1 & 2, about 50% in Zone 4, and a progressive increase of time above threshold. In most cases, I will want a day off or activer recovery after each day of training.
I will be focusing on improving lactate buffering, and increasing my threshold. Starting my “pre-training” routine a couple weeks ago, I’ve already begun to feel an increase in my threshold, but I will do a New Leaf metabolic test this week to establish a true baseline.
While at first blush this doesn’t seem like a lot of training, the intensity creates a significant challenge. In fact, I’ve averaged over 1000 points per week just for the pre-training weeks. So, I’ll be using 1150 training load points as my starting baseline, and shoot for a 5% increase each week to keep the body honest. This will get to about 1800 points at the week I will begin to taper. I need to get fitter, stronger and more tolerant of the inevitable pain, and this seems to be the right approach.
So here’s the outline of the training plan:
3 days intense training: 2 days outside, 1 day inside
1 day of active recovery riding inside
1150 starting points, and % splits: Zones 1: 0%, 2:10%, 3:30%, 4:50%, 5:10%
Ending targets 1800 points, 20% in Zone 5, Threshold increase of 10 – 15 BPM
I now have access to both 
