16 Week Face of America Training Plan & Guide | Page 19

workload and cadence, most will be somewhere within their LT Power. At threshold, one raises their LT by training at intensity (by various means) consistently perhaps 2-3 times per week. Three times a week and above is usually reserved for cyclists that have years of training and racing experience, and have a coach to help monitor their journey through a 10month racing season. Progressing forward will just translate into you incorporating longer and longer interval periods at LT (or higher) (i.e., 2, 5, 10+ minutes). As a couple of dedicated and consistent months go by, what you’ll notice is that you can hold more power at your previous HR under the same workload, and you’ll also notice that at your previous power intervals, your HR is now 6-8 or maybe even 10 beats lower than before. These are key indicators that your cycling musculature, cardiovascular strength, and LT are getting stronger. Another telltale sign is that you’ll able to pull more during group rides, don’t get “snapped off the back” or as much, and rather than being the one that everyone is waiting for at the top of the climb, you’re now somewhere in the middle of the pack or better. Climbing Techniques & Tips well as it appears. Though the best professionals adept at climbing know that proper preparation and equipment are vital to their climbing successes, their internal desire and technique focus to ascend powerfully are probably the most important factors to their success.  Technique - to Sit or to Stand? Let’s begin with simple tactics to improve your climbing technique. These are basically free speed since no hard work is necessary. Many riders don’t understand whether they’re faster climbing seated or standing, and there’s not a definite right or wrong here. It is true that you conserve more energy seated, yet standing is important when you want to attack or accelerate since you can put much more force into the downstroke. Generally speaking, bigger folks should spend more time seated than smaller riders. When you stand you have to support your body weight in addition to applying force to the pedals; therefore, more body weight means more energy used when one stands. Yet, don’t let being big keep you in the saddle for all your climbs. It is OK, and actually more efficient for anyone to stand on short steep sections. For longer climbs, you’ll want to spend more time seated since you’ll need to preserve more energy. Climbing can be one of the toughest yet most enjoyable aspects of cycling. The strain of getting to the beautiful summit makes the view sweeter, and  Hand Position. Optimal hand position is typically, the sweeter the view, the more grueling the another matter for debate. Should you climb with climb. Many cyclists, myself included, seek out these your hands centered by the stem (or on the bar great experiences as often as possible, while others tops), on the brake hoods, or even on the drops? avoid them like the plague because they believe they Again the answer varies depending on the terrain, can’t climb well. There are many ways to improve situation, and effort required. Generally the hoods your climbing. Most important are a positive outlook are the best place to be – as you can easily stand and an enjoyment of climbing, but the