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