Anyone watch Lance on Oprah?

I mean come on, you HAFTA do drugs to ride that race. Let alone finish and WIN.

 

Yeah... we all knew it would eventually come out sooner or later. Through the years I think all cycling enthusiasts didn't want to think it was true but deep down inside knew it was true.

I personally don't fault the guy for doing it cause he was right... everyone at the time was doing it cause the governing parties weren't really taking it seriously, so as now everyone knows, it was pretty easy getting away with it, however I don't agree that he did it. It was such a big scandal with him cause he did win it 7 times and made millions from it, and built the Livestrong foundation, etc.

Although he did bring disgrace to the sport, he did throughout the years make huge leaps in cycling technology due to his and his team's excessive R&D.

That being said... he's a huge D*ck for disrespecting many people who knew without a doubt that he doped and disappointing many that looked at his success story for drive and motivation to reach their own personal goals, which could range from anywhere from a single mom trying to raise her children to new and upcoming cyclists looking to make it big. And for all of that, he deserves all that is coming to him now, ex: losing all his endorsements, etc.

Andre

 

Sorry man... just seeing this now.

The basic idea for someone that is just getting into working out is to not do too much too soon. Reason being is that you will eventually burn yourself out and begin to skip days and before you know it, you won't really be working out anymore because of the thought of pain and suffering.

In the beginning, you really want to build a base or foundation to improve off of... so for cardio (and someone that doesn't use a Heart Rate monitor), you only want to put out a perceived effort to where you are still able to hold a conversation with someone if you were talking to them without heavy breathing or pauses while talking. You will notice as time goes, you will be able to either move faster or longer while still maintaining the same perceived effort. Another thing to note here is that the human body burns more fat during this type of workout than a workout where you are about to pass out.

As far as mixing up workouts (weight lifting + cardio), you need to figure out for yourself what your end goal is... is it to bulk up muscle or to lean down for endurance sports. For muscle, you want to weight lift first and then do minimal cardio and for endurance, you want to do cardio first and then some type of light weight lifting. The idea is that you want your body to be fresh for the workouts that will help you achieve your final goal, therefore do them first.

Same goes for biking and running back to back... do one or the other each day. Even when triathletes train, you will see that they do bike and run in the same day, however, they leave a good size gap in between such as run in the morning and then bike in the afternoon. Not until some weeks before race day approaches do they begin to practice and train for the transitioning points.

The ultimate rule... remember to have at least 2 rest days a week!! That could either mean not doing anything, or just going for a nice casual walk. Listen to your body, if it's telling you it's tired, then listen and take the day off as your workout efforts when already exhausted are worthless.

A well disciplined athlete is one that knows when to rest.

Hope that is of some help... lol.

Andre

 

There's no ultimate rule stating one needs 2 days of rest. However, every respectable training program for running, cycling or triathlon says to stick to rest days because its as important as training days. Having said that, yes no matter which program you go with to reach your goal, listen to the body and give yourself extra rest days if needed. No need to risk injury before an upcoming event/race.

If you're into cycling, it is beneficial to do more strength training for your lower body than upper body. Lastly, no matter what you do, weight train, run, bike or swim, don't forget to stretch and foam roll. When the body is flexible, you'll get more out of your training and less injuries.

I'm hoping I get to meet some of you this spring when I start cycling again.

 

GRRrr.. totally missed out on the Boyd wheels that were 20% off. I was eyeing the 50mm set, but they are now sold out.

 

What are the cons of going tubular? I know it's a mess gluing tires to the wheels, but other than that, tubulars seem to last longer, are lighter, & less susceptible to flats. Is this right?

 

I honestly haven't done much research with tubular tires and cannot comment on the pros that you list. I do know however that they are a pain in the a$$ and definitely not worth the extra headache. You're better off with clinchers. If you're worried about weight, you'll never have better results (for free mind you) than shedding body weight!! I'm currently trying to do the same... lol... 5-7 lbs hopefully.

Not sure of stats on tubulars, but with my tires, it seems that I can easily get at least 2,000 miles out of a set, possibly even more.

Andre

 

Rest days don't have to mean do nothing, but do mean to stay away from the muscle group which is the main focus of training. So core exercises for example, or even for cycling, a very light, hardly any resistance on the legs on an indoor trainer. To me personally, without 2 days, an individual can easily burn out.

Ahhhh yes... the all famous foam roller... I Foam Rollers!!!!

Andre

 

Active rest days are good. Keeping it light is not easy. I often find myself doing a bit more thinking I didn't do enough training. Burning out is disastrous and easy. I tried following Hal Higdon's training program for marathon training (6 days running, 1 day rest) and almost died in the third week. Had to modify the program so I can feel my legs when I'm not running.

Foam rolls are good when we can't get massages.