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P90X Day 3 after 8 miles on the Computrainer.

Day 3 of P90X is history. We started off the workout with an 8 mile time trial race on the computrainer. This course was a gradual climb with about 1.5 miles of flats. All total we put in about 24:30 minutes of hard riding time. Our legs were pretty beat from last nights workout. After a good warm up and the initial surge at the starting line, the legs started working like I wanted them to. We left the bike shop and and drove home. As soon as we hit the door we were on to day 3 of P90X.

Today consisted of Shoulders, triceps, and biceps. This was a pretty tough workout and I definitely had to back off the weights as I struggled through the last 20 minutes. There were several exercise routines that I had never seen before. The methods really isolated the muscles very well. The bands are a little hard to get used to. The easiest way I have found is to watch the people on the DVD and model my form after them. It gets more comfortable then for sure. I found myself switching back and forth from dumbbells to bands depending on the exercise.

If anyone is wondering about muscle soreness, the answer is YES, we are without a doubt feeling the pain. The good thing is that the pain isn’t to where you don’t want to move or get out of bed. It’s different than the pain one would experience after hitting a heavy bench press workout after a month off.

Speaking of bed, it’s time to hit the sack. damn I miss my late night snacks 🙂
Day 4 should be interesting. hmmmm, Yoga, this is a first for me.

John

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Fuji DSR Review

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Day 2 of P90X – a Kick Butt Leg Workout – No Doubt!

Wow, That Hurt! Day 2 of P90X was all about the LEGs. In total we did about 45 minutes of almost non stop leg routines. Almost every version of squats one could imagine. The workout set was broke down into groups of routines. The trainer led the workout and we progressed thru each and then repeated the routine before moving to the next.

I’m pretty sure my legs are going to be hurting tonight when we ride our 8 mile indoor race on the computrainer. I hope it is draft legal, so I can hang on someone else’s wheel for a bit.

I know it’s only day 2 now day 3 of P90X and I’m not trying to sound like a salesperson. So far, I am very impressed. I can’t imagine not achieving desired results if we stick to the plan. As with any workout program, sticking to the right diet is very important as well. That’s the hard part for me. I like to eat at certain times of the day and I never really overeat. Now I have to keep the furnace full and eat, snack, eat, snack, eat and then sleep. Snack does not equate to junk food either. 🙂

88 days of P90X to go.

John

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P90X is in the House! The 90 day workout challenge is on.

I wanted to kick off 2010 with a new workout routine which would help my cycling this year. I am sure everyone reading this has seen the infomercials on P90X by Tony Horton and BeachBody. I decided to give this one a run for it’s money. After all, I really enjoy working out to instructional DVDs. I ride my Cyclops trainer indoors during the winter and thru out the year along with many cycling training DVDs. The price seemed right. I already have dumbells, pull up bar, and resistant bands. So I figured, why not give it a try.

Day one was today. 89 more days to go. The first day consisted of a fitness test followed by a 1 hour chest and back workout routine. We followed this up with a 15 minute Ab burner workout DVD.

I am not ready to boast and brag about the P90X program just yet. Quite honestly, it made me feel pretty damn out of shape. Especially my upper body. The pull ups were by far my weakest area. We have a lot of room for improvement on this one.

We did keep track of our reps. for each exercise and I don’t mind saying they were not high numbers by any means. It’s a starting point and we will improve. That’s really all that matters.

Now it’s time to run up stairs and eat a good recovery meal.

89 days to go!

John

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Q: Will an indoor-cycling class at my local gym help me in the winter?

This is a perennial question, and for good reason: Every gym or health club has some form of indoor cycling class, and in the dead of winter it’s tempting to jump in rather than face the elements or slave away on a trainer alone in your basement. There’s nothing inherently wrong with these classes, but it’s important to find one that will actually improve your performance on the bike. I encourage athletes to evaluate classes based on how well they address the core principles of training: overload and recovery, specificity, individuality and progression. I address each of these below.

Overload and Recovery Classes generally fall into two categories: sufferfests and structured workouts. Both have their merits, and I understand the psychology of the sufferfest fan’s desire to reach the end of a class exhausted, but as a coach I prefer the latter approach. Though a sufferfest might feel excruciatingly difficult, your actual power output may be too low to improve your fitness due to inadequate recovery periods. Check in with the instructor: If the primary feature of the workout is that it’s ridiculously intense, but he or she can’t identify what you’ll get out of it, find a different class.

Specificity The fact that you’re pedaling is a step in the right direction, but some classes have very little to do with actual cycling performance. And that’s okay— I’m all for classes that burn calories and get people sweating. But if you’re looking to improve your performance on the road or trail, you need workouts that target the energy systems and power demands of actual cycling. These classes can be harder to find because effective interval sets are often not the most entertaining, crowd-pleasing kind. The intensities are consistent and repetitive instead of all over the map, and while you may do some pedaling out of the saddle, no cycling-specific class will have you doing push-ups on the handlebar.

Individuality This is where technology comes into play. The absolute best indoor cycling classes use power meters, whether that’s in the form of CompuTrainers, power- equipped stationary bikes or personal bikes with power meters. And the best ones also set individual power-training ranges for each athlete. The next-best scenario is a class that uses heart-rate monitors and individual training intensities. The self-selected “turn the knob to the right” method is fine, but not optimal.

Progression Progressive classes are pretty rare, and to find one you’ll most likely need to go to a cycling performance center. To address the progression principle, a class needs to be designed with the idea that the same people will be coming back week after week, and that the workload will thus take into account the developing fitness of these participants. In the standard gym model, in which classes are accessible to anyone anytime, the programming tends to be static. (This is also partly why these classes often are sufferfests.) In a progressive class, some of the workouts may well be more moderate in intensity, and while that’s good from a long-term training perspective, it’s not as appealing to the intermittent class user.

Then Again… Incorporating indoor classes into your winter training need not be an all-or-nothing proposition. There’s nothing wrong with an occasional—even weekly—sufferfest. Even cyclists following well-structured, scientifically based, progression-driven indoor programs sometimes should forget the numbers and just open the throttle.

But if all you do all winter is pummel yourself, your progress will be blunted. The best option: Follow a scientifically based program, but incorporate some “hard for the sake of being hard” classes, just for fun.

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Indoor Cycling Training

The most intense indoor cycling training session ever by master trainer Alan Zinniker, 3 time winner of the Tour de France.

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Indoor Cycling Training With a Stationary Bike

Cindy talks about her new stationary bike that she was recently inspired to buy and how staying consistent with her routine with America’s Best Bike Ride’s videos has improved her life. If you want to see what Cindy is talking about check out www.americasbestbikerides.com Thanks!

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All About Competitive Cycling : Training for Criteriums in Competitive Cycling

When training for a criterium competitive cycling race, it’s important to practice riding corners fast on your bike. Get tips on training for criteriums in thisfree educational sports video. Expert: Sal Collura Contact: www.velotv.net Bio: Sal Collura has been racing bikes at the elite level for 20 years. He placed 5th overall in the Criterium rankings for the State of Oregon in 2007, and 3rd overall in 2006. Filmmaker: Sal Collura

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Watt – Speed – Cadence – Gear calculators

My cycling friend Doug Fisher passed along some helpful cycling information on a few sites he has been tinkering with. So for you off season cycling junkies trying to figure out how to get faster, stronger, and build sustainability before the spring, check out what Doug says below.

Wanted to pass along a couple of tools that I have found to be very useful.

1. Gear / Speed / Cadence Calculator. Want to know how much a compact might help keep rpms up on a climb? Want to know if an 11 tooth cog will help if you’re spinning out your 12 tooth? You can also see where the optimum point to shift into the little ring with your gearing. You’ll have to download this program. I can’t voucher for the safety, but I haven’t had any problems associated with it.?

http://www.machinehead-software.co.uk/bike/gears/gear_calculator.html

2. Watts / Speed Calculator.

I really like this program and found it extremely accurate in predicting what studio work will translate to on the track. Want to see what impact a lighter bike or a couple of less burgers in the diet will have on the your speed, it will tell you. Probably the neatest feature is determining something like the wattage needed to climb Snake Mt without walking. Plug in your expected climbing speed and the grade of the climb and you know how many watts you’ll need to hold and for how long. If you know what watts you can hold and the associated speed you can then use the gearing program to determine what cassette to ride and what your rpms will look like.

http://bikecalculator.com/veloUS.html

Enjoy.