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Training & Coaching

ALP Cycles Coaches Corner: Racing and Training in the Heat

ALP Cycles Coaches Corner: Racing and Training in the Heat

July 13, 2018

It's summer in the Northern Hemisphere and temperatures are heating up. While each person responds differently to heat (some thrive, others wilt) there are a few things you can do to beat the heat and ensure you maximize your performance. Below are several tips that you can start using immediately that might help.

Cool, Calm and Collected

Cool, Calm and Collected

July 09, 2018 1 Comment

It occurred to me that the demands required for steep, extended climbing and a technical downhill or rocky section are sometimes at odds with each other. Just as they are with the skiing and shooting of biathlon. Would training my body to ‘calm on demand’ yield benefits? I decided to give it a try.

Dear Athlete: Help Me, Help You

Dear Athlete: Help Me, Help You

May 09, 2018

"A great coach should be an athletes best advocate. We're looking out for your best interests - to help you succeed at your goals and perform at your absolute best on game day. And although you may think otherwise when you're assigned intervals and hill climbs, we really are putting you first."

How to Prepare for Race Day

How to Prepare for Race Day

March 26, 2018

Race season is almost here. Some of our athletes will kick off their 2018 road racing season this weekend. Everyone is excited to finally pin on a number and make use of all the training during the winter months. But in order to have success, you should be well prepared for race day and do your "home work."

The Best Recovery Tool of All Time: SLEEP

The Best Recovery Tool of All Time: SLEEP

March 23, 2018 1 Comment

It's choose your own adventure time...it's been a long week. You've had multiple deadlines at work and still managed to fit in your daily training prescribed by your coach. You've had to cut your nightly sleep totals by 30-60 minutes each night and by Friday, you're more than ready for the weekend. Do you: A) let loose and unwind from the week. Go out with friends, have a few drinks, stay up late and plan on catching up on your sleep during the weekend - that's what coffee was invented for, right? Or B) Get a nutritious, well balanced meal and head to bed early.

Tools of the Trade

Tools of the Trade

March 23, 2018

Myofascial Release: Sounds fancy, eh? Chances are you're already doing some sort of myofascial release. Whether you use a foam roller, normatech boots, a lacrosse or tennis ball - you're attempting to release the tension due to trauma, posture, or inflammation. Or in a cyclists case - attempting to make your legs feel better after doing hundreds of thousands of pedal revolutions in a single ride. Sometimes it is downright painful. Yet after you're done, you feel 10 times better.

Training Quality

Training Quality

February 12, 2018

If you like to get stronger and improve your performance, then you should make sure your rides (or WO's) are high quality vs just adding up a lot of "empty training miles" or "junk miles." Working with my athletes shows me that WO quality isn't always executed properly. How does one prepare for a ride or WO? Do you read the WO instructions clearly or do you go out on your ride and loosely follow the WO instructions? Are you aware of your focus on the bike?

Training During Winter and The Holiday Season

Training During Winter and The Holiday Season

December 04, 2017

"The winter and the holiday seasons are coming closer. Most of my athletes enjoyed their off season break sometime back in October or early November and by now it is time to be back in training for next season."

ALP Cycles Racing Team - Year 1 Recap

ALP Cycles Racing Team - Year 1 Recap

September 18, 2017

"Why did we decide to have a women's race team next to the coaching business? We wanted to do something that was different, something that no other coaching business can offer. Plus we like to share our knowledge/experience. The 4 ALP Cycles coaches together can offer a huge amount of experience! We believe that coaching is a lot more than just writing a training plan, looking at numbers and talking to an athlete every now and then."

The Ups and Downs of Injury

The Ups and Downs of Injury

September 06, 2017

"Injuries come in many varieties: both acute and chronic. As an athlete, they're inevitable. As a cyclist, they're almost a rite of passage. No matter how you end up on the road of injury, the results are the same: healing takes time."

Superior Hill Climbing

Superior Hill Climbing

June 05, 2017

The last lap took everything she had. She crossed the finish line euphoric and then slumped over her bike, weaving to a stop and bent over, exhausted from the effort.

We all have a pain cave. The question is - how deep do you dig when you approach it? How willing are you to push beyond your perceived physical and mental limitations? And what is it you fear most that you tend to avoid because it shines a light on an area you need to address?

3 Tips on the Art of Suffering

3 Tips on the Art of Suffering

May 03, 2017

Shhhhhh…. Don’t tell anyone new to the sport but cycling is based on suffering. A lot of suffering. You have to push your body to the extreme to overcome gravity, inertia, strong winds, and at time physical ailments just in order to cross the finish line. It can be painful, gut wrenching, exhilarating and 100% satisfying.

Why You Shouldn't Train Through Sickness...

Why You Shouldn't Train Through Sickness...

April 07, 2017

Lately, a lot of people are dealing with nasty seasonal viruses/flu that are going around. Athletes are a primary target because after intense training, our immune system are compromised and they can’t protect us, causing an "open window effect". That “open window effect” has a duration of about 3 to 72 hours. This is why it is very important to get enough and proper recovery especially after a hard ride, workout or race!

Wind Tunnel Testing

Wind Tunnel Testing

February 27, 2017

While working at the team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank Pro Women's Cycling camp this spring, I had the chance to go to the FASTER AZ wind tunnel in Scottsdale Arizona. I spent a whole day at the wind tunnel with 3 of the TIBCO riders. I never had the chance to test my bike position/ equipment in a wind tunnel during my own racing career.

Top 5 Tips to Organize Your Weekly Club Rides

Top 5 Tips to Organize Your Weekly Club Rides

February 15, 2017 2 Comments

Getting together with your team and taking the time to ride is one of the most beautiful parts of our sport. The lifelong friendships, shared laughs, and connections made on the bike are among my favorite experiences. Period.

How to Build a Team: Trust, Confidence and Guidance

How to Build a Team: Trust, Confidence and Guidance

February 10, 2017

Deliberate practice. You can apply it to anything you're trying to learn: musical instruments, racing cars, martial arts, any newly acquired skill and of course, bike racing. But practice is more than just riding a bike - deliberate practice is a method of acquiring and learning a skill. It's breaking down movements with rigorous skill assessment, doing that movement repetitively, getting specific information feedback and working on better skill performance.

The Importance of Team Work

The Importance of Team Work

January 23, 2017

As the road racing season approaches (and has started for the lucky ones that got to race in Australia - me!) it’s important to remember the importance of teamwork.

Tired of Energy Bars and Gels? Try this Recipe!

Tired of Energy Bars and Gels? Try this Recipe!

December 30, 2016 1 Comment

You’ve probably heard all the rage about making your own food on the bike. A lot of companies in the market are coming up with more organic and natural recipes for their bars and gels, but they can be expensive. Plus it’s not as much fun to buy them when you can make them inexpensively right in your own kitchen.

Indoor verses Outdoor Power

Indoor verses Outdoor Power

December 14, 2016

Unless you live in the tropics or some warm southern state like Arizona or Florida, chances are you’ve succumbed to the trainer this winter. While the trainer is better than not getting on the bike at all, you may experience differences in power output. I asked a bunch of coaches, from my fellow ALP Cycles coaches as well as my network of colleagues to see what their experience is with indoor verses outdoor power, and it turns out they all agree that for some athletes, there is a difference. But just how much of a difference is unpredictable at best.

Keep Learning. Keep Striving to get Better.

Keep Learning. Keep Striving to get Better.

December 05, 2016

Last weekend, in Colorado Springs, was the USA Cycling Coaches Summit. Every two years coaches from around the country come to USA Cycling to increase their coaching knowledge and knowhow.

UCI Sport Director Training Program

UCI Sport Director Training Program

November 22, 2016

This blog is about my experience at the UCI DS training program. I spent the last 3 weeks in Switzerland. The main reason for the trip to my home country was because I attended the 8 days DS training program. The class took place in Aigle, at the World Cycling Center (HQ of the UCI). Every autumn, the UCI is offering a class and exam to receive the UCI DS certification. Right now, the UCI DS certification is mandatory for all Sport Directors working for WorldTour teams and Pro Continental teams. As we got told, this rule will soon also apply for Sport Directors that are working for UCI women's teams. I was lucky enough to receive one of the few scholarships for this 8 day class. Thank you to the UCI for offering such scholarships and thank you to Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank for the help to get me a scholarship. Fun fact about the DS training program: it was almost like a reunion! I knew lots of the people in my class, people that I have met somewhere during my long pro racing career.

Train Smarter, Not Harder

Train Smarter, Not Harder

November 07, 2016

"How many of you have overtrained?" asked Dr. San Millan to a room full of 25 coaches and athletes.

Every single person raised their hand.

Everyone, at some point in their athletic lives, will overtrain. In the summer time it's easy to throw in extra mileage even though you've done 15 hours of riding that week and it's only Friday - what's the harm? And while it's ok to pile on the extra miles every once in a while, making a habit of it means you'll eventually find out why rest days are super important. And that lesson could cost you a week, a month, a season or a full year.

Sleepy Time - How to Get the Most Out of Your ZZZ's

Sleepy Time - How to Get the Most Out of Your ZZZ's

October 18, 2016

We’ve become obsessed with data and athletic performance: watts/kilo, time spent in specific zones, nutrition, strength training and conditioning - yet very little emphasis is placed on the importance of sleep as a means to optimize athletic performance. You work hard at hitting your numbers during interval workouts, gaining strength at the gym, logging your every move - but are you sabotaging your efforts by not getting enough sleep?

Swimming the Current

Swimming the Current

September 22, 2016

As a coach, I'm always looking for ways to improve my coaching game. I read anything sport psychology I can get my hands on, study race tactics, share information with other coaches and I also get to apply self-coaching to see if what I'm sharing actually works. I'm also blessed to be married to a coach and we frequently bounce ideas off of one another. When I found myself floundering in the national level crits this season, struggling with how to surf the front of the field verses tail gunning the back, Benjamin had some suggestions.

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