Instinctive Training

Instinctive Training
By: Brian Grenier
INTRO-CHAPT 1

After many races I have had the privilege of interviewing many pro and top ranked amateur riders.  Being an avid cyclist I always try to shift the last portion of my interviews towards training.  While some of the top riders give a vague response universally I tend to get the same answer 90% of  of time  " train hard when you feel up to it and go easy on your off days" This flies in the face of current conventional training techniques of structured training programs marketed to the masses.  This stark contrast sent me off on a research quest that uncovered many training techniques some that you may be using and some you may not.

Periodization is an organized approach to training that involves progressive cycling of various aspects of a training program during a specific period of time. It is a way of alternating training to its peak during season. The aim of periodization is to introduce new movements as you progress through the years training cycle to specify your training right up until you start the season.

BLOCK TRAINING Unlike traditional periodization, which usually tries to develop many abilities simultaneously, the block concept suggests consecutive training stimulation of carefully selected fitness components. The rational sequencing of specialized mesocycle-blocks ( smaller blocks of training about 6 weeks) presupposes the exploitation and superimposition of residual training effects,

INTERVAL TRAINING: Interval training can be best described as bouts of exercise interspersed with short rest intervals. It is based on the concept that more work can be completed at a higher relative intensity compared to continuous-type training.

CONTINUOUS-TYPE TRAINING: Continuous training is a type of training that involves activity without rest. This type of training may be of high intensity, of moderate intensity with an extended duration or training year round.

And the list goes on.

 What I found though was that small selections of top athletes were using training that flew in the face of "COACHED" training plans.  From the majority of athletes that alluded to the training plans they followed they were universal in their statements "train often and hard when you can and allow for plenty of recovery".  Hum not even close to the marketed plans that require strict adherence to a linier program that is strictly laid out and either morphs over time or stays the same. While these programs and systems are fantastic and necessary for building up a novice even up to a state/national level, in order to make the next jump up the ladder the stimulus has to become regulated by the athletes ability to produce it and recover from it

It is interesting to note that the speeds reached in tours past have been pretty much steady over what I see as a huge expansion of cycling technology, never mind the nutritional advances.  This year we witnesses an across the board reduction in adv wattage as well as one of the longest, time wise climbs of Alp du Hez.  Some would put it into the corner of the efforts of the anti doping folks and if we go down this road we have to come face to face with two realities.  One: doping as practiced by pro athletes gives them about a 15% advantage just the facts man as they are presented.  Two: Things have not advanced as far as modern technology would elude to and training and training results at the upper levels have not really changed much in 30 years until you look at marketing and the concepts necessary to market “training”

It is with these facts in mind that I set out on a quest for a melding of the old and new into a workable form that will provide progression and gains all within a reasonable training philosophy that takes into account the most important element in bike racing, the RIDER!

Here is where developing the ability to train instinctively comes in.  In a nut shell to train instinctively you have guidelines that need to be met in any given week say 60 min @ 85% LTH with say 5 min being the shortest allowable set, in a normal routine you may have this # broken down into various sets of various length on different days in the end you come out the same 60 min@85% LTH the stress on your body would be identical for the micro cycle of 1 week.  However lets say on 2 interval days your legs are just not there or that thing we call non-cycling life interferes, now what do you do?  Again conventional wisdom says you just leave the missed session where it is, in the past, which I agree with, or like robots we go out and suffer through some sub par sets exasperating what ever the underlying condition that was responsible for our off day, or we train at unreasonable times and places again making for a sub par session and pissing off those non-cycling entities that required our attention.  I look at a series of sub par sets as reinforcing failure and is that what you want your training to be about?

This one cycle of events is why you hear about allot of guys doing herculean efforts never missing one single interval of a prescribed set no matter how sub-par they are, always bragging at how hard they train, and they do, but in the end they rarely are contenders due to the sub par nature of allot of their training, heroic yes, smart no.

Using the instinctive route you have 2 or 3 things that will drive your training sessions 1) total training time for the week 2) primary intensity level and duration for the given week and 3) secondary intensity level and duration for a given week.  So here is an example of the instinctive training model with tasks for a week and what it would look like:

Example only:
Total training time sun-sat 14 hrs
Intensity level 1: 90 min @ 85% 5 min sets as a minimum
Intensity level 2: 15 min@ 95% 2min sets
Recovery set to work ratio=1:1
,1:2 at max

When you are feeling good and you have the legs you start to chip away at this weekly allotment.  You may find a day when you are hot and you can get 2 x 20 @ 85% and 2 x 2 @ 95% chipping away from your weekly task allotment.  Have a couple of bad days and you back off and just ride using the time for drills of low intensity.  Another good day comes and you chip away more. 

This is amazingly simple, produces the same if not better accumulated training load ( because your doing the work at max stress) and allows for recovery when you are feeling off, and allows for flexibility when non cycling events interfere with your life.

So we have broken the ice on this revolutionary yet simple training technique in session two we will cover training effort in more detail and cover the 20/80 rule.  Until then listen to your body it just might get you ahead of the crowd!

Brian C Grenier lives on the Outer Banks of NC with his wife and daughter.  Brian is a Elite Level Paralympic Athlete and travels with the US National cycling squad as he prepares for the 2012 Paralympics in London.  Brian is also the CEO of Performance Impact Coaching LLC, a company devoted to coaching individuals to live their ultimate dreams! He can be reached at: grenierracing@yahoo.com

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