My athletic career began as a runner in high school. I ran and raced through college and into my 30’s. My focus was on longer distances culminating in marathons. Running was my passion until a devastating foot surgery forced me out of my running shoes and onto a bike. I was heart-broken over the thought of never experiencing another “runner’s high”... little did I know. Upon switching to the bike almost 30 years ago, I soon realized with surprise that I wished I had discovered the sport of cycling sooner, or at a minimum had considered cross training (topic for a future blog).
I seem to be rambling but I do have a point. As a runner, I always had goals and a training plan, in large part due to being part of a team with a full time coach. As a rider, I had no training plan. As a semi-pro cyclist, I raced for a pro-team but trained on my own and decided the intensity of my training and racing would get the job done. In the first few years, I did pretty well but after awhile I found I wasn’t improving. I felt like I was just grinding in a rut. This got me wondering if I was just getting too old for it (I was the old lady in the pro field at close to 35 for Pete’s sake). So, 5 years into my cycling career I hired a coach and grudgingly followed his training plan. Despite being 40+ and racing against women 1/2 my age I regularly finished top 10 in the pro fields and began to win titles. The power of a good training plan shows in the results.
Just to be clear...
I am not focusing this blog on just “competitive” athletes. This blog applies to everyone who plans, wants or needs to start or improve their exercise routine, ranging from the weekend warriors to the uber-competitive souls that ache to up their game.
So, let’s get into it:
Training Plan Ground Rules
Base Fitness - Whether you are a rookie or a seasoned athlete each year, everyone needs to establish a base level of fitness, before launching into a training plan. Actually!!! Base fitness is the first phase of any training plan and should be viewed similar to a building’s foundation; if the foundation isn’t in place the building will eventually collapse. The same goes for your body.
Sleep and rest are as important as your training -The body is an amazing machine that shifts gears when we sleep...our mental and physical batteries recharge but that’s only half of it! As you snore, your personal army of body repair minions (the little guys at the top of the blog), jacked up on caffeine are racing to repair all the damage you have done to your body during the day. If you short change yourself on sleep, you interrupt, or completely derail, your chances of recovery. So, shoot for a minimum of eight hours of rest per night and don’t get in the way of progress!
Train specific to your sport - If your sport calls for high intensity, explosive movement, like sprinting, then that’s what you have to include in your training plan. If you want to do an ultra-marathon a daily 10K run won’t cut it. Your plan will need to incorporate runs that basically circle the state.
Stop posing in front of the mirror - We are often our own worst enemy when we stand as judge and jury staring at our reflection. It’s ok to be hard on yourself if you half-assed a work out, but don’t beat yourself up over what you look like. You are getting stronger with each workout... you are doing your job. Get over how you look and stick with your plan.
Don’t use your age as an excuse - per an article in Outside Magazine, “a recent University of Pittsburgh study of 40 competitive athletes ages 40 to 81 who worked out four to five days a week, researchers found that athletes in their 70s and 80s had similar thigh muscle mass as those in their 40s. The 40-somethings were also just about as strong as the athletes in their 60s.”
As we age, our training plans will have to be tailored a bit. with that said, I know some 60+ athletes who will tear your legs off, so don’t challenge them to a town line sprint or, odds are, you will lose.
Quality over quantity - Garbage miles, whether running or riding, are defined (by me) as miles spent noodling around at low intensity/low effort, putting very little stress on your body. Save these low effort days for your rest days... if you are short on time, 1 1/2 hours of high effort/high intensity work during a training week, gives you a greater training benefit than 5 hours of low intensity effort in the same week.
Learn how to get comfortable with pain - This is a topic that doesn’t get a great deal of attention because, as humans we are programmed to avoid discomfort at all costs but it’s really important to discuss pain and how we train with it. I would be the first one to admit that I am not the most naturally gifted athlete but I am very good at processing pain and that is absolutely my magic bullet.
Don’t be afraid to test yourself. Stop being a chicken when it comes to entering the pain cave. The deeper and more frequently you go into the cave, the easier it gets and that’s where the improvement gains live.
Putting together YOUR training plan
To help you out, I have listed below a few “dos" and "just don’t do that” when setting up your training plan.
Rest Days - Have to be taken! They come in two flavors.
Take the day off completely or just go for an easy jog or ride (very easy tempo, but limit it to 45 mins). If you are wrecked, take the day off. If you feel like you just want to stretch a bit, go for a super easy spin or jog.
Sprints or intervals - To be done following a rest day. These are high intensity work outs, and to maximize the benefits, your body needs to be rested.
No more than two big effort workouts in a row (working at or near your max effort) - We drill deep to make these workouts happen. doing several killer workouts back to back won't allow you to recover and your system has nothing to build on.
One day per week should be unstructured - Leave a day open to do what you feel. Easy, long, social...you are in charge. Have fun with this day but definitely get in a long-ish workout.
*Sample base plan (works for runners and riders)
Monday: Off or Easy
Tuesday: 1-1 1/2 hours of easy riding/running with 3-5 mins of increased pace work. Pick up the pace to just outside of your comfort zone and hold it there. Do this 5 times during the workout.
Wednesday: Recovery run or ride (45 mins max)
Thursday (hardest effort of the week): 1-1/2 hours of tempo (harder than easy), with 2 separate 10 minutes of effort outside of your comfort zone.
Friday : Off or Easy
Saturday: Long steady run or ride, preferably in a group.
Sunday: 2+ hours - unstructured cross training is encouraged (yoga, hit the trails or gravel).
*Based on your level of fitness, this plan will need to be tailored a bit. Just keep the spirit of the plan in place and tailor the length of time for each training day based on what you can handle.
Next week...I plan on talking about heart rate monitors (& power meters) and how they can be a game changer for you.
Remember, there’s an athlete inside all of us.
Be safe, have fun. 'Til later
Sarvary