Not much happening these past few weeks other than lots of training. I'm averaging just shy of 15 hours a week including my gym work. I'd like to bump up the hours closer to 20, but it is really hard with bad weather and 4pm darkness. There is only so much trainer time a guy can take no matter how focused. 120 minutes is my usual limit doing mostly zone 2/3 efforts, occasionally I can go a full 180 minutes, but that takes a lot of mental stamina.
Last week, I started my Max Strength phase in the gym. I've been throwing around almost 500lbs on the leg sled in an effort to get some more horsepower under the hood. The Christmas holiday will bring a few days of desert training on the MTB and then in January I'll transition to some build phase stuff on the bike with one day in the gym to maintain my strength gains.
I'm still planning out my 2008 race calendar. It is going to be similar to year's past with a focus on NMBS events, Sea Otter, the one-day National Championships at Mt. Snow (assuming I qualify), and various local and regional events to fill in the gaps. I'm waiting to publish a post with a complete list until some more details come out regarding the NMBS series. Of course, the big addition to the schedule this year is the 7-day BC Bike Race that kicks off in late June. I also know I'll be starting my season down in Phoenix at an Arizona State Championship series race. The strategy there is to get some sun (i.e. Vitamin D replenishment) and hopefully earn an early qualification to Mt. Snow. We'll see though as the body won't have much intensity yet, so a race effort is going to hurt.
On the 2008 sponsorship front, things are still getting dialed in. I'll pull together a post revealing my sponsors once all the deals are inked. As the saying goes, I don't want to count my chickens too soon. However, as I've alluded to in previous posts, next year's lineup is going to look a little different. Change is good though.
No pics today. Sorry. I know my loyal readers like imagery.
Blue Star
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3 comments:
I have been trying to get more wattage out of the legs. I am historically a runner trying to turn into a biker.
Are you just pushing the sled or are you doing other leg workouts? What are your sets like. When you say you are pushing 500, are you doing it all at once? Or high rep low weights?
My leg workout includes: (1) squats at a moderate weight as a warmup; (2) leg press; (3) seated calf raise; (4) standing calf raise; (5) leg extension; and (6) leg curl.
The number of sets and reps varies based on the training phase I am in. The four phases are: (1)anatomical adaptation (multiple sets of 20 to 30 reps); power endurance (slightly higher weight than AA at 15 to 18 reps); (3) Max Strength (multiple sets of 6 to 10 reps); and (4) strength maintenance (2 sets high rep/1 set at MS-phase weight). Most of the phases last 4 to 6 weeks.
I've been going to the gym since the beginning of September and I am currently in the max Strength phase. I am close to 500lbs on the leg sled for 3 sets at 8 reps. My riding is currently mostly base work in zones 1 to 3 and avoiding longer climbs. In January, I will transition to strength maintenance once a week in the gym and more intensity on the bike. I'll keep hitting the gym as long as I can into the race season, until I feel like I'm not recovering enough. I have yet to make it through a whole race season while continuing gym work.
Enjoyed your workout details, and a look at your shop ... I'm accumulating a few tools, now ...
In Law Star
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