by Jo McRae
Secondly, indoor cycling classes for the most part don’t provide the structured training zone approach needed by most cyclists in their ‘off’ season. High-intensity intervals are often used to maintain interest and motivation within the group, and these tend to take your heart rate up and down throughout, without ever really settling on any consistent effort that might benefit your aerobic fitness. Consequently, you neither get the sport-specific adaptions that are most important in directly improving your cycling performance, nor do you benefit from other fitness components that are not so easy to obtain from your bike training, such as flexibility, stability or strength.
In introducing each of the cross-training options here, I will be encouraging you to choose those that give you some benefits across the spectrum of flexibility, stability and strength in particular, to complement the essential exercises I have worked through in this book from Chapters 2–4.
While some of the activities here challenge the cardiovascular system, and may therefore improve your aerobic fitness on the bike, as I discussed in more detail in Chapter 1, it is the sport-specific adaptions in both the central and peripheral cardiovascular systems as you work through the cycling movements that collectively give you your cycling fitness.
In practice, this means that as a cyclist your aerobic fitness has to be developed as you ride your bike, unless you’re unable to ride for any reason.
In some instances, particularly if you travel a lot, or if you live in an area where winter weather conditions are particularly harsh, you might consider the cardiovascular benefits of your cross-training options as more of a priority. For these reasons I will log the cardiovascular benefits for each activity so that if you need your cross-training choice to tick a lot of boxes in one go you can find something that will work for you.
Cross-training and the success formula
Once again in this chapter I will be referring to the all-important success formula, which helps you to hone your essential conditioning plan so that you are moving towards improved power potential and injury prevention, as well as a more balanced body all round. If you have been following this idea throughout this book, you will have some sense of where your priorities lie in terms of your own conditioning needs based on this formula.
Remember the success formula:
FLEXIBILITY + CORE STABILITY + STRENGTH = POWER POTENTIAL
For each of the cross-training options discussed here, I will rate them on a three-star basis as having high, medium or low benefits for each of the main three areas of flexibility, strength and core discussed in this book. I will also rate the cardiovascular benefits out of three stars, in case this aspect is of particular importance because of frequent travel or unfavourable weather conditions giving you limited access to your bike.
No single activity can exclusively develop each aspect of your fitness without any benefits in other areas, and so gauging where each option fits in relation to what you want to get out of it will help you choose the best for you. If you prefer to work on your conditioning programme by yourself and would rather not include any of the cross-training methods discussed here, there is no need to include them as part of your plan.
In this chapter I will use a three-star system to rate the benefits of each activity in terms of flexibility, strength, core stability, and cardiovascular benefits. A score of three stars represents high benefits, a score of two stars represents medium benefits and a one-star rating represents low benefits. This three-star system should help you choose activities that complement the aspect of your conditioning that you are trying to develop at any given time, as well as helping you periodize your cross-training all year round.
Developing your biomotor abilities beyond the main three
Throughout this book I have focused on three key elements of conditioning: flexibility, strength and core stability. However, there are many other aspects to fitness in its broadest sense that I have not yet mentioned. One term used to describe these different elements of fitness is ‘biomotor abilities’.
‘Biomotor abilities’ is a term used to describe how you move, relating in particular to the quality of the movement in consideration of a number of key physical attributes. Any activity or sport can be analysed in terms of its biomotor profile, to help you ensure that your training is specific enough for your body to adapt to meet the demands of the sport.
It is broadly understood that there are five main biomotor abilities, of which flexibility and strength are two, and co-ordination, endurance and speed are the other three. I consider core stability in the way I refer to it in this book to be a subgroup underpinning strength, and flexibility to be a sub-group underpinning optimal bike fit.
Endurance encompasses the cardiovascular elements that directly impact on your cycling performance and ability and may also be subdivided. While basic aerobic endurance is the main prerequisite upon which your cycling fitness is built, speed endurance and strength endurance are two subcategories that might be helpful in some circumstances. For example, a track cyclist would need these anaerobic fitness elements to allow them to continue to go hard without adequate rest or oxygen. They would also need greater agility, skill and coordination than most ordinary road cyclists to adapt to changing situations on the track, and to respond at the right time and in the right way. And there would be some carry-over between muscular strength and endurance strength, such that both are needed to maximize performance.
The introduction of different biomotor abilities when cross-training is one of the reasons it can be so beneficial for cyclists. Since the human body is dynamic and adaptive in nature, it will often respond well to a change in activity simply for the sake of change. Throughout this chapter I will explain any stand-out biomotor benefits in these broader terms too, to help you choose what’s right for you.
Cross-training for injury prevention and rehab
Since cross-training often takes you into areas of fitness that are not explored through your cycling, there are some distinct physical benefits in terms of injury prevention. Overuse syndromes are common, particularly in straight-line endurance sports like cycling. The muscle imbalances that I describe in detail in Chapters 2 and 4 of this book in particular are often a precursor to injuries and issues. Where some muscles tend to get tight and others tend to become weak, joint health can begin to deteriorate, and with the high repetition of the pedalling action a change in emphasis can be a welcome break for the cyclist’s body.
The saying ‘a change is as good as a rest’ is certainly one that helps explain the benefits of cross-training for cyclists. Where your body and mind can get bored with one activity, a change in focus can help open up new neuromuscular pathways that ultimately make you more capable when you come back to the bike. More than that, it can allow certain aspects of your fitness to take a ‘rest’ while you explore others.
Not only can cross-training help to prevent injury, but it can help you cope with injury too. For some cyclists, chronic injuries lead to periods spent off the bike, and for others crashes and the consequent fractures can lead them to seek out other activities to keep them sane. Most keen cyclists love being active, and when you can’t ride your bike you will feel better for embracing the alternatives. What’s more, when you can’t ride, doing anything else that you can do safely will almost always get you back to fitness quicker than if you just wait it out doing nothing at all.
Psychological benefits of cross-training
As well as the physical benefits of cross-training, there are many psychological benefits. You can use cross-training activities to keep you motivated and interested in your training all year round, helping you to avoid the dip in motivation that is common if your cycling becomes relentless or monotonous. With any sport, the key to long-term improvements is consistency, and that means staying well, staying injury free as much as possible, and staying motivated. Many riders lose motivation because there is a lack of variety in their training, and for some a lack of periodization altogether. Perio
dizing your training both on and off the bike, and embracing some cross-training for variety, can be critical in keeping a plan progressing for long enough to see real gains in performance, well-being and even mood.
Periodization is the term given to the systematic planning of training in phases, with the goal being to achieve optimal performance for your main events in a season. Understanding how to build in some effective cross-training depends on creating differentiated training phases as part of your programme. The concept of periodization together with planning will be explained further in Chapter 6.
The mood-enhancing and social benefits of cross-training should not be underestimated, and for some cyclists for whom riding is largely a solitary pursuit, getting involved in a group activity can provide a much needed tonic that keeps you refreshed when you come to ride your bike solo. If you are a competitive cyclist, getting involved in a sport or activity outside of your cycling peer group can also help take the pressure off and avoid the performance comparisons that are often prevalent and sometimes depressing and demoralizing. Simply having some fun, and gaining some physical fitness as an added bonus, is a great way to fill some downtime or provide a welcome distraction when your cycling is not going as well as you would like it to.
Equally, if you know you are someone who prefers to exercise alone, or needs some quiet time to recover from a busy or hectic lifestyle, choosing a solitary pursuit or a more relaxing activity can give you what you need to keep your training on track from a holistic mind-body perspective.
Choosing cross-training activities that give you what you need psychologically is just as important as choosing them based on your physical needs. Knowing what works best for you from a mental-emotional perspective will help you to stay motivated and empowered throughout the training process, even when your cycling performance is taking a dip or you are recovering from injury. In this chapter I will encourage you to choose complementary cross-training options that suit you as a whole person, not just as a cyclist.
Seasonal considerations for your cross-training
Even if you are a recreational cyclist and not at all competitive, your cycling training should have some seasonal structure to help you work in training cycles that allow your body to adapt and improve. The same changes that help you to adapt for optimal cycling performance will also help avoid overuse injuries and issues caused by ‘overtraining’ any one aspect of your fitness to the detriment of the others.
‘Variance’ is a training principle that states that change must be an inherent part of a training programme in order for you to progress. Variance should take place across your cycling training as well as throughout your cross-training activities. Ideally, the changes that you implement for your cycling training should dovetail with and complement your off-the-bike conditioning.
Any training plan that does not change throughout the season will be ineffective in the long run and the same can be said of your cross-training activities too, that they should vary throughout the year so that you continue to adapt and respond.
For the most part, cross-training activities become more important in your ‘off season’, when you are spending less time on the bike, or working on your basic aerobic fitness, rather than pushing towards optimal cycling performance. A well-balanced, periodized off-the-bike conditioning programme should complement your cycling performance, as well as improve your all-round fitness as a functional human being.
The cross-training activities introduced here should be added to the essential conditioning elements that form the bulk of this book. They should be an optional adjunct to the exercises described in detail in Chapters 2–4, which should still form the main thrust of your off-the-bike programme. While selected stretch, strength and core exercises are crucial, complementing your efforts and adding variety and interest with cross-training can help you in the ‘off season’ in particular.
Problems associated with lack of variety and the benefits of cross-training
Symptoms of lack of variety
•Lack of consistency from season to season
•Prolonged periods without training, particularly at the end of the season when motivation is low
•Boredom, apathy, depression and poor lifestyle habits (such as overeating) at certain times of the year
•Recurrent ‘overuse’-type injuries
Benefits of cross-training
•Consistency in training all year round, with a shift to include some cross-training in the ‘off-season’, or when necessary through injury or bad weather
•Good motivation and positive mood in relation to your exercise all year round
•Balanced lifestyle habits that support health as well as fitness
•Progression in performance both on and off the bike, year on year
Cross-training checklist
Good cross-training options for you should:
•Give you what you’re not getting from the bike
•Respect where you sit on the success formula spectrum
•Fit in with your periodized training plan
•Suit your personality and mental, emotional and social needs
•Support a healthy lifestyle, as well as your cycling fitness
•Be fun and motivating
The Essential Conditioning Cross-Training Options
Individual pursuits
Walking – making sure you put one foot in front of the other
Walking is the most fundamental of all movements, and as cyclists we sometimes have to remember to walk for health and well-being, instead of riding our bikes door to door from home to work, to school, to the pub or wherever. Ask most cyclists how much walking is in their day-to-day lives and it can be surprisingly little. If you’re not sure how much you are glued to your saddle, then get yourself a simple pedometer and see how your stats stack up on a daily basis.
In Chapter 1 I described the evolutionary significance of our upright gait, and for the reasons described there I wholeheartedly believe that actively including some walking in your weekly schedule is essential for cyclists. At the most basic level, allowing a little more time to walk as part of your commute to and from work, or as part of your weekly routine can help to keep your joints healthy. Most importantly, walking gives your core and bones some stimulus via the ground forces that come up through your feet and ten minutes of uninterrupted brisk walking four or five times a week can be enough to keep you human.
Basic daily walking is essential, but I would not consider this kind of walking as part of your cross-training plan. I have mentioned it here because I know that many cyclists don’t walk much at all. We complain when we stand on our feet for too long, and a shopping trip can become challenging for many of us in just a couple of hours. If this sounds rather too familiar to you, make an effort immediately to get more walking into your daily routine.
We all ought to know how to walk properly, but relearning to stand and walk with good posture is important if you want to maximize the benefits of the time you spend on your feet. Some of us need to remind our neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems of what upright posture should look and feel like. Poor posture off the bike can be a significant problem for cyclists, especially as they get older, and the ‘standing posture trainers’ in Chapter 4 on core training should give you some pointers that you can use to give your walking added value by thinking about your alignment as you move.
Because efficient walking depends on an opposing arm and leg swing, it’s worth ensuring that you’re not carrying any heavy or awkward bags if possible anytime you are walking for more than a few minutes at a time. Poor postural habits can develop if you’re carrying a bag on one shoulder, which will defeat the object of walking for improved posture.
Walking – as part of your cross-training
STAR RATINGS:
Flexibility: 1 Core stability: 2 Strength: 1 Cardiovascular fitness: 1–2
If you want to consider walking as part of your cross-training plan, then longer or more vigo
rous bouts of walking or hiking need to be part of your schedule. Walking briskly for 20 minutes or more, without carrying any bags, can help you focus on the rhythm of the movement. If you have a park or some off-road walking options nearby, walking on grass or woodland can add interest and variety of surface that can help stimulate your reflexes and keep you more alert in mind and body too. Hill repeats or step climbing can also be included where convenient to help increase the load through the muscles and joints and to increase the cardiovascular stimulus. If you find a steep hill locally that takes you between 30 seconds and a minute to stride up, then repeating that six to eight times can help strengthen the hips and leg muscles, as well as activating the core and benefitting the skeletal system.
For variety, or when the weather is too cold for cycling, longer hikes at the weekend can be an enjoyable way to get out in the fresh air. Be warned though, if you think you are fit because you are a cyclist, throwing a three, or four-hour hike (particularly if it’s mountainous) into your programme on a whim may lead to significant muscle soreness or even joint injury, particularly around the knees or in the lower legs. Cycling does not encourage your body to work in the way that exercising on two feet does. It’s important to approach these kinds of challenges by preparing
progressively, including brisk hill repeats, and stair climbing and descending in the few weeks leading up to any hiking adventures, to be sure you don’t encounter any problems.
Running
STAR RATINGS:
Flexibility: 1 Core stability: 3 Strength: 1–2 Cardiovascular fitness: 3
Running is the cross-training option that most often trips cyclists up. The reason for this is that we are under the illusion that the fitness we have on the bike will count for something when we go to run. While it’s true that both cycling and running stimulate the cardiovascular system and rely on endurance in the leg muscles, the musculoskeletal aspects of the two activities could not be more different. Cycling is very ‘low-impact’, negating ground forces altogether, allowing us to develop our aerobic fitness without developing any impact response to the joints or bones. Running is relatively high impact, with your body managing the deceleration forces involved every time your foot hits the ground, converting them into acceleration and momentum through the natural springlike mechanisms of the muscles, bones and fascia.