by CycleOps Power Master Trainer, Charles "Joey" Adams

The “off-season” is almost behind us and the “in-season” is just on the horizon. Chances are you spent a fair amount of time honing your aerobic base, and you spent some time in the gym lifting some weights. While you were lifting weights, you likely saw increases in the amount you were able to lift and the reps you were able to pump out. You did this by (hopefully) manipulating the F.I.T.T. rule of training. F is for frequency, I is for Intensity, and T is for the amount of training time, and the last T is for Type of training.

You can now use this knowledge of the F.I.T.T. principle and apply it to mountain biking. Sure, you could do it the old way of going out and hammering a few days a week. That would take care of all the variables at once – and quickly get you the same old results. This may or may not be to your liking, or worse may or may not help you realize your full potential. We all have a limited amount of time, and we all want the most from our training time. The key in creating your training plan is to generally manipulate one variable at a time to create optimal stress. Manipulate too many, too little, or too much at once, and the system rebels or stagnates. You get less out of more! Ouch!

Just like lifting a weight, a watt in mountain biking represents the weight. A watt is the I for Intensity. Heart rate training is not; it is a response to a stimulus (or many stimuli – stress, rest, environment, nutrition, fitness, etc.) Yet, a watt is a watt. A watt is the load of riding your bike (and then riding it faster, longer!). The key is knowing EXACTLY what load is needed and then training slightly above (the Overload principle of training to create adaptation) that load for specified dosages. So, just like lifting a weight, you put just the right amount on to adapt to lifting a little bit more. If you put too much on, or too little on, training isn’t maximized. Time and energy is lost – training is not maximized.

The good news is you finally have access to optimized training on your mountain bike with the PowerTap SL 2.4 Disc Brake Hub to create the optimal training load. You now know just where your boundaries are, and then how to expand your boundaries. The use of a PowerTap in mountain biking will change the face of mountain biking as quickly as it did road racing. All information from races to rides are just a click away and easy to interpret using Power Agent 7.2 software. You can download this software and find out more about training and racing with power by visiting www.cycleops.com.

Imagine being able to go out and determine energy required for that that hill, race course, or buddy ride. Then, being able to specifically train that demand with the optimal load. In some cases you don’t even have to go repeat that hill (short of the technical demands of staying upright…training wheels could help there). Using your PowerTap SL 2.4 Disc Brake Hub you can now “lift” that hill for the number of reps to create optimal adaptation. With the dialed-in training you will be able to finally unlock your full potential. That is what target training is all about - using the science of cycling that is now at your disposal as a mountain biker!

F.I.T.T.er you, or same old you? – it is your ride; it is your time; it is your results. Make them count!

Try this “hour” of power to replicate a rolling course (indoors or out):

Train Smart, Train with Science, Get Fast,

Joey Adams, M.S.
CycleOps Master Training Specialist
Owner of Intelligent Fitness @ intelligentfitness@comcast.net
Copyright shared with permission to Intelligent Fitness customers