เคล็ดลับนักปั่น...อุ่นเครื่องเพื่อการแข่งขันแบบจับเวลา (Time Trial)...
โพสต์: 27 ก.พ. 2011, 12:23
Warming up for a Time Trial
What's the matter?
It’s your first competitive time trial. You roll around for 15 minutes to loosen up, then wait for the starter’s command: “Three, two, one, go!” You’re off and flying, propelled by competition and adrenaline; sights set on catching the rider who started one minute ahead. But a mile from the start those aggressive instincts are gone, replaced by the fatigue that makes cowards of us all. You’re completely blown up, panting, gasping, legs as dead as week-old road kill. What happened?
Unlike in centuries and some road races, you can't warm up in the first few miles of a time trial. You need to ride hard from the start because time lost in the first mile can’t be made up later. It's essential to get your body ready for violent and sustained action before you roll up to the start.
Here’s Help
Warm up on a trainer or rollers. A stationary warm up has many advantages. That’s why you’ll see Tour de France riders warming up on trainers before time trial stages. You are never away from your vehicle so if you find a mechanical problem it can be fixed immediately. You are much less likely to suffer a puncture because you're not warming up on debris-strewn roads. You can control the intensity of your warm up precisely. If it’s raining or the sun is beating down, you can stretch a tarp or awning from the side of the vehicle or ride under its tailgate.
Include intensity.
A proper warm up for time trials must include some brief periods of hard pedaling so your body’s systems are ready for the violent effort at the start. This hard riding should be short enough so you’re not exhausted before the race starts but long enough to get your physiological systems ready to go.
In general, the longer your average ride, the longer your TT warm up should be. Pros that race for 4-7 hours like to warm up for 2 hours or more, often riding the course in the morning and then doing an hour on a trainer before an early-afternoon start. For recreational riders, 30 minutes should be plenty. You don’t want to warm up so much that you feel tired for the race itself.
Here's a warm-up routine that should work well for recreational time trialists.Fine-tune it as you gain experience with races against the clock. I’m assuming you’ll warm up on a trainer wearing a heart monitor.
First 15 minutes: Begin by spinning. Start with a cadence of around 80 rpm and light resistance. Gradually increase gearing and cadence until you’re spinning at about 100 rpm and your heart rate has risen to around 85% of your maximum. If you don’t have a heart monitor, you should be breathing steadily and rhythmically and have broken a light sweat.
16-20 minutes: Choose a gear that you can handle at 90 rpm for 5 minutes. The goal is to reach 90% of max heart rate in the last minute of the effort, activating your aerobic systems. Don't go so hard that you compromise your freshness for the event.
21-26 minutes: Perform a series of 30-second hard efforts in a big gear alternated with 1:30 of easy spinning. These are “start simulations,” so begin each effort with a vigorous jump for 10 seconds. Then keep the intensity steady and hard for the remaining 20 seconds. Stay below the point where your legs burn or you aren’t ready for the next effort after a 1:30 spin.
27-30 minutes: Spin easily in a low gear, letting your breathing return to normal.
If you feel sluggish during the time trial, it may be better to shorten your warm up rather than lengthen it. Some riders get so psyched before competition that they don’t need much to be race-ready. Experiment.
Time your warm up accurately. When you register for the time trial, note your start time and set your watch so it’s the same as the official clock. Then time your warm up so it ends with about 5 minutes to go. After warming up, you only need enough time to take your bike off the trainer and roll to the line, arriving about 2 minutes before your time to start.
Hydrate as you warm up. Don’t get dehydrated during your warm up. It’s a good time to swig a bottle of sports drink so you arrive at the start both warmed up and with your hydration and carbohydrate tanks topped off. I use a small cooler that holds a bottle of sports drink, a bottle of recovery drink and a bottle of water. I consume sports drink as I warm up, the recovery drink right after the race and chase all that sweet stuff with water.
Adapted from Coach Fred's Solutions to 150 Road Cycling Challenges,RBR#468 issue
What's the matter?
It’s your first competitive time trial. You roll around for 15 minutes to loosen up, then wait for the starter’s command: “Three, two, one, go!” You’re off and flying, propelled by competition and adrenaline; sights set on catching the rider who started one minute ahead. But a mile from the start those aggressive instincts are gone, replaced by the fatigue that makes cowards of us all. You’re completely blown up, panting, gasping, legs as dead as week-old road kill. What happened?
Unlike in centuries and some road races, you can't warm up in the first few miles of a time trial. You need to ride hard from the start because time lost in the first mile can’t be made up later. It's essential to get your body ready for violent and sustained action before you roll up to the start.
Here’s Help
Warm up on a trainer or rollers. A stationary warm up has many advantages. That’s why you’ll see Tour de France riders warming up on trainers before time trial stages. You are never away from your vehicle so if you find a mechanical problem it can be fixed immediately. You are much less likely to suffer a puncture because you're not warming up on debris-strewn roads. You can control the intensity of your warm up precisely. If it’s raining or the sun is beating down, you can stretch a tarp or awning from the side of the vehicle or ride under its tailgate.
Include intensity.
A proper warm up for time trials must include some brief periods of hard pedaling so your body’s systems are ready for the violent effort at the start. This hard riding should be short enough so you’re not exhausted before the race starts but long enough to get your physiological systems ready to go.
In general, the longer your average ride, the longer your TT warm up should be. Pros that race for 4-7 hours like to warm up for 2 hours or more, often riding the course in the morning and then doing an hour on a trainer before an early-afternoon start. For recreational riders, 30 minutes should be plenty. You don’t want to warm up so much that you feel tired for the race itself.
Here's a warm-up routine that should work well for recreational time trialists.Fine-tune it as you gain experience with races against the clock. I’m assuming you’ll warm up on a trainer wearing a heart monitor.
First 15 minutes: Begin by spinning. Start with a cadence of around 80 rpm and light resistance. Gradually increase gearing and cadence until you’re spinning at about 100 rpm and your heart rate has risen to around 85% of your maximum. If you don’t have a heart monitor, you should be breathing steadily and rhythmically and have broken a light sweat.
16-20 minutes: Choose a gear that you can handle at 90 rpm for 5 minutes. The goal is to reach 90% of max heart rate in the last minute of the effort, activating your aerobic systems. Don't go so hard that you compromise your freshness for the event.
21-26 minutes: Perform a series of 30-second hard efforts in a big gear alternated with 1:30 of easy spinning. These are “start simulations,” so begin each effort with a vigorous jump for 10 seconds. Then keep the intensity steady and hard for the remaining 20 seconds. Stay below the point where your legs burn or you aren’t ready for the next effort after a 1:30 spin.
27-30 minutes: Spin easily in a low gear, letting your breathing return to normal.
If you feel sluggish during the time trial, it may be better to shorten your warm up rather than lengthen it. Some riders get so psyched before competition that they don’t need much to be race-ready. Experiment.
Time your warm up accurately. When you register for the time trial, note your start time and set your watch so it’s the same as the official clock. Then time your warm up so it ends with about 5 minutes to go. After warming up, you only need enough time to take your bike off the trainer and roll to the line, arriving about 2 minutes before your time to start.
Hydrate as you warm up. Don’t get dehydrated during your warm up. It’s a good time to swig a bottle of sports drink so you arrive at the start both warmed up and with your hydration and carbohydrate tanks topped off. I use a small cooler that holds a bottle of sports drink, a bottle of recovery drink and a bottle of water. I consume sports drink as I warm up, the recovery drink right after the race and chase all that sweet stuff with water.
Adapted from Coach Fred's Solutions to 150 Road Cycling Challenges,RBR#468 issue
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