Monday, December 20, 2010

Happy Dreary Monday

As we're going into week three of Iron Horse Training, we're also going into the holidays...yum yum! By the way it's pretty dreary outside eh? Good thing for us we're spinning inside; we can shed some calories and thumb our noses to the elements.
As we go into that third week of training, we'll be focusing on proper bike position and bike shoes, this includes concepts such as the Importance of proper position for comfort and strength (your ride will be 4 – 6 hours in the saddle), benefits of proper position to aid in breathing & raxation, the difference between road & mountain bike shoes, the benefits of cleated shoes, and how to work on feet problems. Don't forget, there are NO CLASSES ON DEC 24th – 25th, 2010...but you can still show up because there are no roadblocks in the extra mile.

Happy Holidays and Happy Training!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Christmas Week, tests and stress

Hi folks,

The testing week went very well and now we should all have our baselines for going forward. It's great to have a reference test and HR numbers so that you can train within yourself, push yourself, and recover knowing your own personal zones. For students in the Iron Horse Power Training class, we also have baseline wattage values with which we can keep ourselves honest with our power output- and in combination with the heart rate.

And while all the numbers are great tools for training and riding to our potential, remember that the reason we ride is to have fun! So, While I encourage everyone to become familiar with your numbers and use them to help you become a stronger rider, I also want everyone to keep fun at the forefront and have a good time in class and out on the road.

It's a week of big spiritual and family celebrations; even so, there may be a bit of increased stress for some of us. SO, get into class and blow it off!! A little Iron Horse Training does wonders for stress reduction. We have the standard class schedule this week, but nothing on the 24th or the weekend of the 25th. Same goes for the following week with nothing on the 31st or the 1st.

Thanks for being a part of Iron Horse Training, invite your friends and others to join us in training, because it isn't too late, and have a wonderful week!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Wonderful Week 2! Have you field tested yet?

Here we are in  the middle of week 2! This week we are focusing on pedal stroke, heart rate, and building the foundation that will get us to our destination. In classes, coaches will go over following points:
- Importance of a round pedal stroke.
- How can building a foundation help your cycling
- Why and how to use a heart rate monitor
- Adapting our training logs with morning heart rate and exercise heart rate. 
Target heart rates will be at 65% - 75% of max, or in the upper yellow zone.

MOST IMPORTANTLY:  we will be conducting field testing to find our optimum heart rates.We will do field testing at the Durango Rec Center on Saturday, December 18th at noon.
We will do field testing at The Hub Training Center on Saturday December 18th. 

Friday, December 3, 2010

Let The Good Times Roll...Or Spin

We're at the beginning of Iron Horse Training. With seven months to go-time, we are focusing on fundamentals. Our first priority is to set up our bikes to fit. Once set up, we will record our set up positions for reference. Along with the benefits of proper indoor bike set up, we'll also go over the  goals of the whole program/ commitment & motivation, how spinning helps prepare for Silverton, and much more.
See you in spin class!