Yes, that's right, time for some PG recalibration fun!
This was the plan:
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 6s PG+12 SS L,R:3
:18 8s PG-4 RS(80)
:21 8s PG RS (80)
:24 8s PG+4 RS (80)
:29 8s PG+6 RS(80)
:32 8s PG+8 RS(80)
:37 16s new PG SS
:42 30s HCLR r/up 10:110, 10:130, 10:max
Which I, in my infinite wisdom (zero is infinite, right?) converted to:
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 6s 53x15 (93") SS L,R:3
:16 8s 39x13 (79") RS(80)
:19 8s 53x17 (82") RS (80)
:22 8s 39x12 (85") RS (80)
:27 8s 53x16 (87") RS(80)
:32 8s 53x15 (93") RS(80)
:37 16s new PG SS
:42 30s HCLR r/up 10:110, 10:130, 10:max
So I was making an effort at PG+3", 5", and 11". Meh. What can you do about gears? It's all the trainer's fault, making my PG so high up the range. Anyway, I felt a bit lacklustre early on, and my 53x15 SSes only got up to 155/70km/hr, 3.6km/hr lower than my best of a couple of weeks ago! I accordingly suffered a bit of a shock when my PG+3" effort only got me up to 158 - I just couldn't get it any higher.
But I wasn't going to sit there and take that nonsense, no sir! So I whacked it in to 53x16, waited 5 minutes, and then blasted it up to 161 - success! The next effort was a bit of a jump, an extra 6" or so. I was trying to remember what I'd done before from an 80RPM start, but thought I might be in with a shot. 'Twasn't to be however, as I clocked in at 150/68.2 - which is actually a good 5RPM higher than I'd previously managed, so I can't be too disappointed with that. And, when one thinks about it, the smaller the new PG is, the easier the next couple of weeks are going to be! I'm already looking forward to 40s rampups in 53x16... not to mention now only having PG, PG+5.8, PG+12.4, PG+20 and PG+29 to go before I run out of cassette.
So for the 16s SS on 87", I treated it like a standing lap at DISC - though in all reality it's probably more like 19s. But anyway. I hit 149RPM and just held it around that level for the remainder of the interval - I could have gone higher, but I doubt I'd have lasted the 16s! HCLR rampup to finish, I didn't quite make it all the way to 30s - about 28s before my front wheel fell off the block and I almost fell off the bike - but not before managing a top of 191RPM! Maybe I should start wearing my helmet for spin sessions...
Brief stats here.
Edit 15/09/2011: I've just realised that I'm a numby. No, really. PG is the gear that you can't quite get to 160RPM in 8 seconds from 80RPM, isn't it? Not, in fact, the gear that you can get to 160RPM on. So my PG is now 53x15, 93", not 53x16, 87". Whoops. So I in fact have 93" PG, 99" PG+6, 107" PG+14, and 116" PG+23. Erm.
30 August 2011
28 August 2011
DISC Session #19 with ABOC
Enjoyable session tonight at DISC with the ABOC crew - another decent turnout of sprinters, into the double-figures I think.
More powerjumps on 99" to begin with - 6 of them in fact, 1 of those seated, and another 1/2 lap instead of a 1/4. Slightly higher max speeds for this week, up to 45km/hr on the 1/4s and 49 on the 1/2s, so happy with that. After a bit of residual stiffness following yesterdays weights session, it was reassuring to feel some snap in the legs!
We then did a motorcycle entry with a flying 150 to follow, which saw me break 60km/hr for the first time in a flying+distance, and not because of the draft - once the motorbike jumped I was nowhere near it, as it took a lower line in to the bend while I stayed up near the fence until near the finish line. It was probably a combination of this line and potentially a higher entry speed of 45km/hr at the jump which contributed to that. Not a dependable guide, but my Garmin records 9s for the 150m, which should indicate at least sub-13s for the 200 - will be interesting to see how that time has progressed by the time we get back in to Summer racing.
Finished off with some more skills work, this time with a form of hooking and diving practice - second rider on the wheel, going up the bank coming in to turn three, being held up there by the lead rider who then dives for the lane. In the final go around the sequence was reversed, with the following rider being the one to dive for the lane (and it's a long way down at DISC!) Fun stuff.
More powerjumps on 99" to begin with - 6 of them in fact, 1 of those seated, and another 1/2 lap instead of a 1/4. Slightly higher max speeds for this week, up to 45km/hr on the 1/4s and 49 on the 1/2s, so happy with that. After a bit of residual stiffness following yesterdays weights session, it was reassuring to feel some snap in the legs!
We then did a motorcycle entry with a flying 150 to follow, which saw me break 60km/hr for the first time in a flying+distance, and not because of the draft - once the motorbike jumped I was nowhere near it, as it took a lower line in to the bend while I stayed up near the fence until near the finish line. It was probably a combination of this line and potentially a higher entry speed of 45km/hr at the jump which contributed to that. Not a dependable guide, but my Garmin records 9s for the 150m, which should indicate at least sub-13s for the 200 - will be interesting to see how that time has progressed by the time we get back in to Summer racing.
Finished off with some more skills work, this time with a form of hooking and diving practice - second rider on the wheel, going up the bank coming in to turn three, being held up there by the lead rider who then dives for the lane. In the final go around the sequence was reversed, with the following rider being the one to dive for the lane (and it's a long way down at DISC!) Fun stuff.
27 August 2011
Whitesnake!
I'm not entirely sure why Whitesnake! require an exclamation point, it just feels right somehow.
Good solid morning in the gym today - 105kg squats felt good. Again, a couple of minor technical problems on a couple of reps, including losing tension in one side with my left knee sliding forward a little and a loss of balance. Still made the rep though - but by Blind Io, does the weight ever magnify such mistakes! There's no question I'm pushing the weight up, but as I commented at the end, the 15th rep doesn't feel harder than the first - I'm just more fatigued by then. So we'll keep pushing up by 5kgs a session until the bar starts slowing markedly.
Press was up next, and for this I did drop down to a 2.5kg jump. Interestingly at least 10 out of the 15 went up more easily than 50kg the last time - whether it's got more to do with the rest, or the small jump, is hard to determine. Still, it felt good to be able to push them up without as much struggle.
Deadlift time! I still love the deadlift, and even more so today - my first supra-bodyweight set! The warmup at 60kg I was probably rushing a bit - Carl noted that I was jerking the bar up off the floor, rather than squeezing. So at the work weight of 120kg, I added squeezing to my list of back straight, chest forward, big breath! It felt really heavy, and for the first time I could really solidly feel activation absolutely everywhere. No wonder it takes a good while to recover from at higher weights! Bar speed felt good, form was solid, grip was secure and the last rep was as difficult as the first. So you know what? I'm sticking with the 10kg progression for now. I suspect that this might be the last jump before I cut back to 5kg jumps - maybe squeeze one more out after that to 140kg, depending upon how it feels. Or perhaps just change to a hook grip.
We shall see. Track season looms ever closer - just 5 weeks now!
Good solid morning in the gym today - 105kg squats felt good. Again, a couple of minor technical problems on a couple of reps, including losing tension in one side with my left knee sliding forward a little and a loss of balance. Still made the rep though - but by Blind Io, does the weight ever magnify such mistakes! There's no question I'm pushing the weight up, but as I commented at the end, the 15th rep doesn't feel harder than the first - I'm just more fatigued by then. So we'll keep pushing up by 5kgs a session until the bar starts slowing markedly.
Press was up next, and for this I did drop down to a 2.5kg jump. Interestingly at least 10 out of the 15 went up more easily than 50kg the last time - whether it's got more to do with the rest, or the small jump, is hard to determine. Still, it felt good to be able to push them up without as much struggle.
Deadlift time! I still love the deadlift, and even more so today - my first supra-bodyweight set! The warmup at 60kg I was probably rushing a bit - Carl noted that I was jerking the bar up off the floor, rather than squeezing. So at the work weight of 120kg, I added squeezing to my list of back straight, chest forward, big breath! It felt really heavy, and for the first time I could really solidly feel activation absolutely everywhere. No wonder it takes a good while to recover from at higher weights! Bar speed felt good, form was solid, grip was secure and the last rep was as difficult as the first. So you know what? I'm sticking with the 10kg progression for now. I suspect that this might be the last jump before I cut back to 5kg jumps - maybe squeeze one more out after that to 140kg, depending upon how it feels. Or perhaps just change to a hook grip.
We shall see. Track season looms ever closer - just 5 weeks now!
23 August 2011
Rampups
I think there was a spin session in there somewhere, too. But all I remember is rampups.
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 7s 53x15 RS (20rpm):3
:17 25s 53x16 r/up 5:100, 10:120, 10:140+
:22 25s 53x15 SS
:28 30s 53x15 SS seated
:35 25s HCLR r/up 10:120, 5:140, 10:160+
:40 25s HCLR r/up 10:120, 5:140, 10:160+
Okay, the SSes weren't rampups, but they were killers just the same! I decided to go as all-out as possible rather than measuring my effort, and only managed 20s each time. Disappointing, but I've been feeling the lack of endurance this last few weeks so it might take me a week or two to get it back again!
Otherwise HCLRs were good, up to 190 at the start, and followed that up with 163/73.1 in the efforts from 20RPM. The next rampup was held above 140 for the last 10s, with a max of 145/61.7. The SS efforts, as advertised, didn't quite go the distance, showing a top of only 146/65.6 - so clearly I didn't go absolutely 6-second all-out! Ah well. HCLR ramups I did fine, sprinting the last 10s to get up to 181 to round out the session.
After 6 straight days of training, I'm looking forward to the rest tomorrow!
Brief stats here.
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 7s 53x15 RS (20rpm):3
:17 25s 53x16 r/up 5:100, 10:120, 10:140+
:22 25s 53x15 SS
:28 30s 53x15 SS seated
:35 25s HCLR r/up 10:120, 5:140, 10:160+
:40 25s HCLR r/up 10:120, 5:140, 10:160+
Okay, the SSes weren't rampups, but they were killers just the same! I decided to go as all-out as possible rather than measuring my effort, and only managed 20s each time. Disappointing, but I've been feeling the lack of endurance this last few weeks so it might take me a week or two to get it back again!
Otherwise HCLRs were good, up to 190 at the start, and followed that up with 163/73.1 in the efforts from 20RPM. The next rampup was held above 140 for the last 10s, with a max of 145/61.7. The SS efforts, as advertised, didn't quite go the distance, showing a top of only 146/65.6 - so clearly I didn't go absolutely 6-second all-out! Ah well. HCLR ramups I did fine, sprinting the last 10s to get up to 181 to round out the session.
After 6 straight days of training, I'm looking forward to the rest tomorrow!
Brief stats here.
22 August 2011
Mötley Crüe
Bit of a mixed day at the gym! First off, a minor milestone - 100kg squats, two big plates on either side of the bar. Nice! Again I was focussing on slow/controlled on the way down, and powering up - bar speed on the way up probably wasn't much faster than on the way down, but it's a focus thing, really. Almost all of the reps felt quite good, with perhaps one that was a little shallow - about parallel, rather than below. It'll be good to get back in to the powerhaus this weekend to get some expert observation!
Then, craptacular time - bench press. I'd been tossing up whether to try at all, or to go up 2.5kg, or 5kg, or just what to do. In the end, I went up 5kg (because they don't have 1.25kg plates) to 75kg and failed miserably. I didn't even attempt a third set! I defeated myself mentally, it is true, and was worried about attempting the weight without a spotter. But it really feels like I'm not doing them properly - my pecs don't feel engaged at all. Even after failing in both the first and second set, I felt nothing at all in my pecs - just my arms. Surely I can't not be using them at all, but perhaps I'm not using them enough. It's a bizarre feeling, or lack thereof.
Powercleans to finish off with, and overall they felt good at 60kg though my jump was a little lacklustre - probably why I felt that I pulled a little on a few reps.
Then, craptacular time - bench press. I'd been tossing up whether to try at all, or to go up 2.5kg, or 5kg, or just what to do. In the end, I went up 5kg (because they don't have 1.25kg plates) to 75kg and failed miserably. I didn't even attempt a third set! I defeated myself mentally, it is true, and was worried about attempting the weight without a spotter. But it really feels like I'm not doing them properly - my pecs don't feel engaged at all. Even after failing in both the first and second set, I felt nothing at all in my pecs - just my arms. Surely I can't not be using them at all, but perhaps I'm not using them enough. It's a bizarre feeling, or lack thereof.
Powercleans to finish off with, and overall they felt good at 60kg though my jump was a little lacklustre - probably why I felt that I pulled a little on a few reps.
21 August 2011
DISC Session #18 with ABOC
Fun night tonight at DISC - overgeared powerjumps, overgeared MACs, and some duckin' and divin'!
Well, over-geared-ish. I only go up to 99", which is perhaps a little overgeared for racing at DISC, but not by much these days, as I get stronger. I really needed something more like 107" to make it a real strength effort! Anyway, no dramas this week, everything stayed nice and solid for a change.
Powerjumps felt fairly good, possibly held back a little in the first one for fear of something going wrong, but not too much. The MACs were fun as always, though again I felt like I didn't push quite as hard as I might have done. Managed a top of 61.7/132 on 99" though, which is okay. Need to go faster!
We finished with a bit of ducking and diving as a skills drill, no sprinting, which was a more relaxed way of finishing off. The first set around I was a bit wobbly for some reason, not holding a good line while leading and having trouble keeping my eyes back. The second set was better - and faster, which probably helped. I don't think I'm quite up to A-grade level just yet, but perhaps by the end of the season, with continued training (and racing!) combined with losing more weight, I just might be competitive! It's something to aim for, anyway...
Well, over-geared-ish. I only go up to 99", which is perhaps a little overgeared for racing at DISC, but not by much these days, as I get stronger. I really needed something more like 107" to make it a real strength effort! Anyway, no dramas this week, everything stayed nice and solid for a change.
Powerjumps felt fairly good, possibly held back a little in the first one for fear of something going wrong, but not too much. The MACs were fun as always, though again I felt like I didn't push quite as hard as I might have done. Managed a top of 61.7/132 on 99" though, which is okay. Need to go faster!
We finished with a bit of ducking and diving as a skills drill, no sprinting, which was a more relaxed way of finishing off. The first set around I was a bit wobbly for some reason, not holding a good line while leading and having trouble keeping my eyes back. The second set was better - and faster, which probably helped. I don't think I'm quite up to A-grade level just yet, but perhaps by the end of the season, with continued training (and racing!) combined with losing more weight, I just might be competitive! It's something to aim for, anyway...
20 August 2011
Racing? What's that?
Tonight was my first race since the last round of the Summer Sprint Series, so I was just looking forward to remembering how to race (or, continuing to learn!) after a few months of just training. There were only two races - a 275m dash from a held start and a keirin - the dash had two heats, the keirin just a single heat/final.
Results-wise I did okay, but nothing special - 2nd in my dash heat, 3rd in the keirin, 3rd in the dash final, each time a bike-length or two back. I had a top speed of 56.5 in the dashes and 57.8 in the keirin, all on 92". I made a couple of minor mistakes - didn't grab a wheel aggressively when I should have, didn't leave a gap I should have, that sort of thing. I didn't do anything stupid though, and it woke some memories of the differences between training and racing!
Results-wise I did okay, but nothing special - 2nd in my dash heat, 3rd in the keirin, 3rd in the dash final, each time a bike-length or two back. I had a top speed of 56.5 in the dashes and 57.8 in the keirin, all on 92". I made a couple of minor mistakes - didn't grab a wheel aggressively when I should have, didn't leave a gap I should have, that sort of thing. I didn't do anything stupid though, and it woke some memories of the differences between training and racing!
19 August 2011
Oh that's right...
...I'm a cyclist, not a weightlifter! I'd almost forgotten - it's managed to be 10 days since I've done anything (serious) on the bike! Today was a truncated spin session - enough to get some training in, get the legs moving, without exhausting me given that it's a busy week! So this was the program, modified from this:
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 7s 53x14 RS (20rpm):3
:16 2 x 7s 53x15 RS (80rpm):3
:22 2 x 6s 53x14 SS:3
:28 1 x 25s HCLR r/up 10:120, 5:140, 10: 160+
HCLRs topped out at 189, so nice numbers - that seems to be an upper limit for me at this stage of training. The 53x14 RSs don't have a direct comparison, but I'm happy with those numbers - 146/70.3 consistent across both feels good. The 53x15 RSes were again comparable, with a top of 147/66.4. Seems a bit disappointing again, but it's hard to say. The final SSes showed good improvement with 152/73.3 - just below my best of a couple of weeks ago in 53x15 of 165/73.6. Rounded out with a HCLR rampup with a top of 185, and staying at 180+ for the whole of the final 10 seconds.
Brief stats here.
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 7s 53x14 RS (20rpm):3
:16 2 x 7s 53x15 RS (80rpm):3
:22 2 x 6s 53x14 SS:3
:28 1 x 25s HCLR r/up 10:120, 5:140, 10: 160+
HCLRs topped out at 189, so nice numbers - that seems to be an upper limit for me at this stage of training. The 53x14 RSs don't have a direct comparison, but I'm happy with those numbers - 146/70.3 consistent across both feels good. The 53x15 RSes were again comparable, with a top of 147/66.4. Seems a bit disappointing again, but it's hard to say. The final SSes showed good improvement with 152/73.3 - just below my best of a couple of weeks ago in 53x15 of 165/73.6. Rounded out with a HCLR rampup with a top of 185, and staying at 180+ for the whole of the final 10 seconds.
Brief stats here.
18 August 2011
Def Leppard
Ooooo, that felt better! Nice to be back under a heavy barbell today. I freely admit that I was a little uncertain about my ability to get through today's sets heading in to the gym - was my weakness last Saturday really just a matter of a lack of focus and energy, or was I fooling myself?
Warming up I did feel a little creaky, as is usually the case, and while my final warmup set at 80kg felt solid, I was still slightly reticent to get back under the bar for my first squat workset at 95kg. I pushed that out though and reminded myself of the main focus for the day - control the weight on the way down, and power back up. And keep a straight back. And balance. And so on.
And in the end, I did do all of those things, and felt much stronger and more comfortable for it. I wasn't exactly throwing the weight up in the air, of course, but I never felt close to not being able to push it back up.
The press went up to 50kg today, and that was a big effort. I think I'll have to go to 2.5kg jumps from here, as though I got all 3 sets up, each rep of every set was very hard!
Then it was deadlift time. Deadlift, I still love you. 110kg today and boy did it feel good! I really need to get some chalk though...
Warming up I did feel a little creaky, as is usually the case, and while my final warmup set at 80kg felt solid, I was still slightly reticent to get back under the bar for my first squat workset at 95kg. I pushed that out though and reminded myself of the main focus for the day - control the weight on the way down, and power back up. And keep a straight back. And balance. And so on.
And in the end, I did do all of those things, and felt much stronger and more comfortable for it. I wasn't exactly throwing the weight up in the air, of course, but I never felt close to not being able to push it back up.
The press went up to 50kg today, and that was a big effort. I think I'll have to go to 2.5kg jumps from here, as though I got all 3 sets up, each rep of every set was very hard!
Then it was deadlift time. Deadlift, I still love you. 110kg today and boy did it feel good! I really need to get some chalk though...
15 August 2011
Ladybirds
No DISC last night unfortunately! Daughter's birthday party was planned for 10:30, and these things only last a couple of hours, right?
Well, make that 4.5 hours. And staying up until midnight(ish!) and then getting up at 6am in order to make the cake. But it looked damn pretty. Am I right, or am I right?
Well, make that 4.5 hours. And staying up until midnight(ish!) and then getting up at 6am in order to make the cake. But it looked damn pretty. Am I right, or am I right?
13 August 2011
Twisted Sister
Well today didn't go quite as well as has been the case up until now! I tried to focus, but it just wasn't there... sleep hasn't been so good the last couple of nights, so recovery probably hasn't been optimal. And had no carbs whatsoever beforehand, which was probably a mistake.
All that said, other than a failure in my second bench set - caused by lack of focus, not strength - I got through the session. My squat form at 90kg was mostly okay, except for one or two dodgy reps, including one where I stumbled backwards. Bench at 70kg was tough, though I wasn't even remotely sore or fatigued in any of the relevant muscles, so I think that's likely a more systemic thing by that point, related to general fatigue and incorrect nutrition. Powercleans the form felt mostly good, though I still need to work on getting the racking technique down pat - pointy bones and heavy metal don't mix very well! 55kgs was still flying up above my head on the jump though, so I take that as success! Finished with 5 chinups - still jumping, but feeling much stronger. Maybe some time in the next month or two I'll actually be able to do them properly!
All that said, other than a failure in my second bench set - caused by lack of focus, not strength - I got through the session. My squat form at 90kg was mostly okay, except for one or two dodgy reps, including one where I stumbled backwards. Bench at 70kg was tough, though I wasn't even remotely sore or fatigued in any of the relevant muscles, so I think that's likely a more systemic thing by that point, related to general fatigue and incorrect nutrition. Powercleans the form felt mostly good, though I still need to work on getting the racking technique down pat - pointy bones and heavy metal don't mix very well! 55kgs was still flying up above my head on the jump though, so I take that as success! Finished with 5 chinups - still jumping, but feeling much stronger. Maybe some time in the next month or two I'll actually be able to do them properly!
11 August 2011
David Lee Roth
First weights session at 5 Star Gym in Thomastown today. Not a bad setup, though fairly cramped and nothing like a platform or bumper plates. They've got one power cage though (in addition to any number of machine variants) and noone one else looked even remotely interested in it for the 90 minutes that I was there!
I repeated the program from last Saturday so as to have Carl critique my powerclean form in the powerhaus on Saturday coming, which meant that I was doing presses and deadlifts again.
Squats felt good, much better balance than last Saturday and it felt like my form generally was pretty good. Up to 85kg now, and should be fine going up to 90kg on Saturday. It'll be the first time I've backed up in only two days, so it'll be interesting to see what difference, if any, that makes! Concentrating on refuelling well for now.
The press went up to 45kg and again went up fine, though I feel like I might soon have to slow down to 2.5kg jumps - next week at 50kg should be okay, but I'll keep a close eye on it.
Then it was deadlift time! The deadlift is fun - it's so heavy, so simple in concept yet somewhat complex in execution, and kinda primal. What's not to love? Another 10kg jump up to 100kg for this one, and I made a point of trying to make sure I had good form - flat back and so on. I think I managed, but having an external observer is still useful! They had no chalk, and I took none of my own, which made a noticeable difference. I didn't feel any slipping, but my fingers didn't feel quite as secure as they usually do. Still, the weight came up okay - it was a definite squeeze, but bar speed was fine, no slowing at any point at all. So I'll keep pushing the weight up there until I can't, and see what fails first! Only a couple of weeks now to my first goal - a bodyweight lift!
I repeated the program from last Saturday so as to have Carl critique my powerclean form in the powerhaus on Saturday coming, which meant that I was doing presses and deadlifts again.
Squats felt good, much better balance than last Saturday and it felt like my form generally was pretty good. Up to 85kg now, and should be fine going up to 90kg on Saturday. It'll be the first time I've backed up in only two days, so it'll be interesting to see what difference, if any, that makes! Concentrating on refuelling well for now.
The press went up to 45kg and again went up fine, though I feel like I might soon have to slow down to 2.5kg jumps - next week at 50kg should be okay, but I'll keep a close eye on it.
Then it was deadlift time! The deadlift is fun - it's so heavy, so simple in concept yet somewhat complex in execution, and kinda primal. What's not to love? Another 10kg jump up to 100kg for this one, and I made a point of trying to make sure I had good form - flat back and so on. I think I managed, but having an external observer is still useful! They had no chalk, and I took none of my own, which made a noticeable difference. I didn't feel any slipping, but my fingers didn't feel quite as secure as they usually do. Still, the weight came up okay - it was a definite squeeze, but bar speed was fine, no slowing at any point at all. So I'll keep pushing the weight up there until I can't, and see what fails first! Only a couple of weeks now to my first goal - a bodyweight lift!
09 August 2011
Is rampup, is evil!
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 7s PG+12 SS L,R:3
:16 2 x 8s PG+8 RS (80, seated):3
:22 2 x 7s PG+8 SS (L,R, seated):3
:28 2 x 8s PG RS (90, seated):3
:34 2 x 7s PG+12 SS L,R:3
:40 30s PG-4 RS r/up 10:110, 10:130, 10:max
Such was the plan, anyway. However, as presaged last week, I decided to make up my own training plan (because I'm a super-advanced bike-God, that's why!) and went with PG+17.6 and PG+11 rather than PG+11 and PG+5.2, or PG+11 and PG+11 as I did last week. Did I pay for it? You bet!
HCLRs were good, up to 189 this time, and then it was straight down in to the business of strength work. Standing starts on 53x14 gave results of 145/69.3, which is pretty good - lower revs, but comparable speed. The +11 RSes were a bit low, only getting up to 146/65.2. The +11 SSes, same as last week, were also a little lower with a peak of 70.6, perhaps from fatigue already. The PGRSes, from 90 rather than 80, only got up to 64.4, lower than the +11RSes! The final +17.6 SSes however gave similar numbers to the start of the session, with a top of 143/68.7.
As for the evil, evil rampup? Well, it was evil. I was absolutely tanked by this time, and couldn't even make it up to 130RPM; hell, even getting up to 80ish RPM to begin the effort was nearly too much for me! A top of 124/47.3 is so bad it's only worth mentioning to point out how bad it is.
So, perhaps we could say that in overreaching myself, I overreached myself, and should have stuck with the +11/+11 setup of last week. On the other hand, I'm still alive and able to walk without significant assistance.
Thursday? Weights for me. Thank Druw I don't have to lift them at 145RPM...
:10 2 x 7s PG+12 SS L,R:3
:16 2 x 8s PG+8 RS (80, seated):3
:22 2 x 7s PG+8 SS (L,R, seated):3
:28 2 x 8s PG RS (90, seated):3
:34 2 x 7s PG+12 SS L,R:3
:40 30s PG-4 RS r/up 10:110, 10:130, 10:max
Such was the plan, anyway. However, as presaged last week, I decided to make up my own training plan (because I'm a super-advanced bike-God, that's why!) and went with PG+17.6 and PG+11 rather than PG+11 and PG+5.2, or PG+11 and PG+11 as I did last week. Did I pay for it? You bet!
HCLRs were good, up to 189 this time, and then it was straight down in to the business of strength work. Standing starts on 53x14 gave results of 145/69.3, which is pretty good - lower revs, but comparable speed. The +11 RSes were a bit low, only getting up to 146/65.2. The +11 SSes, same as last week, were also a little lower with a peak of 70.6, perhaps from fatigue already. The PGRSes, from 90 rather than 80, only got up to 64.4, lower than the +11RSes! The final +17.6 SSes however gave similar numbers to the start of the session, with a top of 143/68.7.
As for the evil, evil rampup? Well, it was evil. I was absolutely tanked by this time, and couldn't even make it up to 130RPM; hell, even getting up to 80ish RPM to begin the effort was nearly too much for me! A top of 124/47.3 is so bad it's only worth mentioning to point out how bad it is.
So, perhaps we could say that in overreaching myself, I overreached myself, and should have stuck with the +11/+11 setup of last week. On the other hand, I'm still alive and able to walk without significant assistance.
Thursday? Weights for me. Thank Druw I don't have to lift them at 145RPM...
07 August 2011
DISC Session #16 with ABOC
"make sure that my bike is absolutely tip-top hunky-dory super-duper ridgey-didge before tomorrow's DISC session"
Ahahahahaha. Hahahaha. Hahaha. Haha. Ha.
But wait, let's start at the beginning, shall we? First up, powerjumps on 99" - three out of the saddle (including one warmup) and one in the saddle. Two 41km/hrs and one 44km/hr (91RPM) not bad from ~10-15km/hr. Seated was harder, of course, and didn't quite get on top of the gear by the 1/4 lap, finishing at 38/82.
Next drill was powerjumps from behind the motorbike on 92", jumping out of the draft at about 35km/hr and going for a half lap. Well, I made it about 50 metres (depends how much of the slide you count, really!) before ending up on the infield on my arse. Not entirely sure what happened yet, except that something seemed to slip in my drivetrain somewhere - the cog is the chief suspect here. Up until now I've always saved such a situation, but not this time - down I went. Nothing too bad - little bit of grazing, small hole in the knicks, but nothing worse than that. I've managed to find a video of the incident:
Well, it was something like that. Except for the staying upright bit and the lack of being run into by someone else. And the... everything, really!
Anyway, I checked the bike out and nothing seemed to be wrong - wheel was still centred (slightly out of true, but not much) and the cog was on tight. So I put stuff back together again, tightened everything, and went back out for some ducking and diving!
This time we did one lap over, one lap under, one lap ducking and diving and then on the final lap, at some point the rear rider jumped and raced to the line. I took the lead for the first one, and was quite happy with the way I managed to ride while looking backwards - I didn't look forwards at all for the entire time, and while I won't claim I maintained a dead-straight line, I was fairly smooth at least. In both efforts I lifted my front wheel slightly off the ground a couple of times in the sprint, possibly because of the smaller gear (back to 86" I think it was) but only very slightly.
We finished with a 500m windout behind the motorbike, with a last 100m sprint. Nothing too exciting to report there, only hit a top of 58.9/144 on 86". Always a nice way to finish the evening though.
Brief stats here.
Ahahahahaha. Hahahaha. Hahaha. Haha. Ha.
But wait, let's start at the beginning, shall we? First up, powerjumps on 99" - three out of the saddle (including one warmup) and one in the saddle. Two 41km/hrs and one 44km/hr (91RPM) not bad from ~10-15km/hr. Seated was harder, of course, and didn't quite get on top of the gear by the 1/4 lap, finishing at 38/82.
Next drill was powerjumps from behind the motorbike on 92", jumping out of the draft at about 35km/hr and going for a half lap. Well, I made it about 50 metres (depends how much of the slide you count, really!) before ending up on the infield on my arse. Not entirely sure what happened yet, except that something seemed to slip in my drivetrain somewhere - the cog is the chief suspect here. Up until now I've always saved such a situation, but not this time - down I went. Nothing too bad - little bit of grazing, small hole in the knicks, but nothing worse than that. I've managed to find a video of the incident:
Well, it was something like that. Except for the staying upright bit and the lack of being run into by someone else. And the... everything, really!
Anyway, I checked the bike out and nothing seemed to be wrong - wheel was still centred (slightly out of true, but not much) and the cog was on tight. So I put stuff back together again, tightened everything, and went back out for some ducking and diving!
This time we did one lap over, one lap under, one lap ducking and diving and then on the final lap, at some point the rear rider jumped and raced to the line. I took the lead for the first one, and was quite happy with the way I managed to ride while looking backwards - I didn't look forwards at all for the entire time, and while I won't claim I maintained a dead-straight line, I was fairly smooth at least. In both efforts I lifted my front wheel slightly off the ground a couple of times in the sprint, possibly because of the smaller gear (back to 86" I think it was) but only very slightly.
We finished with a 500m windout behind the motorbike, with a last 100m sprint. Nothing too exciting to report there, only hit a top of 58.9/144 on 86". Always a nice way to finish the evening though.
Brief stats here.
06 August 2011
Van Halen
Oh hair metal, what's not to love?
Good session this morning - started off feeling fairly unstable in the squats for some reason though. Twice I had to take a step backwards on the way up, once in my first work set! Carl thought I was drunk, but it was far too early for that. That aside though, squats at 80kg felt okay, and the last work set was almost the easiest of the lot! Which is nice to experience - it's feeling heavy, but entirely attainable, which is an important transition to make from previous weeks where it's not really felt terribly heavy and been easy. I have to work now, but it's work that's fun.
Otherwise, press went up to 40kg without any hassles - again, heavy but not a problem. Deadlift went up to 90kg and felt okay, though Carl felt that my back was too rounded, so that's something to work on there. I'm going to go investigate a gym to go to on Thursdays to replace the second spin session, so as to get more out of this strength-gaining period in the gym before racing starts back. And for the moment, make sure that my bike is absolutely tip-top hunky-dory super-duper ridgey-didge before tomorrow's DISC session!
Good session this morning - started off feeling fairly unstable in the squats for some reason though. Twice I had to take a step backwards on the way up, once in my first work set! Carl thought I was drunk, but it was far too early for that. That aside though, squats at 80kg felt okay, and the last work set was almost the easiest of the lot! Which is nice to experience - it's feeling heavy, but entirely attainable, which is an important transition to make from previous weeks where it's not really felt terribly heavy and been easy. I have to work now, but it's work that's fun.
Otherwise, press went up to 40kg without any hassles - again, heavy but not a problem. Deadlift went up to 90kg and felt okay, though Carl felt that my back was too rounded, so that's something to work on there. I'm going to go investigate a gym to go to on Thursdays to replace the second spin session, so as to get more out of this strength-gaining period in the gym before racing starts back. And for the moment, make sure that my bike is absolutely tip-top hunky-dory super-duper ridgey-didge before tomorrow's DISC session!
04 August 2011
Stimp stimp stimp
Perhaps one day I'll get a bit more creative with my titles. Anyway, today was a repeat of Tuesday, and the results were a bit of a repeat too!
I didn't quite match the high of Tuesday in the SSes, but was more consistent, varying from 155/69.6 - 163/72.6, getting faster each time. The intervening RSes were also about 1km/hr slower, but the PGRSs were higher, both the seated variants giving a return of 69.3km/hr. Then to finish, the HCLR rampup was about identical!
Not much to be excited about, perhaps, but given that Thursday numbers tend to be a little down, I was happy with the result; perhaps the greater emphasis on strength, with only one longer effort (and only 20s at that) made recovery a bit easier.
Brief stats here.
I didn't quite match the high of Tuesday in the SSes, but was more consistent, varying from 155/69.6 - 163/72.6, getting faster each time. The intervening RSes were also about 1km/hr slower, but the PGRSs were higher, both the seated variants giving a return of 69.3km/hr. Then to finish, the HCLR rampup was about identical!
Not much to be excited about, perhaps, but given that Thursday numbers tend to be a little down, I was happy with the result; perhaps the greater emphasis on strength, with only one longer effort (and only 20s at that) made recovery a bit easier.
Brief stats here.
02 August 2011
Stomp stomp stomp stomp
:05 2 x 6s HCLR:1
:10 2 x 7s PG+12" SS:3
:16 2 x 8s PG+8" RS (40, seated):3
:22 2 x 7s PG+8" SS:3
:28 2 x 6s PG RS (80):3
:34 2 x 7s PG RS (80,seated):3
:40 1 x 20s HCLR r/up 5: 120, 5:140, 10: 160+
Well that was a fun session! I do like my strength work - even if I can't do it as well at home as at BBN. One caveat to the above - I did all PG+11, not PG+12/8. Why? Well, I have PG, PG+3.5, PG+5.2 and PG+11. And then PG+17.6. Though now that I sit down and think about it, why do -1 and +3 when you could be doing +5.6 and +3? What doesn't make you vomit makes you stronger...
Anyway, happy with the effort tonight, and the numbers hold up well too - the first SS was a bit low, at only 144/63.6, but the rest were higher - because I sat down earlier, at around 115-120RPM or so. I managed 159/71.2, which I was happy with, but I was determined to go higher - and I did, with 165/73.6! Always nice to challenge yourself successfully. Still need to translate that to the track more effectively though... the PGRSs were good, up to a high of 68.1 - cadence numbers are a bit dodgy, but the calculated figure for that speed and gear is up around 170, so we'll go with that!
After that a nice easy mad-all-out-sprint with no resistance for mid-180s, just as I'd recorded at the start of the evening. I'm tempted to try my luck in 39x23 on Thursday rather than 39x25, because I seem to go slightly faster with slightly higher resistance - it's a hypothesis to test, at any rate!
Brief stats here.
:10 2 x 7s PG+12" SS:3
:16 2 x 8s PG+8" RS (40, seated):3
:22 2 x 7s PG+8" SS:3
:28 2 x 6s PG RS (80):3
:34 2 x 7s PG RS (80,seated):3
:40 1 x 20s HCLR r/up 5: 120, 5:140, 10: 160+
Well that was a fun session! I do like my strength work - even if I can't do it as well at home as at BBN. One caveat to the above - I did all PG+11, not PG+12/8. Why? Well, I have PG, PG+3.5, PG+5.2 and PG+11. And then PG+17.6. Though now that I sit down and think about it, why do -1 and +3 when you could be doing +5.6 and +3? What doesn't make you vomit makes you stronger...
Anyway, happy with the effort tonight, and the numbers hold up well too - the first SS was a bit low, at only 144/63.6, but the rest were higher - because I sat down earlier, at around 115-120RPM or so. I managed 159/71.2, which I was happy with, but I was determined to go higher - and I did, with 165/73.6! Always nice to challenge yourself successfully. Still need to translate that to the track more effectively though... the PGRSs were good, up to a high of 68.1 - cadence numbers are a bit dodgy, but the calculated figure for that speed and gear is up around 170, so we'll go with that!
After that a nice easy mad-all-out-sprint with no resistance for mid-180s, just as I'd recorded at the start of the evening. I'm tempted to try my luck in 39x23 on Thursday rather than 39x25, because I seem to go slightly faster with slightly higher resistance - it's a hypothesis to test, at any rate!
Brief stats here.
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