For the newbie on a bike looking to improve or even compete, the best way to get better at the start, is to ride the bike. And then ride the bike some more. If you are into trying out racing, sign up for some races as they too are a great way to push your limits and build on what you have. A little healthy competition is sometimes the best medicine to keep you motivated.
As people get more into biking, a lot forget the basics when it comes to training. Cyclists tend to think that more and harder is better, and maybe that is true to some degree, but you need to be careful. Let's get into the topic for today, and that is Base Endurance, or what I like to call the Magic Zone!
For most cyclists, most of their time should be spent in this zone, as in 80% of the time during training. Base Endurance is meant to increase your aerobic endurance and should be done as a moderate level of exercise. Don't worry if you go under or over the recommendations on a downhill or uphill, just make sure to vary the intensity up within your range, don't stay at the bottom, middle, or top end of the range all the time. It's also a good idea to keep your cadence between 82 and 98 RPM. People with a running background tend to have a slower cadence, but can train their way into hitting this sweet spot.
What do you gain from training in the magic zone? You build up your aerobic endurance, or as I like to call it your aerobic engine. You build up the mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cell. During your low to moderate exercise, the mitochondria break down primarily fat and carbohydrates to keep you going during these what I like to call magic zone training rides. When you ride at this intensity, the mitochondria use oxygen and the fuel sources listed above to make the energy to keep you exercising. The more time you spend in the magic zone, the more mitochondria you build, the bigger your mitochondria get, the more oxygen your body is trained to use, the better you become at making energy. It is a very magic zone that trains the mitochondria in your muscle cells to get bigger and become more efficient at making energy for you to use during exercise! It's good to note that type I muscle fibers contain the most mitochondria out of the three muscle fibers, type IIa and IIb have far less mitochondria and are used more as you increase the intensity of exercise. Now that we have that out of the way, I should also mention that type I muscle fibers also help clear lactate as it builds up in the muscles via the MCT-1 transporters. As you ride in zone 2, your body becomes better at clearing the lactate which is clearly something very important in endurance athletics. Zone 2 also teaches the body to utilize fat as the source for energy production while trying to preserve glycogen. This is important, as it is nice to have that glycogen store for use when needed at the end of the race for that all out winning sprint!
Other benefits of training in zone 2/base endurance/magic zone are as follows; lower resting heart rate, increase your ability to exercise longer, decrease blood pressure, improve insulin resistance, improve your ability to handle harder training efforts, increase your plasma blood volume, increase the capillary density in your muscles, heart stroke volume and cardiac output will increase, and you may get a little increase in your lactic threshold.
Don’t forget about scheduling in recovery, more exercise is not always better. Make sure you take rest days every week, and if you are feeling like you are tired a lot, grumpy, moody, or your resting heart rate is high or exercise heart rate is low, it is definitely time for more rest.
A sample week of training to improve your health would be 3-4 hours on Saturday, 2 hours on Sunday, with two rides during the week 45-90 minutes that contain some level of intervals, but the rest of the time is in zone 2.
If you have no clue on how to find your zone 2, you need to perform some kind of an FTP test to figure out where you are, and then apply those results into the zone 2/endurance zone ranges to get your zone 2 numbers. Whether that be with the use of a power meter, heart rate, or both, that is up to you!
Rob Martin is a CSCS through the NSCA and TRX certified. He also was involved in athletics throughout high school and ran at a division I college. He currently races mountain bikes at the elite level and coaches cycling athletes. He also has a podcast called Unpacking the Athlete available on most major podcast platforms. Improve your level of fitness and/or level of cycling with his success, knowledge, experience, & 4 year degree. Visit his website www.bikelifewithrob.com
(....Continued....)Every yoga class aims to balance physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. The ancient practice of yoga is still an effective method to heal many disorders and restore energy. This is the reason many successful people add yoga in their daily routine. Selecting the best yoga training program should always be aligned with your objectives.
Here are some best tips to select a good yoga training program:
Yoga style that suits your lifestyle
Yoga has many benefits and is easy to adapt according to every person’s health condition. This is the reason people of all age groups want to learn yoga. Everyone has different health goals. An injured sports player might want to practice Restorative Yoga. Whereas Ashtanga Yoga is more power-packed. The two yoga styles are opposite in their approach. Chair Yoga is more suitable for a working professional to relieve stiff neck and shoulders with some light stretches of spine and legs. A pregnant woman may want to practice Prenatal Yoga which is beneficial for the mother as well as the baby. There are yoga styles for flexibility as well as specialized teacher training courses. Some people also want training in yoga to lose weight. Find out which yoga style is easier to incorporate and adjustable in your daily lifestyle.
Location of the yoga school
It may seem trivial, but the actual location of yoga school impacts our continued interest and focus on our health goals. Some corporate offices and even schools have started adding a yoga session after or before official hours for maintaining fitness. These sessions are easy to attend because they are inside the official premises. People who are always busy should select the location either near their office or home or somewhere inspiring.
With technology, it has become even more convenient to attend a virtual yoga class from home. The online sessions are well-prepared in advance and all the instructions are provided for the student to follow properly. E-courses for yoga are the best way to continue as a hobby or as a back-up training for future endeavors.
A certified yoga school
The quality of yoga education is very important for physical and mental growth. Whether for serious training or meditation, your health goals should be the top priority when selecting a yoga school. A student should check the certifications and awards conferred to the school. The number of years that the yoga school has been established and the review of students matters a lot to make an informed decision. It is important to know that the school has recognition from premium institutions especially from the International Yoga Alliance (USA). Your yoga training and achieving your goals depends largely on how well each yoga session is designed.
Experienced and qualified yoga teachers
The first interaction of a student about yoga is with the yoga teacher. A guide and a mentor who helps you become comfortable with yoga asana and bring new insight into yoga training. An experienced yoga teacher always inspires students to understand the philosophy of yoga. The awareness of the body and mind should be done in a precise way. A qualified yoga teacher knows how to involve every student in a yoga class. A good yoga teacher will know how to modify a yoga asana according to the requirement of the student.
Duration and number of students
The number of hours for yoga practice is specified for students who want to join teacher training courses. There are 50 hours, 100 hours, 200 hours, and even 500 hours. It depends on the learning process and experience that the students want to achieve. A renowned yoga school will have all the above options and expert teachers to train accordingly. The syllabus will be vast with practical as well as the detailed theoretical studies. The number of students is always limited to these yoga courses for providing individualized attention.
Whether professional training or not, yoga training requires a dedicated time to improve concentration. Yoga is a self-practice even in a class. The teacher can only give instruction but to apply the stillness of mind is completely personal. For deep relaxation, even while practicing at home, removing distractions is important. In a crowded class of 25 to 30 students, yoga practice may not prove to be that focused.
Conclusion
Yoga is a great health practice that has many positive influences. A good yoga training develops awareness, calms the mind, channelizes energy, and promotes overall healing. It helps an individual to become a strong person physically as well as mentally. Whatever your health goals, yoga is a wonderful learning experience that should be embraced by everyone.
Michele introduce to yoga well teaching, deep practice and meditation at Arhanta Yoga Ashrams. A qualified yoga teacher knows how to involve every student in a yoga class. A good yoga training develops awareness, calms the mind, channelizes energy, and promotes overall healing to join yoga teacher training courses.
Yoga is an amazing way to lose weight or belly fat. In all of the postures, if done correctly, you are activating your entire body and strengthening your core. Most of the postures massage or stimulate your digestive system, which helps to increase the removal and waste in toxins from the body.
Yoga is part of a holistic approach to your well-being meaning that this is achieved through a proper and balanced diet, physical exercise, and breathing as well as meditation techniques.
Now, the physical part of yoga by itself is not enough to help you lose weight and trim belly fat. What you put into your body is just as important as what happens on the outside. Try to not eat processed foods, genetically modified foods or anything with high amounts of sodium or sugar. Treat your body as a sacred temple. The best types of foods to put into that sacred temple are wholesome grains, fresh, live organic fruits and vegetables, and plenty of water to stay hydrated. There are some gentle twisting postures which helps you increase your metabolism and move the digestion process forward. When you bring your knees into the belly, you are giving your ascending colon a gentle massage.
Practicing yoga will help you eliminate stress and anxiety, which are major causes of unhealthy eating and influence people to either overeat or choose non-nutritious foods.
If you practice regularly, you will absolutely be able to see a difference in your body, giving it a tighter and more youthful appearance. By sweating, all of the accumulated toxins in your body are released in a natural and healthy way.
If your desire is weight loss, choosing more dynamic, faster-paced classes such as Vinyasa Flow or Ashtanga would be perfect for you. Surya Namaskar is a great set of asanas for building up core strength. Doing plank and side plank along with Chaturanga Dandasana will tone all of the muscles in your abdomen, legs, arms and lower back. Finding stability in the core will keep your spine straight and entire body balanced.
Here are examples of two asanas that will directly get your core engaged and help you lose belly fat when practiced regularly:
Boat Pose (Naukasana)
Lie down on your back. Breathe in deeply and lift up your legs, arms, shoulders, head and trunk off the ground. Lift your sternum up and lean back slightly. Your arms need to be stretching forward and your legs can be either slightly bent or straight. Try to stay for 10-20 and repeat for 5 rounds.
Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)
Lie on your stomach and spread your knees hip-width apart. Grab the outside of your ankles with both hands. Breathing in, lift your chest and legs up and back. Continue to take deep breaths in this pose. With each inhale try to lift a little bit higher. After holding for 15-20 seconds, bring your chest and legs to the ground and relax.
Remember that creating a healthy lifestyle which includes eating healthy, getting the right amount of sleep and drinking enough water is just as important as the physical practice. Try to practice some of these postures mentioned and you will notice positive changes in your core and belly in no time.
After practicing yoga from very early age of 12, he decided to leave his family and friends behind to pursue the yogic path and meet his first Yoga Master - Narayan Muni at Jharsuguda Muni Samaj Yoga Ashram. It was here he took his first steps into the Himayalan Tradition. In 1988 he met his second Yoga Master - Swami Niranjan ji to learn the wisdom of the Vedas
Yoga school in Rishikesh:https://vinyasayogaacademy.com
Email: vinyasayogaacademy@gmail.com
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