aungiers

The one fact that I think that most people forget about is that there are many energy systems working at a single time but in different proportions. The lower the intensity of exercise the greater the proportion of the energy being supplied by fat. Also the longer the duration of the exercise the greater the proportion of energy being supplied by fat. I dont think that there is a black and white answer to fat zones but I do think that there is merit in both lsd (3hrs +) and intervals. Keep in mind that after a ride there is a recovery period where fats can be utilised to contribute to bringing the body back into a state of rest and and as a result a hard interval session could be as effective as a longer easier training session. Power is a far more reliable training guide than heart rate though. There are too many outside variables contributing to heart rate whereas power is based solely upon the amount of effort you place into the ride

As a cyclist there should be little or no need for creatine. Creatine aids in an energy pathway could ATP-PC system. The energy that a person can obtain from this system lasts no longer than 6 seconds; once 6 seconds of exercise has passed the body makes use of glycolysis to obtain energy. The theory behind creatine is that by supplementing with creatine you re-energise this system quicker and can therefore produce a powerful burst more repeatedly. Ergo it is more beneficial in weightlifting not cycling. Rather spend the money and effort on raising your lactate threshold and therefore improving your aerobic capacity

Sorry, you are right mtbvip. I got my facts wrong. Patients with Type 2 Diabetes should avoid sugar rich diets.

Metabolism isn't related to just physical activity that we do; it is all the chemical reactions in the body, catabolism and anabolism. Heart rate is not the factor which will determine your metabolic level (I do agree that a high heart rate will increase metabolism through an increase in energy expenditure). There are many other factors to think about including the anabolic portion. If you begin to skip meals on a chronic basis you will not get the nutrition required to build cells and regenerate tissue, therefore your metabolism will decrease. Exercising before or after breakfast depends on the exercise you will begin to undertake; you wouldn't run a comrades without having something to eat prior! I agree with what you say about eating after 6pm. With regards to the book you have read; though I cannot make a comment on the literature, it does sound like a prime example of so-called "experts" think they know what they are talking about, publish something. The issue with this is that the general public seem to believe absolutely everything that they read purely because it was in a book or on the internet.

@andydude: the example of the hot-plate is very different; that is down to a reflex. When you place your hand on the plate the stimulus causes the response in nervous system which sends the stimulus through the reflex arc. The action of pulling your hand away from the stove is created by motor neurons that send a "message" to your muscles which pull away. It does not make use of the brain but just the reflex arc where processing is done in the spinal cord and as a result is know as a spinal reflex. The central governor theory is a theory with regards to long-term and prolonged activity. Asd the body exercises it produces heat; one part of the central governor is related to protecting the body from overheating. The body needs to run at very specific conditions to function and if these conditions change i.e an increase in temperature the effects could be fatal. The central governor's role is to prevent this overheating from happening via exercise by inducing fatigue to ensure that no further activity can occur and heat produced. using your car analogy; imagine your engine had the processing ability to cut out at a certain temperature to prevent any damage occurring to your engine. This is only one aspect of the central governor theory. The pain the next day is DOMS (Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness) and as agteros says it is from micro-tears of the muscle fibres(this is a necessary response for adaptation of the muscle). The theory with regards to "flushing" the lactic acid is active recovery and it does speed up the reduction of blood-lactate

Sugar is not limiting when it comes down to racing performance. Apart from fat it is the next best thing when it comes to an energy source. Too much of it though and you will become diabetic which is a certain problem. I would cut down in your tea and coffee (1/2) and maybe in your pro-nutro. A bit of ice-cream and chocolate every now and then is not a bad thing just not everyday. The fat burning effects of caffeine is reduced when you have any form of glucose with your beverage (rusks, sugar, choc, etc). Too much sugar will become converted and stored into fat

A relative and somewhat widely accepted theory on fatigue is the theory of the central governor developed by Tim Noakes. It is a very interesting concept based upon that the brain (central governor) induces fatigue to prevent damage occurring to the body through over-strenuous exertion of the body.

The_Break is 100% correct. The best thing to do is to get a complete program designed by a coach or sport scientist who will do a complete assessment including lactate thresholds, anthropometry, flexibility etc Be careful of generic programs. DO NOT EVER GET A PROGRAM OUT OF A MAGAZINE OR OFF THE NET AND APPLY IT TO YOUR TRAINING. THIS INCLUDES ANYONE WHO MAY GIVE YOU A PROGRAM OVER THE NET! YOU ARE BEING CONNED. To get results you need to see someone who will test, design a program based on a needs analysis performed on you, with a structured periodized frame. With regards to power, power training in the gym (Think olympic lifts, not your local VA, Planet Fitness machine work) as well as plyometrics will improve your peak power output exceptionally so; however this is only a component of the bigger picture. Go and see a reputable Sport Scientist or coach to get the best outcome

Everything in there is gold!

I agree with the Saint

Just an interesting little fact right here; carbo-loading is the biggest myth in sports-nutrition. Your muscles can only store 30 odd grams of glycogen and as a result the stores have an upper limit. There is a method of depleting these stores and then through intense training you can raise this limit however this technique is not without its problems and should be performed 3 weeks prior to a big event. I recommend just ensure you consume enough fuel (carbohydrates, fat and protein). Keep in mind that too much carbohydrate will then be converted into fat. Just eat how you do while training. Weight loss should be done pre-season, not just before an even or during the in-season

Running, rowing and swimming are excellent ways to maintain cardiovascular fitness while beating the boredom and monotony of cycling. Perfect for the off-season. However to improve at cycling the best thing to do is to cycle

Cramps can be due to nerve firing causing tetanus. So make sure you stretch dynamically beforehand. Drinking tonic water before activity will aid in the magnesium issue. I dont think the gin will help though

Doctor or biokineticist? I do not know why BMI is still taught let alone used. I agree with fandacaious. I think they mean aerobic capacity which is related to lactate thresholds. A higher aerobic capacity means you can do more work for longer periods of time. If you have an aerobic capacity of 91% that is not bad at all because you can have a high work rate while using aerobic glycolysis as an energy pathway. Who did the testing?

It is complete hokum. I coach cricket and the sad thing is that through the publicity the cricketers give, kids as young as 9 are wearing them and they really do believe that it works. Some of the 14 year old boys are equally gullible

Short answer: No. You need to do distance to get better at distance. Threshold training will get you there or there abouts but it is not the best way to go about it. If you have distance in the legs already, all you need to do is maintain. Then intervals will be fine, but add one long slow distance ride in a week to get those extra few miles

@RodTi - Physiotherapy is always the first stage of rehabilitation. Physios will use physical means to treat symptoms and causes of injuries. the physical means includes massage, ultrasound, heat and cold, dry needling or acupuncture. Biokineticists form second stage rehabilitation. They will then take a patient and through the means of exercise prescription and physical activity treat a pre-existing injury to help alleviate the problem; and they can use exercise to prevent future problems from occurring (i.e treating people who have a high risk of heart disease through the right type and intensity of exercise) Bios work with cardiac patients and stroke patients a lot. There are only Bios here and in New-Zealand.

Raising your lactate threshold is going to improve your aerobic power capacity. This will allow you to perform more work for a longer period of time. The ideal thing to do is to go and get a full assessment done whereby they will obtain a lactate curve and from there extrapolate training zones for you to ride at. If for instance your aerobic capacity falls at a lower parameter, a sport scientist will then prescribe a program that will improve this before prescribing higher intensity training (base training). Ideally you should see the sport scientist frequently and obtain a program on a 4-6 week basis to ensure that you obtain goals etc Don't get a program off the net or have someone send you a program via e-mail, this is a waste of your time and money and essentially you are being conned. Go and see someone(someone who has the right qualifications i.e. not a bio unless they have a sport sci degree too) who can perform the tests which prob will include anthropometric evaluations and you will get your monies worth.

It depends on what your training goals are. It is possible, but hill repeats are a better option. What is nice about what you have described is that it beats any boredom as it is not too repetitive. However your best results will come from a sound structured program designed by a professional through the use of blood lactate vs heart-rate/power curves. With structure, you limit any guesswork. What may be nice is using thr route, but you either use distance or time as a factor to determine work and rest periods. As a result it may occur that even though you have reached the peak of a climb, you still need to drive over the top and through the downhill. This may give a better representation of a race scenario. As mentioned above, the design all depends on your training goals

Go and see the physio. Physiotherapy is phase one of rehab. A good physio should be able to diagnose the problem and will let you know if you should consult a Doctor. After the assessment, treatment will range from massage, needling, acutouch, ultrasound etc etc The next phase, if needed is strengthening of the area to prevent further injury or to correct any deficiencies. Again, a good physio is capable of doing this depending on the problem. If not, they will then refer you to a biokineticist. The physio will treat any underlying cause of the problem and then you can take it from there

Neural mobilization deals with exercising of the neural tissue through manipulation (as far as I understand)For example, there are such things as neural stretches. The theory behind this is by exercising the neural pathway or nerves through stretching you improve speed of activation, prevent neural fatigue etc. Needling is dry needling which is a form of rehab that physios will use frequently. It is similar to accupuncture just on different anatomical points etc. Perhaps you should try another physio

I am not 100% sure, but I think that these are classified as derivatives of anabolic steroids. As has been mentioned earlier there are much better options. a good resistance training program will do the trick. It will be designed to be sport specific and individualized to attain the personal goals of your son. The phrase "Hormone Optimizinf Trimatrix" alone makes the product sound questionable and unhealthy

Just a few things. Fat is metabolised more at lower intensity exercises, not high.Oxygen debt is not a term that is preferred to be used anymore as it may give the wrong impression. The preferred term is EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption). EPOC occurs after every exercise bout regardless of intensity, though it varies depending on the intensity of the exercise. Carbohydrate is burned during this phase too. With regards to Aerobic and Anaerobic, there are three energy systems that are used to provide energy for exercise. These three energy systems make up the energy continuum. Basically all three energy systems provide energy simultaneously, however there is a dominant energy system depending on various factors. When exercise begins, the first two energy systems that are dominant are anaerobic. As exercise progresses the aerobic energy system becomes more dominant. Once the aerobic system becomes taxed, the anaerobic system can become dominant again providing a burst of energy when needed. The Tabata protocol is not a bad protocol at all but it is nothing new and any periodized program will include interval training and provide an adequate stimulus

I just want to clarify one thing. Lactate is not responsible for pain experienced during or after activity. Lactate (or lactic acid) is a by-product of carbohydrate metabolism as well as a potential energy source; in fact it is a very good source of energy for the heart. Experiments have been performed where they have injected a subject with lactate. Not only was there no pain experienced but there was no inhibition of performance. What you are most likely experiencing is called DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) at a fairly early stage. When you exercise you cause micro-tears in the skeletal muscle which release enzymes, calcium etc. A result of these tears is the pain experienced due to the leakage of the sarcoplasm and it's contents. These tears are necessary in increasing muscle strength and hypertrophy. I would suggest getting a proper training plan together and possibly look at doing some strength work to improve on this area. Locate and see a reputable sport scientist to run through a battery of tests and prescribe an individualized program based on your results. As mentioned above, recovery is very important as you ideally want the microtears to repair for obvious reasons.