V-CLUB TRAINING CORNER
We’ve teamed up with Marilyn Trout, certified USA Cycling Elite Coach to answer V-Club members’ training questions. You can view her coach profile at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mountainpedalscoaching80903
Send your cycling inquiries to Marilyn, and for a limited time, if yours is selected to be answered in our V-Club column, VeloWear will send you a $20 gift certificate that can be used towards any purchase on VeloWear.com. To submit your inquiry, e-mail her at trout_mic@msn.com, and type “V-Club Training Question” in the subject line of the e-mail.
Looking Back to Reach Higher
“Becoming consciously aware of your needs, your fears,
and your personal weaknesses is the most critical step in the change process.”
- James Loehr, author of The New Toughness Training for Sports
Like any other competitive sport, training to reach your potential in the world of cycling is an art and a science. First and foremost, you need to be confident in the scientific aspect of your training program, what you do (specificity of training) matches what you want (your goals). So often we stop there. Certainly we can see this with the “one size fits all” training approach of many coaching companies. We human beings are a complex lot and to simply emphasize the physical training side of things is like digging for treasure with a spoon. We do a lot of work, burn a ton of calories but miss the gold.
Our mind and emotions play a HUGE role in being successful (totally relative to personal goals) on or off the bike. More times than not, the strongest athlete mentally grabs the victory NOT the one with the best lab test. A training program MUST have a wholistic approach, we must know our strengths and weaknesses and must be willing to evaluate the program throughout the year particularly at season’s end.
Here’s a short evaluation for the end of the season. I’m sure there are other questions that could be asked but I rather keep it shorter than longer otherwise it becomes a burden and goes into a “to do” list and then eventually a “forget it” list.
PS: I would strongly recommend that you pick up a copy of “The New Toughness Training for Sports.” I’ve read many mental training books over the years and this one is at the top on my list.
Evaluation in Microsoft Word | Evaluation in Adobe PDF
(Rick Click and Save As)