SOME HINTS ON ZONE TRAINING AND REST.

ACTIVE REST.

Active rest ( recovery ) is riding at a very low intensity. It is not

the total absence of riding. This type of training is designed to allow

the body to recover from a hard work out or race, If the body is not

allowed time to recover from the training and stress placed upon it,

the planned adaptation and improvement will not occur. Invariably,

the athlete will become too tired to continue training and over-training

symptoms will develop.

The result of active rest is the body’s adaptation to the training load.

The adaptation to the rider’s training means, that ultimately the rider

Will be stronger, faster and more powerful.

VO2 MAX.

VO2 Max is the rate of oxygen delivery to your muscles. A good

portion of a team training plan’s emphasis should be on developing

VO2 of each cyclist to its maximum potential. Although the VO2 value

of each cyclist has been thought of as being fixed through genetic influence,

there can be significant gains with the appropriate volume and intensity of

training. Three to five weeks ( during a specific training phase ) is the suggested

maximum training period for your VO2. Any additional VO2 training

(during a specific training phase) adaptation would be minimal and could

possibly lead to reduced VO2 levels due to the over-training of this system

and to the detraining of others.

Researchers can measure how much oxygen is used or consumed by

Your body as it converts energy. This is done in the laboratory with equipment,

that analyzes the volume and composition of your expired air. The amount

of oxygen that you exhale is subtracted to calculate how much oxygen was

used by your body to convert energy. VO2 is the volume of oxygen

consumed per minute, measured in milliliters.

LACTATE THRESHOLD ( LT )

Also known as anaerobic threshold - AT.

Anaerobic threshold training increases your ability to work at a higher

Percentage of your maximum heart rate while remaining in an aerobic state.

In the team training plan, this form of training always allows VO2 training

( first develop the total engine capacity and “ tune it up “ with other types of

training ). A significant increase in your threshold can be accomplished with

specific training over a brief period of time. This is one of the quickest areas in

which to produce significant improvement, once aerobic conditioning has been

completed.

During cycling, you can perform up to a certain intensity without

accumulating lactic acid in the blood. When this threshold intensity is

exceeded, lactic acid levels rise, glycogen becomes rapidly depleted from the

muscles and performance declines. This level of exercise intensity has been

called the lactate threshold ( again, sometimes referred to as anaerobic

threshold).