On my flight back to Washington from the US Military CyclingTeam ‘s training camp in Tampa, my teammate, Jim, and I chatted about the things coaches find interesting: how much better life would be if our athletes would only execute the training program as written, different ways to encourage better FTP test and so on. During our conversation about efficiency, I had an “a-ha” moment that I wanted to share.
What does this term, “life style” mean? On Amazon, there are books that talk about the time-crunched cyclist, but they are focusing in on simply the workouts. My discussion with Jim becomes important in this context. Competitive cyclists hire coaches like us to design their training plans, which gives the athlete a better quality training strategy (outsourcing gains) and increases free time (opportunity cost). The important question: what do they do with this extra time? This is where being a competitive cyclist, whether pro or Master’s racer, becomes a life style and simply not something to do on the weekends.
All of these are just food for thought. My discussion with Jim made me think. Am I really committed to being the best amateur cyclist I can be, or am I simply going through the motions, being Nutritional Inefficient, Workout inefficient, Sleep Ineff…. You get the point.
1 Comment
Awesome discussion Chuck! I like to describe efficiency as "on bike" and "on life". The on bike efficiency discussion expands beyond pedal stroke and past drafting, tactics, and on bike nutrition. We all know its not always the "Fastest" cyclist that wins a race…well then who is it? Is it the smartest. No way—I mean do I really need to call a few winners out from last year? Then who—I contend its the one who is the most efficient, the one who uses the least energy when he doesnt need it, and the most when it matters, eats/drinks on target, and understands that friction and resistance is the enemy to forward movement. All actions and reactions are based on making the bike/rider machine more efficient going forward. Its not theoretical mumbo jumbo—its stuff we all can get better at! Take one aspect of "on bike" efficiency like reducing resistance. Is your chain lubed? tires at the right PSI? you wearing a baggy kit? are you in a good riding position that meets at the intersection of aerodynamic and powerful…. efficiency is just a cool topic to thing about—perhaps we should write a book? 🙂
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