As a personal trainer, I was interested in the question: “How does the body of a cyclist work when riding?”. After reading several interesting books on the subject and deepening my knowledge, I took a slightly different look at this issue. And now it sounds like this: “How can exercising in the gym improve cycling performance?”. That's what I'm going to answer today!

Physical preparation of the cyclist

Muscle work while cycling

leg muscles

Undoubtedly, the main working group for a cyclist is the legs. There are few nuances here, the main task is to keep the pelvis motionless. A stable pelvis firmly seated in the saddle is the key to a successful cyclist ride, since the pedals must be twisted, not pressed.

The main working muscle groups are the back of the thigh, buttocks, front of the thigh, calves and soleus muscles.

There are not many tricks here, squats, deadlifts, jumps (plyometric load), and refinement in simulators (flexion and extension of the lower leg and ankle).

And here the most interesting begins. It would seem that, LEGS and the rest will have to wait! But no! It turns out that the better the upper body is developed, the more efficient the legs work! In professional cycling, we are talking about 20-25% of the efficiency of the cyclist, and this is a professional!

It turns out that when riding a bicycle, the legs put pressure on the pedal, tilting the bike in their direction, and if the pedals are contact or touklips, then the second leg at this time pulls the second pedal up, aggravating the situation. So it turns out powerful, trained, legs tilt the bike, and weak arms and body are not able to counteract its tilt. This results in the bike rocking, something we often see at the finish line in cycling races, and this is considered a technical error. Any deviation of the bicycle from moving forward is a waste of energy, and the effective expenditure is 20-25%.

So it turns out that well-trained legs are not able to develop full power without an adequately developed body and arms.

Arms

The work of the hands is to constantly keep the body on the bike (after all, the body is tilted forward and rests its hands on the steering wheel), as well as the direction of the bike in the right direction. Plus keep the steering wheel on difficult sections of the road, gravel, cobblestones, etc. etc. And one more nuance, imagine that you get up from the saddle, let's say, overcome the rise. Without strong arms, this simply will not work, the bike will sway from side to side and the legs will get tired very quickly due to the fact that a lot of energy is wasted.

To work out the muscles of the hands, any exercises for flexion and extension of the arms at the elbow, as well as flexion and extension of the forearm in the hand, are suitable. The bench press is perfect, as a solid load from body weight falls on the triceps.

Shoulders

The shoulders act as a link between the arms and the body. In this regard, they are subjected to a constant load in the process of riding from body weight, and an increased load when climbing uphill, getting up from the saddle, etc.

The most interesting for training are the muscles of the so-called "rotator cuff". These are four muscles that are attached in different places to the scapula and to the humerus. They are responsible for turning the shoulder, abducting it to the sides and, most importantly, for the stability of the shoulder joint. These are the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis:

To work out the muscles of the shoulder, dumbbell swings through the sides are suitable, as an option, instead of dumbbells, you can use shock absorbers, dumbbell bench press, barbells, shock absorbers, from the chest above your head while sitting or standing.

Muscles of the forearm "grip"

A weak grip will not allow efficient cycling. Strong legs and a strong torso with arms won't help if you can't keep the steering wheel in the right mode. The main task of the grip muscles is to hold the steering wheel. This is worth working on. Hold the weight, trying to keep it with the strength of the muscles of the fingers.

The body is constantly tilted and in order to look ahead, the head is in a raised position. But at the same time, the head does not “hang” like when we look at the sky, but is held by the neck muscles, which belong to the group of muscles that extensor the spine, because if you relax the muscles, the head will immediately fall and hang.

But that's not the focus. The trick is that due to the long work of the muscles behind the spine, the muscles in front are much less developed! Moreover, due to this imbalance of muscle strength, the back side of the vertebrae, namely the intervertebral discs, is under more pressure than the front.

Therefore, in training, it is worth paying attention to the muscles of the front side of the neck.

The back muscles are the basis for almost all physical activities. The bike is no exception. are very common for cyclists. The reason lies in the position of the back when riding a bicycle, the body is tilted for a long time and the back muscles are in constant tension.

If the back muscles are prepared, they help to stabilize the pelvis, and therefore help the legs develop maximum pedaling efficiency.

The well-coordinated work of the back muscles allows you to maintain a correct posture for a long time, the muscles that straighten the spine and the correct operation of the steering wheel, especially in a difficult moment of lifting or jerking, the muscles that move the shoulder girdle and the girdle of the upper limbs.

The muscles of the back can be divided into the muscles of the spine, namely the extensors of the back and the muscles that move the shoulder girdle.

• : consist of three parts, iliocostal muscle, spinous muscle, longissimus muscle. The function of these muscles is to extend the spine.

• Muscles that move the shoulder girdle and girdle of the upper limbs:rhomboid muscles large and small (muscles between the shoulder blades), the latissimus dorsi. Trapezius muscles (muscles between the shoulder blades, located a layer above the rhomboid muscles).

The chest muscles are the main muscles that connect the bike to the cyclist through the arms. Well-trained chest muscles help to maintain the correct body position for a long time and are especially useful in moments of tension when lifting and jerking.

The muscles of the chest include:

1) pectoralis major muscle

2) Pectoralis minor

3) Serratus anterior

On the abdominal muscles, the most responsible, and at the same time inconspicuous, role. The abdominal muscles are located between two strong and reliable structures, the lower part (pelvis and legs) and the upper part (chest and arms). The abdominal muscles provide the transfer of force from the arms to the legs and vice versa. Try pushing something while on your feet, completely relaxing your stomach. That's it!

Here's how it goes. You get up on the pedals, firmly clinging to the steering wheel and begin to powerfully put pressure on them, the abdominal muscles tense up to tie your hands to your feet and the “cyclist structure” does not fall apart.

The abdominal muscles include:

2) Internal and external oblique abdominal muscles

3) Transverse abdominal muscles

TRAINING IN THE GYM

It needs to be learned once and for all. Our body is not divided into arms, legs, biceps, triceps, etc. Our body always works as a whole. Therefore, it is necessary to train the whole body, every workout!

Here is a list of exercises for each of the above listed body parts:

ARMS

Bending the arms with a barbell in a standing position

Option: bending the arms using an elastic band

Curl with dumbbells for biceps

Option: concentrated biceps curl

Barbell isolated curl

Option: isolated flexion of arms on the simulator

Triceps extension.

Option: extension of the arms using a rope handle

Bent over arm extension

Option: extension of the arm in an inclination on the block

Overhead tricep extension

Option: french bench press

Reverse bending of the arms in the elbows while standing

Options: reverse bending of the arms in the elbows standing on

balancing discs; reverse curl with dumbbells

Reverse bending of the arms in the wrist joints

Option: winding the cord on a stick with a direct grip

with weights

Bending of the arms in the wrist joints with a barbell 34

Option: twisting the cord with a reverse grip

with weights

SHOULDERS

Seated Dumbbell Press

Options: bench press on the simulator; seated bench press

Barbell row to chest

Options: thrust to the chest on the block; standing barbell row to chest

on balancing discs

Lifting dumbbells with a change in hand position

Option: lifting dumbbells with a change in the position of the hands while standing

on balancing discs

Raising the forearms and lifting the arms with dumbbells

Options: abduction of the forearm with a dumbbell lying down;

adduction of the forearm with a dumbbell lying down

Raising arms to the sides while lying on the ball

Option: raising arms to the sides in a sitting tilt

Dumbbell row with one hand

Option: block pull with one hand

Bridge on the head

Neck extension with weights

Option: seated neck extension

Neck flexion with weights

Option: neck flexion while standing against a wall

Lateral flexion of the neck with weights

Option: neck bends on the simulator

BREAST

Push-ups on the uneven bars

Option: push-ups on the simulator

Reverse Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

Option: reverse incline bench press

Reduction of hands on the block

Option: bringing hands together on the block while sitting

Bench press

Option: bench press

Dumbbell press lying on the ball

Option: one arm dumbbell press

Medicine ball push-ups

Option: push-ups on the ball

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

Option: incline bench press

Breeding hands lying on the ball

Option: reduction of hands on the simulator with pillows

for forearms

Pullover with dumbbell

Option: pullover on the trainer

BACK

Block pull to the chest in a sitting position

Option: traction to the chest while sitting on the simulator

Shrug with dumbbells

Option: shrug with barbell

Pull-ups

Option: pull-ups on the simulator

Block pull down

Option: tilted pull-ups

Barbell pull to the stomach

Option: traction to the stomach on the simulator

Raising opposite arms and legs while lying on the ball

Option: lifting the arms and legs of the same name lying on the ball

Reverse leg raise on the ball

Option: back extension on a Roman bench

Deadlift

Option: wide stance deadlift

Forward bend with barbell

Option: tilt on the simulator

STOMACH

Lifting the body from a prone position on the ball

Option: swivel body lift

Passing the ball

Twisting on the block

Option: lying twist

≪Corner≫ lying down

Emphasis lying on the forearms

Option: emphasis lying sideways on the forearm

reverse twist

"Corner" with bent legs

Option: alternating leg curl

Leg raise sitting on the ball

Option: leg raise sitting on a bench

Torso twists lying on the ball

Option: torso twists while standing with a gymnastic stick

Lateral twist

Option: side crunch on an incline bench

LEGS

Squats

Option: barbell chest squat

Sitting Barbell Raise

Option: sitting barbell lift

using balancing discs

Single leg barbell squat

Options: single leg barbell squat

using a bench; squats

on one leg on the simulator

leg press

Option: squats on the simulator

Back squats

Options: long squat; sit-ups

on balancing discs

Tilts standing on one leg

Options: tilts standing on one leg with a dumbbell;

tilts standing on the floor on one leg

Jumping from a place with two legs

Option: jumping on one leg

lunge

Option: lunge to the side

Lunge on the step platform

Option: lunge to the side on the step platform

How to write a training program

And then everything is simple. To compose a workout for ourselves, we take one of each section: HANDS, LEGS, CHEST, BACK, SHOULDERS, ABDOMEN. We do 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions with weights close to the maximum. It should feel like after 10-12 lifts (depending on how many reps you have chosen for your workouts) you can do 2 more or maybe 3, this will be your close to the maximum weight.

The author of the articles is a personal fitness and bodybuilding trainer. FPA course listener and seminar participant. Conducts personal training, including cycling. Detailed information in a personal conversation, in VK (

Annual training plan

It's time to start the planning process. You will need:

Determine your goals for the upcoming season;

Understand what tasks need to be solved in order to achieve the goal;

Understand how many hours a year you can devote to training;

Determine priorities for each of the races in which you plan to take part;

Divide your season into training periods;

Determine what you will do for each hour of each week of your training.

Chapter 9 will help you populate your plan with specific sets of exercises for the week based on your ability. It may seem like you have a lot of work to do. This is true, but there is a system that allows you to simplify it.

You can view an example of a completed annual training plan form in Appendix B. Please note that it consists of several parts. In the upper left corner of the page, there is a place where you can enter the number of training hours per year, your goals for the season and goals for the training process. The column on the left shows the numbering for each week of the year. You should enter the date every Monday for every week of the season. For example, if your first week of training in the new season is the week of November 3-9, then write "November 3" or "3/11" in the box for week 1, and then fill in the rest of the appropriate boxes in the plan in the same way. There are also dedicated columns to display race names, their priority level (Priority), the name of the period you will be working on during a particular week (Base period, Build period, etc.), and the number of training hours for each week. The small rectangles on the right should be used to mark drills that correspond to one or another of the abilities listed at the top of the table. Chapter 9 will help you with this.

Step 1: Set goals for the coming season

Let's start from the end - with what goals you want to achieve in the upcoming season. Perhaps you want to successfully advance to a higher category, finish in the top five in a particular road race, or successfully complete a multi-day event. Research has shown that well-defined goals increase a person's ability to achieve them. Just like a successful climber always has a peak in front of him and knows exactly how he wants to climb it, you must constantly keep your goals for the season in mind and check if you have lost your way. If you don't know where you want to go, you will fail at the end of the season.

Do not confuse goals with dreams or desires. Athletes often dream about what they want to achieve. This is fine. If we didn't dream, we wouldn't have a long-term vision or long-term incentives. A dream can become a reality, but one season will most likely not be enough for you to realize it. If you justifiably believe that you can achieve it within one season, then this is no longer a dream, but a very specific goal. Also, dreams can turn into goals when you have a plan to achieve them. Therefore, when planning a season, we deal exclusively with goals.

Let's be realistic optimists. If you were unable to finish the amateur race last season, then winning the stage race is a dream, but by no means a goal. However, you might say, if you don't set big goals for yourself, you won't achieve anything. This is true, but when you replace goals with dreams, you understand deep down that they are unattainable (at least within one season). Consequently, your desire for constant work in training will be much lower. A serious goal will force you to reach the limits of your capabilities, and sometimes even take certain risks, because you will know that in a couple of months you can really achieve it. Ask yourself: “Will I be able to achieve my goal this year if I do everything right?” If you feel you can, then that's a good goal. Otherwise, it is just a dream.

There are four principles that your goals must meet.

Principle 1. Your goal must be measurable. Otherwise, how will you know how close you are to it? Businessmen have at their disposal a clear way to evaluate the movement in the right direction: they count the money. You also need to have your own ways of measuring your progress. Instead of vaguely stating your goal like "get better," you should say, "I'll complete the 40k race in less than 57 minutes."

principle 2. Your goals must be under your control. A successful person does not make plans based on others. Wording like “If athlete A sits too long at the start, then I will win race X” cannot be considered a goal worth working towards. And the goal of “First in the Boulder Road Race” will make you look at the whole training methodology differently.

Principle 3. Your goals should force you to work hard. If you can achieve a goal without too much trouble, it's like you don't have it at all. For a Category III racer, winning the national championship among professionals is hardly possible, even if he gives all his best on the track. On the other hand, you can easily win an amateur 12K race, and that's not a good goal either. And a goal such as moving up to a higher category can provide you with optimal tension and still be quite realistic.

Principle 4. Your goal should be expressed in positive terms. As you read this paragraph, don't think of the white monkey. What I mean? Your goal should help you focus not on what you want to avoid, but on what you are striving to achieve. What happens to an athlete who sets himself the goal of “Keeping the track during the September Criteria”? Surely you guessed it - this athlete will lose the race because he will not know what he will need to concentrate on in order to achieve his goal. Knowing what to avoid is unlikely to help you.

The goal in most cases should be focused not on the process, but on the result of the race. For example, don't set yourself the goal of climbing better while racing (it's more of a challenge). Instead, set yourself the goal of successfully completing a certain part of a particular hill race stage. Let me give you a few more examples of performance goals. Study them - perhaps they will help you formulate your own goals.

Finish a Category III road race in the top ten.

Complete a Time Trial in August in less than 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Finish in the top five in at least two of the three Type A criteria.

Upgrade qualifications to the level of category II.

Finish in the top 5 in regional B.A.R. category III.

Finish in the top three in a National Masters Road Race.

Finish in the top 25 in the Mike Nields Stage Race.

After defining and setting the first goal, you can set others that are equally important to you. Evaluate them in the same way as you evaluated the first one. Limit yourself to three goals so you don't make your life too difficult in the coming months. Write down all your goals at the top of your yearly training plan.

Step 2: Define Training Objectives

In chapter 5, you identified your strengths and weaknesses. You then filled out the cyclist evaluation form (Box 5.4). Now take another look at this form to refresh your memory. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Which of the weaknesses is a limiter for you?

Chapter 6 introduced the concept of constraints. These are weaknesses associated with key races that prevent you from being successful in them. Chapter 6 also explained that different competitions require different abilities from athletes. If you have compared your weaknesses with the requirements of the races that are interesting for you, then you can fully imagine what your limiters are. For example, a long race over hilly terrain requires considerable strength and a high level of endurance to overcome climbs. If your strength and endurance are low, it means that you have a limiter and you should work on it.

Go back to the first goal you set for the season. Is any of your weaknesses (a score of 3 or lower on the cyclist score form) a limitation in terms of achieving it? If so, then you should pay special attention to working on this limiter in the coming season. In the Workout Goals section, enter your limit. During certain weeks of your annual plan, you will need to take time to work on these weaknesses that are important for the type of race you want. After reading chapter 9, you will understand how to do this. From this moment on, the following task becomes especially important for you: to understand at what point you were able to improve things with your limiter. Or, in other words, how progress can be measured.

There are several ways to measure the extent to which you are progressing towards your goals. During the season, you can regularly repeat exercises that are related to your goals (see Chapter 5) and allow you to objectively assess the degree of improvement. Lower priority races are good indicators of how far you are progressing. AT tab. 8.1 examples of training goals for several constraints associated with well-defined goals are given. You should write down the training objectives for each of the goals in the same style so that you can see if you are improving your results. Please note that each task has a time limit. In order to reach the goal, you must complete the training task by a certain point in the season. Too late is just as bad as if you didn't set yourself the task at all.

Tab. 8.1. Setting goals for training

By the time you've completed this part of your yearly training plan, you may have three to five workout-related tasks on your worksheet. They will be some kind of indicators against which you will measure the degree of your progress.

Step 3: Determine the total number of training hours for the season

The number of hours you can devote to training during the season - cycling, strength training and mixed training - largely determines your training load. It's kind of a balancing act: too much annual volume can lead to overtraining, and too little can lead to a loss of endurance. An excessively high annual volume of training can lead to overtraining, and an excessively low annual volume can lead to loss of fitness. Determining the number of workouts is one of the most important decisions you can make regarding your training process. If you make a mistake here, then let it be a mistake in the direction of reduction.

Activity volumes are best expressed in hours rather than kilometers. Distance based training encourages you to cycle the same distance week after week. This method of training also forces you to compare your current track times with last week's and try to "overtake" yourself. This method of organizing daily training will be completely unproductive. Using time as the basis for calculating training volume will give you a free hand in terms of exercise selection, as long as you fit within the allotted time frame. Cycling can be more fun for you: you can do different exercises and not worry about speed or pace.

How to determine the volume of annual training, if you have not measured this indicator? Most cyclists keep a record of the distances they cover. If you did this, then divide the distances you covered by the conditional average speed (based on your subjective feelings). It is reasonable to assume that on average it is about 28 kilometers per hour. If you also did combination training and strength training, then try to calculate how much time you devoted to these activities in the past year. Adding together the resulting numbers in hours, get a rough picture of your annual volume of training.

Looking at the data over the past three years, you may notice trends in training volume. For example, were you able to perform better in high volume years? Of course, many other factors have influenced your results in previous years, but this analysis will help you decide on the optimal amount of training in the coming season.

But, even without data on hours of training or distances covered, you can make an approximate calculation. This will give you the necessary starting point. To do this, write down on a piece of paper what your typical training week looks like. Try to specify typical rather than maximum or minimum values. Add up the number of hours for each type of training and multiply this figure by 50 (number of weeks) - this way you get an approximate annual number of training hours.

AT tab. 8.2 general indications for the number of hours are given, typical for riders actively participating in competitions. Of course, many other factors have influenced your results in previous years, but this analysis will help you decide on the optimal amount of training in the coming season. There are many athletes with many years of training experience who travel much shorter distances during training, but still show excellent results. Training volume is especially important for effective endurance development. Once you've built up a significant amount of endurance, you should switch your focus from volume to intensity.

Tab. 8.2. Suggested yearly training plan in hours

You can show much better results by carefully limiting the number of hours of training, rather than trying to cope with inflated volumes. If you have a steady job, family, home, then be realistic: don't try to train at the same volumes as the pros. Training is their main job.

If you haven’t been successful enough in previous years, and endurance is your main limiter, and you are doing less than what is required to participate in the planned distances, then you should consider increasing the volume of training at least to the minimum allowable (note that so that the increase is no more than 15% of the previous level). In other cases, if you decide to increase the volume of training compared to the previous year, increase it in the range of 5-10%.

Many people often have to limit their training time due to various daily duties, which negatively affects the development of their athletic abilities. In this case, the calculation of the annual volume of training should be based only on the time that can realistically be devoted to sports.

Record your yearly training volume in hours at the top of the yearly plan. Later, you will need this figure to distribute the load over the weeks.

Step 4: Prioritize Races

To do this, you will need a list of competitions in which you plan to take part. If the race schedule has not yet been published, look at the previous year's race calendar and try to figure out for yourself which days the current season's races can take place. Usually the races are held on the same weekends from year to year.

List in the annual training plan all the competitions that you plan to attend: write their names in the appropriate rows of the “Race” column with dates. Remember that the date you enter in the first column always corresponds to the Monday of the specific week. Your list should include an exhaustive number of races, so include even those events that you haven't decided on yet. You can decide on them later, but for now, just assume that you will participate in all of them.

Then categorize races into types A, B, and C by priority, based on the criteria below. If you are part of a team, the team leader can help you prioritize for the season. Try to discuss this issue with him before moving on.

Type A racing

Choose no more than two or three races that are most important to you in the coming year. A multi-day race will count as one event. Two Type A races on the same weekend are likewise counted as one race. Type A races do not always include races with a significant prize or those around which the hype is inflated. The race may take place in a small town, but if this is your hometown, then it may be the event of the year for you.

Type A races are the most important races in your schedule and your entire training process will be built around them. The goal of training is to get in peak shape just in time for the start of Type A races.

It is best when these starts are separated by a period of two to three weeks or, on the contrary, spaced for a longer time - at least eight weeks. For example, two races can fall into a three-week period in May (and be separated by one week), and the next two - at the end of August. It may be that two races will be held in May, one in July, and one more in September. The idea is to peak at the start of each of these important events. To do this, before each of them you will need a period of several weeks, during which you will improve your physical fitness. In between Type A races, you will compete in other events, but you will not be in the best shape. It should be understood that each time you go through a period of tapering or reaching a peak, your fitness level decreases slightly. So if Type A races are frequent and you don't have time to recover your core abilities, your results will suffer. That's why you should limit the number of Type A races to three or four per season and space them out as much as possible on your calendar. For most athletes, it makes sense to plan to participate in the most important event in the second half of the season, when physical fitness can be at its highest level.

If you can't group type A races correctly, don't worry. The priorities of the season are not determined by the calendar, but by your own goals. A schedule in which races are inconveniently placed or grouped will make the process of planning and peaking much more difficult than a schedule that follows the above principle. However, during the course of the season, even in this case, you can work on improving your skills. In the "Priority" column, put an "A" next to the name of each type A race. Remember that you should have no more than three or four such type of races during the year.

Type B racing

These include races that are important but not as high-priority as Type A races. Before these races, you can afford to rest for a few days. The number of Type B races may not exceed twelve per year. As with Type A races, two Type B races on the same weekend (or one multi-day race) count as one event. In the "Priority" column, write a "B" next to each of these races.

Type C racing

So, you already have about 16 weeks of type A or B racing scheduled. This is a significant part of your racing season. All other races on the list will be type C. Participation in this type of race should only be considered as an opportunity to gain experience. They can be regarded either as hard exercises, or as a kind of test to assess your progress towards the main intended goals, or as entertainment, or, finally, as one of the forms of preparation for the upcoming serious type A race. You will train during these races, not reaching peak form and not being able to rest in between. It is quite normal if on the eve of one of these starts you decide not to participate in it. If your heart tells you this option, then it’s better to just do training or even take a break.

Pay attention to type C races. It is on them that you can get a negative experience or be on the verge of overtraining due to fatigue or an elementary lack of motivation to work hard. Often such races are accompanied by not very good organization or uninteresting incentives to participate in them. You must have a good reason to include each of the Type C races in your schedule. Therefore, you should understand what participation in it will give you. If you don't know the answer to this question, don't race. The more experienced a cyclist you become, the less you need to race Type C. In contrast, juniors and category IV and V riders are encouraged to do so to gain the necessary competitive experience.

Race priorities have nothing to do with how hard you prepare yourself for it. With a few exceptions, your racing effort should always be high. In fact, type C races are a kind of exercise for you, and it is possible that you will take part in them when you are tired. Nevertheless, it is worth taking it seriously, especially if you have a good idea of ​​what the purpose of your participation is. Even if you don't win the race, it shouldn't upset you. Keep in mind that you are not at your peak and you are still strong until the Type A race.

Step 5: Divide the training year into periods

Now you know when you need to be at your best (before the Type A races). You can start to define periods. Periodization was described in Chapter 7. To brush up on its principles, refer to tab. 8.3.

Tab. 8.3. periodization

Find the first Type A race in your schedule and write the word "Racing" in the "Period" column. This is the first Racing Period that will occur each time a Type A race is entered and is taken to be three weeks. As you move up the chart, count two weeks from "Race" and write "Peak" in that space. Now, moving up the chart, count down 3 (for athletes over 40 years old) or 4 weeks from the start of the Peak Period and designate this period as "Building 2". Using the parameters given in tab. 8.4, do the same for Build 1 (3-4 weeks), Base 3 (3-4 weeks), Base 2 (3-4 weeks), Base 1 (3-4 weeks), and Prepare (3-4 weeks). Thus, you have decided on the date of the first peak.

Now go to the second race (or group of races) type A and write “Racing” next to it, just like you did a little earlier. Count back two weeks and rewrite the word "Peak" in the appropriate place. Using the same criteria, count back 4 weeks for Build 2 and then 4 more for Build 1. Do not repeat Base Period unless: 1) your first peak is a three or four week Race Period; 2) you feel a lack of basic abilities, especially endurance and strength; 3) you have included in your plan a Transition Period after the first Race Period (which is a great idea, by the way).

It is unlikely that the duration of the Build and Peak periods between two Races will exactly match the number of weeks specified in the plan. Once you have determined the time for the second Racing Period, you may need to change the length of the other periods in order to improve your fitness levels on the one hand and allow sufficient rest time on the other. Remember that the purpose of your timing work is to provide you with the optimum level of preparation for Type A races. Only you can determine what this means in terms of training. You are the only person who understands where your fitness level is at any given time during the season. At this stage, you may want to think about how you can change the plan, keeping in mind the second peak of the season. Remember that the annual training plan created at the beginning of the season is not always a strict guide to action. You can change it as you progress through a particular stage.

It usually makes sense to schedule a Transition Period of 5-7 days after the first Race Period. This will allow you to recover and avoid burnout as the season progresses. The transitional period at this time always helps to maintain a high level of enthusiasm in the training process and allows you to improve your physical preparation for the races scheduled at the end of the season. At the end of the last Racing Period, plan for a longer Transition Period.

If you find yourself feeling confused during the planning process, turn to Chapter 11 for six case studies.

Step 6: Divide Your Hours into Weeks

Throughout the season, you gradually increase and decrease the volume and intensity of training. This process, which has a wave-like character, is displayed in rice. 7.3 and aims to ensure that the proper level of endurance is maintained and that the intensity can be increased without undue stress on the various systems of the body. At this point, you should schedule your training hours by week, using as a guide tab. 8.4.

Tab. 8.4. Weekly hours of training depending on their annual volume

Now that you have calculated your total yearly training volume and divided the year into periods, you can begin to distribute hours by week. Find the annual training volume in tab. 8.4. The number of hours per week gradually increases with an interval of half an hour. Periods and weeks are indicated on the left side of the table. Working from left to right and top to bottom on the table, determine the number of hours for each week and record these numbers in your annual training plan in the "Hours" section. If you are over 40 years old, or if you have multiple periods of 3 weeks in your schedule, exclude week 3 from each period. Chapter 14 provides a more detailed description of the training method for older athletes.

You have completed your annual training plan. Now you have to figure out the sets of exercises for each stage, and we will talk about this in the next chapter.