These pages are meant for cyclists that want to test themselves physically through competition with others. These pages try to help you understand the sports physiology that lies behind training. Once you understand the basic physiology, you will more easily see why training needs to be structured for good race performances.

Distinguishing between the aerobic and anaerobic system

There are two fundamental systems called upon for exercise within the human body. The first is the aerobic system. This aerobic system runs with oxygen, i.e. from the air we breathe. We can categorise sports as aerobic if they last for more than 2 minutes. An example of this would be going for a long bike ride, swim, walk, or cross-country ski, mountain bike, even sitting around, studying, ironing etc. This system fundamentally takes in oxygen at the same rate as it is used, almost like ‘paying as you go'.

The anaerobic system runs without oxygen. In general it is needed for sports that last for less than 2 minutes. An example could be the 100m sprint, or a 25-meter swim sprint, or a cycle-track sprint.

It is also used if you are cycling easily along the road and you then sprint very hard for 30 seconds or more. As you do these high accelerations, your heart and lungs (cardiovascular system) does not have time to supply your muscles with oxygen. If you continue for about a minute like this, you start to feel lactic acid kicking in as the oxygen system starts to play ‘catch up'. Up to two minutes and your legs are full of lactic acid and you have to stop with exhaustion, or slow down to recover from oxygen debt. So the anaerobic system is a ‘buy now, pay later' system, independent of the aerobic system.

The aerobic system and development

A fundamental index of physical fitness is called ‘VO2 max', which is the maximum rate at which your body can take up oxygen and burn it in the muscles. A cyclist with a higher VO2 max than his rival should in theory have a bigger ‘engine', allowing him in principle to readily beat his less fortunate opponent. A simple theoretical approach to this says that the larger your capacity to carry oxygen to the muscles, i.e. the larger your ‘VO2 max engine', the faster you should go. But is it that simple?

No. It requires years of dedicated, short and long-term structured training to increase your physical fitness levels to the ‘elite' level. It is also important to realise that VO2 max development is primarily based on your core cardiovascular system, i.e. your heart and lungs, and is dependent on your muscle adaptations to specific exercise.

This means that it will take years to actually race at your real potential. The largest gains in fitness are usually made in the first two weeks of training! It then seems to tail off quickly after a few months and may take another 6-8 years to race very near your VO2 max potential. It would seem as though we have our ‘pre-determined' engine already, and that by training year by year we're able to use a higher and higher percentage of it.

But there is another process in the body that will help you win races, other than a high VO2 max, even if it does go along way towards good cycle results. As I explain soon, there is the “lactate threshold” which is based more on your ‘peripheral' muscles rather than your heart and lungs. This development is slower to plateau than the VO2 max, so the improvements are more noticeable over a very long time period. This means that you could beat a cyclist with a higher VO2 max than yourself, if you have worked carefully on your lactate threshold!

It is also important to realise that top cycling performances are made up of a balanced combination of physiological, psychological, biomechanical and nutritional trainings that must be addressed and worked on for many years before top results in International sports will show up. This could be termed as your ‘global efficiency' to enhance your performances. For example, if you work on your aerodynamics and your cycling pedal technique (see my “skills” section), you will race at a significantly lower percentage of your VO2 max, greatly helping towards winning races. This is one of the reasons why masters (older) athletes can still out perform younger less ‘globally efficient' athletes!

So it would seem that VO2 max is pretty much pre-determined for us, and plateaus quickly. Gains are a matter of a few percent for a lot of hard work over the years . Lactate threshold training plateaus much later, many years later, so gains in training are noticeable throughout your career. Finally, ‘ global efficiency' across all areas is arguably the greatest area for improved performances.

The aerobic system and its three energy systems

An appropriate approach to sports training includes an analysis of the sport in terms of its specific energy components. It is then a case of training these specific systems to ensure optimal adaptations to the body. Remember, the human body is highly sensitive. It only adapts optimally to the exercise you are giving it. If you are bicycle racer, then stick to riding your bike. If you are a runner, stick to running to improve your running.

There are three energy systems that work within the aerobic system, depending on the intensity that you work. The graph below shows which systems are working at certain intensities. Intensity is measured in % of your maximum heart rate.

Graph 1

1. Fat Oxidation System: This is your fat burning zone at 55-70% of your maximum heart rate and you can train for a long time without tiring. The oxygen supplied to your muscles is ample. You feel very comfortable. The body is using primarily fat for fuel as the body spares valuable carbohydrate. It is interesting to note that the human body has many thousands of calories of stored fat, whereas it only has a few thousand stored as carbohydrate.

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