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As sports physiology has made significant gains in the past fifteen years it has become increasingly difficult to be a competitive cyclist by “just riding lots.” However with proper equipment and the careful implementation of a structured training program it is now possible to increase performance by a much broader range than previously believed, without drugs or spending any more time on the bike. First a couple of definitions.
(Please note we have left out many nuances about different ideas of lactate threshold to make our broad point as clearly as possible.)
Watts: The amount of power a cyclist can generate. This measurement of ability has supplanted “speed” or “time” in most tests and training programs because it is more objective; with a tail wind or a change of temperature you may be going faster but also be less fit. When you are riding at 300 watts, whether you are on an uphill, going downhill, into a headwind, etc., you are always putting out the same amount of power.
Anaerobic: Exercise in which oxygen is used up more quickly than the body is able to replenish it.
V02 Max: VO2 max is the maximum volume of oxygen that the body can consume during intense exercise. Because oxygen consumption is linearly related to energy expenditure, when we measure oxygen consumption we are indirectly measuring an individual's maximal capacity to do work aerobically.
Let's say the most power you can sustain for six minutes is 300 watts. This is a good estimate of your relative power at VO2 max, your highest power output for roughly six minutes. This number is largely genetically determined.
Aerobic: Aerobic means "with oxygen," and refers to the use of oxygen in a muscle's energy generating process. Many types of exercise are aerobic, and by definition are performed at moderate levels of intensity for extended periods of time.
To estimate your aerobic power, ride as fast as you can for a time of between 20 minutes and an hour (note that the difference is relatively small between the maximum power you can sustain for twenty minutes and an hour, say 10%, when compared to the maximum power output you can sustain for twenty seconds and two minutes -- about 50% more at twenty seconds). Unlike anaerobic fitness, this number is highly trainable (25-35%). That’s why there is so much attention paid to this number in modern endurance training.
As an analogy, let’s say you want to develop your biceps muscle. A common mistake would be to grab a one hundred pound barbell, tighten your legs and back, and then jerk your entire body in order to raise the barbell. While you did curl the barbell you probably used your back and legs as much or more than you used your biceps. Better would be to grab a fifty pound barbell and curl the weight slowly and with control. This time you didn’t use your back or your legs, instead isolating your biceps. The actual amount of weight your biceps lifted was more with the lower weight. We don’t want you to ride slowly, we just want you to isolate your aerobic system.
Of course in practice it’s not so clear since you are always using a combination of your aerobic and anaerobic engines. What you want to do is just STRESS the use of the aerobic engine, done by riding below your lactate threshold.
New cyclists often think riding as fast as you can is your anaerobic number; that’s why they do laps by gunning it up the hills (400 watts) and recovering (0-100 watts) until the next hill. When you do that you will not raise your lactate threshold, you will only incrementally raise your anaerobic threshold. You may impress yourself in January and wonder why all the cyclists you passed are dropping you in June. A more experienced cyclist of comparable ability may ride up the hill at 220 watts and down it at 180 watts but finish his lap averaging 200 watts, whereas our beginner hit 400 watts on the hill and averaged 120 watts for the lap spending precious little time training his aerobic threshold. So if you think of this riding simply as "going slower" you aren’t grasping the idea. Try riding at 200 watts for an hour.
Keep in mind that you are never using just one energy system in your body to ride (aerobic system, anaerobic system, ATP/CP system, don't worry about that one), you are always using a combination of all three. Sometimes you're overwhelmingly aerobic (easy/low heart rate ride), sometimes you're overwhelmingly anaerobic (sprinting), and sometimes you're bouncing back between the two (fast group ride, race). These two energy systems are fueled completely differently. The aerobic system generally recruits slow twitch muscle fibers. These fibers are not very strong, but they are fatigue resistant. Your aerobic system also creates energy by a process that can be simplified (a lot) by saying that it burns fatty acids. This process is not very fast and the power it produces is not great, which is why it recruits slow twitch fiber, BUT, LIKE THE ENEGIZER BUNNY, IT KEEPS GOING AND GOING.
As long as you are consuming carbohydrates while you ride, your aerobic system can last for hours on end. Your anaerobic system generally recruits fast twitch muscle fibers. These are powerful but they fatigue quickly. Your anaerobic system draws its energy from glycolysis, that is, it gets it's energy by burning stored carbohydrate. This process is fast, and it can fuel you up a hill or into a sprint, but it will cause you to go into debt (oxygen) and you will start to burn.
After each workout an athlete enters details about what they have completed, along with any specific notes about the ride. This allows the coach to track your progress and tailor your workouts accordingly, keeping in mind your upcoming races/goals, not to mention personal life obstacles, vacations, ilnesses, etc.
