How to get more power? (Heavier equip?)

PS: I'm thinking the other easy option would be to just add more 'burst' type efforts into my
training. Not intervals or sprints per se. Also to add more impulse, reps, weight, etc., to my
circuits (more/quicker pullups, etc.). I'll probably do this anyway. I'm also just wondering
about the heavier equipment angle.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * outyourbackdoor.comoutyourbackdoor.comOpen ↗ for modern folkways and culture revival...
...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, skis, books, movies... ...new books featuring: XC
ski culture, a thriller about small town drug smuggling, and folding bicycles ... radical novels
coming up! ...lots more books, downloadable music and videos ... articles galore! plus national "Off
the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES!

try doing this on tuesday and thursday mornings: www.bicyclecam.com/tt_trainerride.htm just make
sure you are rested for this ride.

John Bickmore www.BicycleCam.com www.Feed-Zone.com

"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

PS: I'm thinking the other easy option would be to just add more 'burst' type efforts into my
training. Not intervals or sprints per se. Also to

add

Quoted message said:

more impulse, reps, weight, etc., to my circuits (more/quicker pullups, etc.). I'll probably do
this anyway. I'm also just wondering about the heavier equipment angle.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * outyourbackdoor.comoutyourbackdoor.comOpen ↗ for modern folkways and culture revival...
...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, skis, books, movies... ...new books featuring: XC
ski culture, a thriller about small town drug smuggling, and folding bicycles ... radical novels
coming up! ...lots more books, downloadable music and videos ... articles galore! plus national
"Off the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES!

"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

PS: I'm thinking the other easy option would be to just add more 'burst' type efforts into my
training. Not intervals or sprints per se. Also to

add

Quoted message said:

more impulse, reps, weight, etc., to my circuits (more/quicker pullups, etc.). I'll probably do
this anyway. I'm also just wondering about the heavier equipment angle.

You might try mountain biking in your ski area and concentrate on climbing.

I've read that climbing hills in big gears builds strength and spinning up hills builds power.

Also I've had good luck in substantially increasing my power output by using the Computrainer during
the off season.

Dashii

Have you considered the Olympic Training Sled (tm)?

-RJ

Jeff Potter <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

One of my two goals this summer is to get more power. (The other is to lose 10+ lbs.)

What's the best way to do it? : )

OK, what's the easiest way considering my usual training.

I have a hunch. You tell me if it might work.

All summer long I do running, rollerskiing, cycling, paddling, circuits. My
base/normal/cardio/enduro fitness all ends up pretty good. (My real end goal is faster XC ski
racing, fyi.) I just need some more power. One reason why is that there are no hills around here,
but in XC ski races there are lots of them. I need more power for the hills (as Flann Obrien
would say).

Anyway, I notice when I pull kids in the bike trailer on a weekly basis for an hour that my power
seems to jump up a good bit.

So I'm thinking it might work to add weight to my sports equipment across the board.

I'll test this theory by going on the next club ride with a heavy bike. See what happens. These
are already hard rides. If I don't get dropped, etc., maybe next time out I'll add panniers with
some weight.

I'll try rollerskiing with a heavy fannypack.

But maybe you sports-phys people out there already know what using heavier equip does as regards
training. Now, this isn't highly-trained training, not elite, but midrange. I'm not plateaued. I'm
at about 5 hrs/wk.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * outyourbackdoor.comoutyourbackdoor.comOpen ↗ for modern folkways and culture revival...
...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, skis, books, movies...

...new books featuring: XC ski culture, a thriller about small town drug smuggling, and folding
bicycles ... radical novels coming up! ...lots more books, downloadable music and videos ...
articles galore!

plus national "Off the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES!

"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One of my two goals this summer is to get more power. (The other is to lose 10+ lbs.)

What's the best way to do it? : )

Ever consider strength training? Kind of a no brainer. Get to the gym and do some squats and
deadlifts and your power will increase.

"Slider2699" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One of my two goals this summer is to get more power. (The other is to lose 10+ lbs.)

What's the best way to do it? : )

Ever consider strength training? Kind of a no brainer. Get to the gym and

do

Quoted message said:

some squats and deadlifts and your power will increase.

Dream on...

Andy Coggan

"Andy Coggan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Slider2699" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One of my two goals this summer is to get more power. (The other is to lose 10+ lbs.)

What's the best way to do it? : )

Ever consider strength training? Kind of a no brainer. Get to the gym

and

Quoted message said:

do

Quoted message said:

some squats and deadlifts and your power will increase.

Dream on...

Since the pros lift, I think there's some credence to it. I know USPS lifts. All the top MTB guys
lift. I think the elite in every sport lift weights, except maybe marathoners.

Jeff Potter <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

One of my two goals this summer is to get more power. (The other is to lose 10+ lbs.)

What's the best way to do it? : )

OK, what's the easiest way considering my usual training.

I have a hunch. You tell me if it might work.

All summer long I do running, rollerskiing, cycling, paddling, circuits. My
base/normal/cardio/enduro fitness all ends up pretty good. (My real end goal is faster XC ski
racing, fyi.) I just need some more power. One reason why is that there are no hills around here,
but in XC ski races there are lots of them. I need more power for the hills (as Flann Obrien
would say).

Anyway, I notice when I pull kids in the bike trailer on a weekly basis for an hour that my power
seems to jump up a good bit.

So I'm thinking it might work to add weight to my sports equipment across the board.

I'll test this theory by going on the next club ride with a heavy bike. See what happens. These
are already hard rides. If I don't get dropped, etc., maybe next time out I'll add panniers with
some weight.

I'll try rollerskiing with a heavy fannypack.

But maybe you sports-phys people out there already know what using heavier equip does as regards
training. Now, this isn't highly-trained training, not elite, but midrange. I'm not plateaued. I'm
at about 5 hrs/wk.

Maybe you should consider a medicine ball.

Seriously Jeff. I'd be impressed by your ad-hoc, laid back hippie style approach to preparation if
you were actually getting results, and I realize you're past your athletic peak, but there are
accepted and proven ways to train which will make you better.

You can follow the type of training plans that are outlined all over the place, but you consider
people who train "seriously" to be grim and not as cool and fun as yourself.

Bur for someone who enjoys getting better, following a program and getting better is the fun.

-Amit

"Dashi Toshii" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<m2LGa.1240058$F1.145789@sccrnsc04>...

Quoted message said:

"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

PS: I'm thinking the other easy option would be to just add more 'burst' type efforts into my
training. Not intervals or sprints per se. Also to

add

Quoted message said:

more impulse, reps, weight, etc., to my circuits (more/quicker pullups, etc.). I'll probably do
this anyway. I'm also just wondering about the heavier equipment angle.

You might try mountain biking in your ski area and concentrate on climbing.

I've read that climbing hills in big gears builds strength and spinning up hills builds power.

Also I've had good luck in substantially increasing my power output by using the Computrainer
during the off season.

Dashii

Engaging the speed reducers on your rollerskies or using higher resistence wheels would be like
adding weight to your workout and it would not change the location of your center of mass like
wearing a weighted pack would. --Matt

In article <[email hidden]>, Andy Coggan

Quoted message said:

"Slider2699" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One of my two goals this summer is to get more power. (The other is to lose 10+ lbs.)

What's the best way to do it? : )

Ever consider strength training? Kind of a no brainer. Get to the gym and

do

Quoted message said:

some squats and deadlifts and your power will increase.

Dream on...

Andy Coggan

Well at least he was right about the "no brainer" part.

-WG

In article said:

"Andy Coggan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Slider2699" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
> One of my two goals this summer is to get more power. (The other is to lose 10+ lbs.)
>
> What's the best way to do it? : )
>
Ever consider strength training? Kind of a no brainer. Get to the gym

and

Quoted message said:

do

Quoted message said:

some squats and deadlifts and your power will increase.

Dream on...

Since the pros lift, I think there's some credence to it. I know USPS lifts. All the top MTB guys
lift. I think the elite in every sport lift weights, except maybe marathoners.

In the case of pro road cyclists, IF they lift weights at all, it is mostly for upper body, and as
Andy knows, developing power comes from many things and virtually all of them involve riding on a
bike. One of the least efficient methods of developing more power would be going to the gym to
lift weights.

What pros actually do (according to the former coach of 7-11, Motorola, Mapei, and current coach for
part of Fassa Bortolo) to develop power is to do intervals of various lengths and intensity on flats
and hills, AFTER they have already developed their aerobic system, i.e. high density of capillaries,
efficient transfer of oxygen and waste products in and out of muscles, coordinated motor unit
firings, etc..

-WG

What is limiting your power now? You are not on the right track. A slightly heavier bike will do
nothing except "feel faster" when you go back to the lighter bike. If you feel like working harder
because of that, then there is your answer. All you are doing is tricking yourself to work harder.
So, why not just...work harder?

"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One of my two goals this summer is to get more power. (The other is to lose 10+ lbs.)

What's the best way to do it? : )

OK, what's the easiest way considering my usual training.

I have a hunch. You tell me if it might work.

All summer long I do running, rollerskiing, cycling, paddling, circuits. My
base/normal/cardio/enduro fitness all ends up pretty good. (My real end goal is faster XC ski
racing, fyi.) I just need some more power. One reason why is that there are no hills around here,
but in XC ski races there are lots of them. I need more power for the hills (as Flann Obrien
would say).

Anyway, I notice when I pull kids in the bike trailer on a weekly basis for an hour that my power
seems to jump up a good bit.

So I'm thinking it might work to add weight to my sports equipment across the board.

I'll test this theory by going on the next club ride with a heavy bike. See what happens. These
are already hard rides. If I don't get dropped, etc., maybe next time out I'll add panniers with
some weight.

I'll try rollerskiing with a heavy fannypack.

But maybe you sports-phys people out there already know what using heavier equip does as regards
training. Now, this isn't highly-trained training, not elite, but midrange. I'm not plateaued. I'm
at about 5 hrs/wk.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * outyourbackdoor.comoutyourbackdoor.comOpen ↗ for modern folkways and culture revival...
...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, skis, books, movies...

...new books featuring: XC ski culture, a thriller about small town drug smuggling, and folding
bicycles ... radical novels coming up! ...lots more books, downloadable music and videos ...
articles galore!

plus national "Off the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES!

In article said:

What is limiting your power now? You are not on the right track. A slightly heavier bike will do
nothing except "feel faster" when you go back to the lighter bike.

And this "feeling of being faster" seems to last about twenty minutes or so. I think it ends up
being a moot point, really.

--
tanx, Howard

Read. Think. Type. Send.

remove YOUR SHOES to reply, k?

For some people, quantity IS quality...

xzzy said:

try doing this on tuesday and thursday mornings: www.bicyclecam.com/tt_trainerride.htm just make
sure you are rested for this ride.

John Bickmore www.BicycleCam.com www.Feed-Zone.com

I'm not likely to try it, got more interesting things to do, but it sounds doable given that my AT
seems to be close to 90% of my max. (Max approx. 190, I go "red" somewhere in the high 160's.)

I'm missing something about HR zones, because given that every number you've got concerning your
heart changes over time, I can't see the real value of them. I view my HR numbers as results, not
goals, except for resting HR, which I do feel should be tracked. My recent question
(r.b.r) about recovery verified what I've learned over the many years.

(Yeah, I know, someone's going to suggest I read one or more specific books.)

--
--
Lynn Wallace xmission.com~lawallOpen ↗ "I'm not proud. We really haven't done everything we
could to protect our customers. Our products just aren't engineered for security." --Microsoft VP in
charge of Windows OS Development, Brian Valentine.

"Nick Burns" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

What is limiting your power now? You are not on the right track. A

slightly

Quoted message said:

heavier bike will do nothing except "feel faster" when you go back to the lighter bike. If you
feel like working harder because of that, then there

is

Quoted message said:

your answer. All you are doing is tricking yourself to work harder. So,

why

Quoted message said:

not just...work harder?

I assumed that this guy was already working very hard to improve, if not then the answer like you
stated is to" "work harder".

Find a hill and do "hill sprints" at max HR, do these until you pass out, almost.

Ride hard and fast everyday, on recovery days, just back off a little.

If you are not willing to work hard, quit asking questions.

Dashii

"Slider2699" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Andy Coggan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Slider2699" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Jeff Potter" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
> One of my two goals this summer is to get more power. (The other is

to

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> lose 10+ lbs.)
>
> What's the best way to do it? : )
>
Ever consider strength training? Kind of a no brainer. Get to the gym

and

Quoted message said:

do

Quoted message said:

some squats and deadlifts and your power will increase.

Dream on...

Since the pros lift, I think there's some credence to it.

Pros also often inject themsevels with ATP, and with huge amounts of iron - but that doesn't mean
that those things do anything either.

Quoted message said:

I know USPS lifts. All the top MTB guys lift. I think the elite in every sport lift weights,
except maybe marathoners.

So?

Andy Coggan

In article said:

xzzy said:

try doing this on tuesday and thursday mornings: www.bicyclecam.com/tt_trainerride.htm just make
sure you are rested for this ride.

John Bickmore www.BicycleCam.com www.Feed-Zone.com

I'm not likely to try it, got more interesting things to do, but it sounds doable given that my AT
seems to be close to 90% of my max. (Max approx. 190, I go "red" somewhere in the high 160's.)

I'm missing something about HR zones, because given that every number you've got concerning your
heart changes over time, I can't see the real value of them.

Most of the people who advocate training based on HR zones base those zones on your HR at LT, and/or
your HR at VO2max. They also tell you to do periodic evaluation testing to see if your LT or VO2max
has changed and if it has you'll need to modify your ranges.

-WG

OK, to keep things max simple I'm going to take care of first things first. I need to first get on a
track where I'm going to lose the 10 pounds this summer that I want to lose. After that I'll worry
about power. I figure if I get out for a good fiesty hour a day with 2-hr days Tue/Thurs when I do
hard club rides, that should do the trick, if it doesn't drop the pounds then I have worse things to
worry about than power. I'm also including some all-round power-emphasis circuits so that might
help, too. But first I gotta lose the gut. So: I'm going for losing 5 lbs this next month or else I
need a big adjustment.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * outyourbackdoor.comoutyourbackdoor.comOpen ↗ for modern folkways and culture revival...
...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, skis, books, movies... ...new books featuring: XC
ski culture, a thriller about small town drug smuggling, and folding bicycles ... radical novels
coming up! ...lots more books, downloadable music and videos ... articles galore! plus national "Off
the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES!

I use the zones to let me know if I'm tired or not. That's a first easy check. After warming up, if
60% or whatever feels hard, like 80%, then it's a back-off day.

After that the zones do seem useful to make sure one stays easy even if feeling frisky, if the goal
is an easy outing.

Or if it's supposed to be a hard outing and you only have an hour and you're with a group and
they're going kinda hard but slackin off, you can see if the easier riding has been going on for
too long and get back to work to make a hard day good'n'hard...if that's what you were going for.
So sometimes you may think you're rolling along but you're actually not working that hard and you
can use the zone to spark back up a bit to keep the workout of the desired quality. You can use
the HRM and zones to keep the workout in quality not junk zone. It seems like anyway. Is this what
you meant?

Raptor said:

I'm missing something about HR zones, because given that every number you've got concerning your
heart changes over time, I can't see the real value of them. I view my HR numbers as results, not
goals, except for resting HR, which I do feel should be tracked. My recent question
(r.b.r) about recovery verified what I've learned over the many years.

--

Jeff Potter
****
*Out Your Backdoor * outyourbackdoor.comoutyourbackdoor.comOpen ↗ for modern folkways and culture revival...
...offering "small world" views on bikes, bows, skis, books, movies... ...new books featuring: XC
ski culture, a thriller about small town drug smuggling, and folding bicycles ... radical novels
coming up! ...lots more books, downloadable music and videos ... articles galore! plus national "Off
the Beaten Path" travel forums! HOLY SMOKES!