- Hello and welcome to Ask GCnything.
It's that time of the week when we
go through all your questions about cycling.
- Yeah, if you would like to ask us a question for next week
don't forget to leave a comment in the box below,
using the hashtag #torqueback
- And if you wanted to be in with the chance
of winning three months subscription
from our good friends over at Zwift
then use the hashtag #askGCNtraining
- That's a pretty cool prize, that, three months.
- I mean that's pretty good.
- Cool, right then.
Let's get stuck in. - Without further ado,
Let's get to it.
- Our first question here is from Lewis Waugh.
"Hi GCN, often when I am watching bike races,
"especially grand tours when some riders are taking it easy,
"I see many riders are just chilling out and talking
"to each other, a very current example being Sagan
"and Gaviria during the early stages of the Tour de France.
"I'm always interested in what they're talking about.
"As most of you GCN hosts are ex-pros,
"could you give me some insight
"into what you guys talked about,
"tactics, food, the weather?"
- Yeah, I mean, when it goes easy enough
and you kind of have a bit of time to talk,
you're kind of always talking about everything but the race.
Your kids, your family, what you got up to,
when you're at home, how your pets are, you know,
What pros kinda wanna do is
they wanna take their mind off the race,
so you kind of just wanna chill out,
and, you know, chat to your mates really.
- Yeah, I mean it gets pretty stressful towards
the important parts of a bike race,
so anything you can do to lower your stress levels
earlier on, it's kind of like your lunch break,
look at it that way.
So if you've got five minutes to spare
then you're gonna have it a little bit easier
and just chill out.
- Yeah, exactly, but it would be nice to kind of
have microphones on all the riders
'cause I would love to know what Sagan's saying to Gaviria.
- Yeah, probably couldn't air most of the stuff
they talk about though, could you?
- No, probably not and the pros probably wouldn't wanna
have mics on them all the time.
But let's put it to the air service, see what happens.
- Next up, we have a question from Sumanth Kashyap.
"Don't the riders ever complain about the petrol
"and diesel cars smoking from the exhaust in the race?
"Why can't or haven't the teams changed their cars
"to electric with so many in the market
"with good range enough to cover the race?
"One problem I face when I commute
"is the smoke blasting into my face from these cars."
That's quite an interesting question actually
because I remember back in the early days of my career
when diesel engines especially weren't that great,
you really did suffer with it,
but these days, engines are a lot cleaner I would say.
- Yeah, it's funny you say that as well
'cause I did have a little think about this question,
and I was thinking, you know,
do I notice it when I'm racing?
But the peloton's in front of the convoy,
so you've only got really one car,
maybe a couple of motor bikes in front of you,
so it doesn't really feel like, you know,
when you're riding, commuting through traffic,
you don't have that kinda feeling.
But I also did some digging and I found out that the EF,
Education First World Tour Pro Cycling Team,
they've got a Tesla as their team car,
so, you know, I think some electric cars
and stuff like that should kinda sponsor cycling,
as it's green and energy efficient and good for the planet.
- Pretty good idea, I didn't know
that they had an electric car actually.
- Yeah, I think it was first seen at RideLondon.
- Oh wow, big thumbs up to them.
- Yeah, so there, more electric cars
in the pro peloton to come.
- And the winner of this week's three month subscription
from our friends at Zwift is Chelsea Achterberg.
- Well done Chelsea.
- Indeed.
Chelsea has been riding for about four years
and improved a lot in the first two to three
but seems to have plateaued around
2 to 2.6 watts per kilo for her threshold.
"I would like to keep improving as I'm only 26
"but am overwhelmed at trying to find a long term focus
"for my rides to keep on improving. How can I do this?"
- Well Chelsea we all kind of get to that point.
You know, when we're beginner cyclists
we've all kinda been there.
The gains are so massive, and you're going at,
you know, such a trajectory,
that eventually it's going to have to plateau.
But what you gotta think about is,
if you're kind of riding 200 watts all the time,
every day, you're never going to get better,
'cause what you need to do is think about
when you train, you break down those molecular structures,
and then you rest and those molecular structures
then recover and they basically make more and repair
over the top of more than you had before.
- And that's what makes you stronger.
- And that's ultimately what makes you stronger.
So there's three points you kinda need to look at
to kind of increase those and break more down,
if you get what I mean.
- Yeah, and that's volume, intensity, and frequency.
You need to think about how much
volume you're doing in your training,
is it enough to constantly put your body under a stress?
The frequency of your training sessions.
Are you only doing three rides a week, for example,
or could you increase that to five?
And then the intensity of your rides as well.
However, whilst you're thinking about all of those,
you also need to add in time for rest and recovery
as what James just said, that is when you get stronger.
- And what you gotta think about also,
is when you kinda change one, so you change the volume,
that is gonna impact on the others.
So, we've got a few points here
that should help you in your training.
- So Chelsea, what you need to do
is make a bit of a change to the activity
that you're currently doing and include some really good,
specific training in your schedule.
- Yeah, so you're happy and comfortable
riding at 2.6 watts per kilogram,
but what you wanna do is train above that.
But what you wanna do is train above that
but only for a short period of time.
So Zwift have got this perfect session called under ones,
and that really makes you do harder efforts,
you know, over your comfortable threshold and wattage,
but for a shorter period of time,
and that will kind of, you know,
bring you onto another level hopefully.
- They sound pretty painful to me,
but you'll really be pushing yourself harder
and that is what's gonna help bring you a new level
of fitness that you've been looking for.
- But every time we train hard, you know,
if it's painful it means it's working, right?
- Every time I ride my bike with you at the moment
it's been way too fast.
- You get better, that's why.
- So, talking about our session that Zwift recommended,
called under ones, a challenging,
high intensity interval workout session that focuses
on repeated efforts under one minute.
The workout consists of just five minutes
of high intensity work, however, short recovery periods,
and your lactate tolerance will really be tested.
- [James] The session is divided into three blocks of work,
12 times 10 second sprints, with 50 seconds recovery,
and you're definitely gonna wanna take that recovery,
and then six times 15 second sprints,
with 45 seconds recovery, and lastly
three times 30 second sprints with 30 seconds recovery,
and your stress points is around 52.
So, it's pretty hard session,
but it's one that you'll definitely benefit from.
- [Chris] Yeah, and it's not a long session
so it should be quite easy for you
to fit that into your schedule somewhere.
- "How can you cycle for a long time in and aero position
"without getting a really sore back?"
Well this is a very good question,
because I think we've all been there.
- Yeah we have, and it's generally not that pretty, is it?
To start with, it takes a long time.
So, you wanna just do it in short periods to start with.
You wanna find a position that you can actually
put a little bit of power in, and it's still aero dynamic.
That's the important thing, is trying to find that balance
and then once you've got to that
you really want to build up incrementally,
so don't just go out there and hope to hold it
for and hour, two hours, or however long your time trial is.
You wanna aim to do it in blocks of five minutes,
five minutes on, two minutes off,
and if that doesn't work for you,
you can have a longer period off,
but I wouldn't go out there
and expect to be able to hold it straightaway,
because it is quite a demanding position to hold,
it's not natural, it's not like your road bike.
- No, it's definitely not a position
the body wants to sit in, so I think what we're saying here
is go out and practice and just let the body adapt.
- You do wanna stay on top of your stretching,
because that will just help the levels of comfort.
It will give your muscles a wider range of motion
and generally a time trial position
is in a more acute, you know,
the angles are gonna be a lot tighter,
so if you're more flexible you will be able
to do it a little bit easier.
- [James] So stretching and time.
- [Chris] Yep.
We have a question from CreRay.
"Hi GCN, the last couple of weeks
"I got caught in a few spots of rain,
"first time since riding on carbon wheels,
"and although I'm very happy with the breaking performance
"in the dry, I found in the wet
"braking performance isn't even half as good.
"So bad in fact that for my six-day sportive
"in the Dolomites later this year,
"I feel that I have to go back to aluminum rims.
"My questions is, are there any modern carbon wheels around
"that in the wet are just as good as aluminum rims,
"or is my experience pretty typical
"for carbon braking performance in the wet?
"Needless to say I don't yet have disc brakes."
Well you know what CreRay,
I completely feel your pain on that one,
because we raced on carbon rims for, well, years,
I can't remember not racing on carbon rims actually.
- We've all been there, haven't we?
When you touch the brakes--
- And nothing happens and you have that little moment
of panic and you're like "Uh, are we gonna stop?"
- Ah!
- Generally speaking, everyone's in the same situation
and actually, it is a real major flaw and that is,
for me, the main reason to have disk brakes,
is your brakes will actually work.
But there are a few things you can do,
you can go for a little safety squeeze
and release and then reapply the brakes,
so that will try and clear the layer of water,
the film that's built up on the rim, on the braking surface.
There are some carbon wheels that are kinda designed
with grooves in them to help shed that water.
But, yeah, in reality nothing's going to be
quite as effective in the wet as your aluminum rims,
they are just that much better.
I'm not sure if it's--
- Yeah, I think you're right on that.
I think you're always gonna have, you know,
carbon rims in the wet aren't ideal.
- But, that said, you could quite happily navigate
the Dolomites on carbon rims in the wet.
You just have to be prepared to not go as fast
in a straight line, and just,
- Use the brakes more.
- Use your brakes more, yeah.
Yeah, I mean you're gonna through your pads pretty quick
either way in the Dolomites, 'cause it's steep.
- I mean, you would know, you went and did--
- I went through seven pads in a day, yeah.
- Alright, the next question's from MRo.
"How do you manage the degreaser and it's possible effect
"on the environment as there are likely thousands
"of cyclist degreasing daily?
"Is there a biodegradable degreaser?"
Well the answer to your question is, yes there is.
So, it will only take you a few seconds
to chuck it into Google,
but you will find quite a few you know,
top-end brands that do biodegradable degreaser.
- And if you don't want to go that route,
why not try lemon juice and sugar.
See if that works for you. - Have you used that?
- I'm pretty sure in an emergency I've used anything, yeah.
- Have you?
- Washing powder, that doesn't really work that well.
But no, biodegradable degreasers really are a thing,
and they are really good,
if you've got kids or pets at home especially.
It's a great way of just making sure that no one's gonna
end up with any nasty irritations anywhere.
- So there you have it, they're out there,
you've just gotta find them.
- The next questions from Ian Gillon.
"White or black socks?"
- Black socks, every single day of the week, black socks.
You know why? - Really?
They stay black.
- That's a good point.
I love white socks,
and white socks and white shoes just look peng.
But they don't-- - Well it does look good,
but my issue is, half an hour into your bike ride
you're all of the sudden no longer
looking as good as you were.
- Which is a bit of an issue.
- However, there is something you can do
if you want new socks every single month
why not sign up to the sock club?
- Yes, so when you sign up to the GCN club,
you get a new set of socks every month,
and you start off with the Founder Socks when you sign up,
and then, this month's addition is the Vuelta sock,
which are really cool, so yeah,
if you're a sock kinda guy,
and you want a new pair of socks every month,
then yeah, get signed up.
- Black or white socks will no longer
be the only question you have.
It'll be, wait do I wear this one,
number three, number seven?
- That's a good thing to have, isn't it?
Next question from jspaceman71.
"Would neck pain during a ride
"be caused by too wide handlebars?
"I sometimes get a bit of neck pain and shoulder area
"during a long ride, and one suggestion I read
"is to go with narrow handlebars."
So Chris, I know you're a bit, you know, do a bit
of mountain biking and you're used to using wide handlebars,
have you got anything to say on that question?
- Well, it certainly can put extra strain,
because the muscles are gonna be more constricted
than they would be if you had a slightly
more relaxed and neutral position.
- It puts more weight on if you go narrow
you're kinda putting less weight on the shoulders
but one thing you can do is kind of,
lie on the floor, get a tennis ball,
and put that in between your back and your shoulder blades,
and try and loosen off because, you know,
sometimes it can get tight and a bit knotty.
- Looks like James has answered the question.
But yeah, there are also a few extra stretches you can do
which will help relieve any built-up tension
that's in the muscles there.
So, like simple neck stretches and back stretches.
It's actually quite hard to stretch some of those muscles
so you have to spend a little bit of time working on that
and they're quite subtle stretches,
but it's well worth investing a little time to do that.
- Yeah, and recently Emma did do a core exercise,
and if you did wanna focus on core
and stretching then give this video a watch.
- This is a variation on the plank,
which you've probably heard of,
but it's a bit harder than a plank,
because you've got your elbows on a stability ball which,
ironically, is not as stable as the ground.
Now, initially you should just try
and hold this for a minute whilst really engaging your core
and back as flat as possible.
- Next up, we have a question from Brad Williams,
and he would like to know
"What is the best way to raise your VO2 max?"
- Well, I mean, everyone wants to raise
their VO2 max, don't they?
But we have got the perfect video for you.
So check it out behind us.
- The first session is one that you may well
have seen before here on GCN.
Micro intervals.
They are a great way of increasing your VO2 max.
For all of these session, it's important
that you get in a good warmup to begin with
because they are quite intense,
so at least 20 to 30 minutes of steady riding,
after which, on this one, you're going to be doing 40 20's.
- Right, next training question from stevehaskew.
"Two questions about fasted rides.
"Firstly, is there any negative impact of going too hard
"on a fasted ride other than risking the bonk?
"Secondly, does a sweet-tasting
"but zero calorie electrolyte tablet
"in a drink still make it a fasted ride?"
- Well yeah, so to answer the second question,
absolutely, it's still a fasted ride
because there are no calories.
All you're doing is just making it easier
for your body to absorb the fluid that you're drinking.
- Yes, but on the first question,
what you really kinda wanna do on a fasted ride
is more of a light session.
I used to do fasted rides when I was training for racing
and I kinda did before breakfast, like an hour steady.
I call it crystal cranking.
- Was that an an hour of faster
zone 2 water bike, by any chance?
- That's my secret, you can't give everyone away, no.
So I would stick to going light,
just so you really want to burn fat
and not really damage muscles.
- Also, you're not really that fueled up
so to try and go out and do a high intensity session,
you're just gonna end up with a lower quality
so you gonna find this horrible middle ground
that you don't really want to be in.
- And you will bonk eventually.
- And pretty quickly I would have thought.
So like James said, keep it light,
and that's the way to do it.
Next up, we have a question from, I'm going to try
and do as well as I can with this name, Ojas Upadhye.
"Is training using a cadence monitor as effective
"as training with a power meter?"
- I mean, I'm gonna go straight in there and say
power meter is just the way to go
compared to cadence and heart rate.
There's just too many variables with your heart rate,
and there's also quite a lot of variables
with cadence as well.
So to get a clear cut number that you can work towards
that isn't going to change, power is the way to go.
- Yeah, I mean it would be great for cadence drills
hitting a certain number that you want to hold
near 120 IPM for five minutes, for example,
but, for actual structured training,
you will definitely find bigger benefits
and easier to make good gains with a power meter.
- And they are expensive, but there are
cheap ones out there, so, yeah,
and don't worry if, kind of, one is under reading,
because whatever your number is,
you can work to that number.
So don't stress if you know, your power's down,
or your power's up depending on temperature
and all that kind of stuff.
- But also you don't actually need to stress too much
about the power meter because you can still train
with a cadence monitor and a heart rate monitor.
It's just, you know, if you really wanna get those
few extra percent at the end of it,
it will benefit you to have a power meter.
- 'Cause a lot of that in time trials,
you would do a time trial and nowadays
they sit on a certain power, but back in the day
they used to just sit to their cadence,
so they'd basically say, look, sit at 100 RPM,
and that would be a way of kind of gauging your effort.
So thanks for watching, and if you did want your question
to be in next week's show, then don't forget
to put it in the comment section below.
- Don't forget the hashtag, #torqueback or #askGCNtraining.
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