- Welcome to Ask GCN Anything.
- This week we answer your questions
on how to get into cycling,
renting a bike when on a cycling holiday,
and do the pro road riders hit the gym?
- Oh, interesting questions,
that will be answered in just a second.
But before we do, we need to tell you
how to get involved in next week's show.
And to do so, use the hashtag #askGCNtraining
and you'll be in with a chance of winning
three free months subscription from Zwift.
And to answer all your other questions,
then use the hashtag #torqueback.
Right Chris, I reckon we should get started.
And the first question comes in from Par Wangberg,
"Which are your best tips for getting started with cycling?"
Interesting question; Chris how did you
actually get into cycling in the first place?
- So it kind of came about after watching the Tour de France
and feeling inspired by that.
We went to the bike shop, picked up
a little bit of information there
about local cycling clubs and things like that.
Joined the local cycling club,
so you go on like the club runs on the weekends
and you learn from the older, more experienced riders.
And then maybe you start racing,
or you kind of find the part of the sport
that really appeals to you.
But the best way to do it is to find advice
from older riders that have been there
and done it themselves.
- Yeah that's an interesting one, because I also
got into cycling through another sport, mountaineering.
But to get into it properly, I just signed up with a club
and went out on Sunday rides, and just got into it that way.
- Yeah it's a great free way, really,
of gaining experience from others,
and most people will be really encouraging
and help you along the way.
- But here's one for you Chris.
If you had a tip to give your younger self,
when you were getting into cycling,
what would that tip be?
- It would definitely be to focus on the fun side of it
and how much you want to enjoy it,
because no matter how good you are at something,
unless you really love it and enjoy it,
you're just wasting your time.
- Yeah I would second that 100%.
So I hope that helps your question.
And yeah, good luck with your cycling.
I reckon actually we've got a video
on how to get into cycling.
That's playing on just behind us.
- Cycling in the UK is arguably
more popular than it ever has been,
and many of you are looking to take your riding
to that next level.
Hopefully you will have gained skills and knowledge
through riding with your local club,
or an experienced group, and you feel ready to start racing.
And whilst it might seem fairly daunting
competing in your first event,
it really needn't be.
- Next in is this one from Abhilash Herakal,
I'm really sorry for the pronunciation on that one.
- I thought you did good.
- Well we'll find out in the comments won't we!
- Yeah! (laughs)
- "Do pro road cyclists, not track cyclists,
"hit the gym to do leg workouts, and how useful is it?"
- Well that's an interesting one.
The science isn't really that clearcut
as to how it helps road pro cyclists,
but a lot of pros do do it.
I did it in the winter, but to be honest
I focused the bulk, the main bit of the training,
on riding my bike.
And if I wanted to do a hard session or a weight session,
I'd more likely go into like a strength session on the bike.
But I'd also do a few days in the gym,
but that would be mainly core sessions, and stability work.
And yeah, work on that kind of thing, what do you think?
- Yeah, no I think you're right.
Focusing on your stability and functional strength
and flexibility, is going to be
more beneficial to you for being a bike rider,
than actually focusing purely on leg strength,
because as we said before, the benefits aren't that defined.
- But did you do a lot of big weight sessions
to get quads like John Travolta?
(disco music)
- Never did one in my life, I can honestly say that.
- And if you did want to check more out--
- Maha!
- About going in the gym, then check out Emma's workout,
and she'll talk through the details about core sessions.
- [Emma] This is a variation on a bridge,
with the added difficulty that your feet are on the ball.
Now you want to try and hold it for a minute,
really engaging your core and lower back
and keeping your bum low.
- Right, the next question comes in
from shakinwakin35, love the name.
"I'm new to cycling as of two months ago,
"and I'm learning a ton from the channel."
I'm glad you're enjoying all the content we're putting out.
"I'm also new to spin classes at my local gym,
"not a dedicated cycling gym though.
"Some instructors will have three to five minute blocks
"throughout the class, where we go uphills at 40 to 60 rpm.
"Is that dangerously low cadence, or is it worthwhile?
"Should I stay above a minimum cadence in those classes?"
- Well, shakinwakin, you know what?
That is definitely not a dangerously low cadence.
And in fact, force work like that
will really help to build up the maximum torque
that you can put out into the pedals.
- And torque's a good thing.
- Torque is a good thing, because you know,
that's your muscle force.
And it's a widely recognized training session,
and a lot of pro riders will
find themselves doing it as well throughout the winter.
We've both done it throughout our careers
and Si and Dan definitely did it as well.
And in fact we have a training session behind us
that will be really beneficial to you
if you're not getting enough from the spin school.
- Yeah, so jump on this; it's an indoor training workout
and you can just follow along in real time.
So yeah, try that one out.
- [Simon] The low cadence work, about 60-70 rpm,
is going to be harder than the high cadence work.
- And the winner of this week's ASK GCN Training question,
with three free months subscription from Zwift
coming right your way, is...
- Mark Redfern, congratulations to you.
- Yeah, congratulations.
- And here the question is, "I have just come off
"an intensive 12 week training plan
"and I don't know where to go next.
"I want to carry on increasing my power and endurance
"but I don't want to lose the fitness that I've gained.
"Maybe I should take a couple weeks off
"or should I just do an FTP test and crack on with it?"
- Yeah, well first off, well done
for completing your 12 week intense training program.
It's never easy to really stick by it for 12 weeks.
And as always, we send your question to Zwift,
and they came back with an answer for you, so here it goes.
They firstly don't really know
where your FTP is at at the moment,
but you've definitely made some gains on that.
So we would suggest for the next session,
or the next block of training,
you would maybe taper it back on the intense sessions.
What do you think?
- Yeah, so for the first couple of weeks,
maybe two to three weeks, you want to rein in
how often you're doing those intense sessions.
So bring that down to one to two
intense interval sessions per week,
because then that'll help you freshen up a little bit.
- Yeah.
- At which point you'll be able to test your FTP then.
- Yeah, so then test your FTP,
and find out where your benchmark is.
And then looking at the structure of your next block,
we would suggest, and Zwift would suggest also,
that you look at your weaknesses and your strength.
And then hone in on those weaknesses.
So for example, if you've been working on your FTP,
and you've got a good FTP,
why don't you work on your VO2 max?
So structure your next couple of weeks of training
on your VO2 max, or strength sessions.
- Yeah, and you want to spend four to six weeks
focusing on those, before you kind of
have a look at it again and reassess where you are.
- Yeah, and so good luck with that next block of training,
and do let us know how you get on
in the comment section below.
Next question, from Chris Ostlund,
"What is the best time of day to weight train
"when you plan to also ride the same day?
"Couple them together in the same workout
"or try and do a double workout day, one being cycling
"and then the other strictly weight training?"
What do you reckon, Chris?
- Well there are two pretty clear schools of thought here.
And pointing out the obvious, one is before training
and one is after cycle training.
So, if you were to do your weight training
before you got on the bike,
it'd be great because you'd be fresh
when you're doing the weight training.
But you will always end up riding your bike on tired legs.
And ultimately, this will mean
that you're not producing the power numbers or, you know,
hitting the same intensities that you were before,
so in fact you'll be reducing your cycling performance.
Which is why most pros will then do the weight training
after their on-bike training.
- Yes, and I would second that; I would 100% go out and do
a first couple of hours on the bike
and then have a good lunch,
have a protein shake or a recovery drink.
- Yeah, good break in between.
- Yeah, and then go into a 45 to an hour, minute,
you know, strength session.
- Yeah, and as we mentioned before,
you want to keep that kind of varied
so that it's functional, you're not just building
muscles for the sake of it.
- Yep, right, without further ado
it's the Quick Fire Round!
- Do love these!
- Right, the first question comes in from Paul Abercrombie.
- "Do you have any tips, and warnings,
"for cyclists who can't take their own bikes while traveling
"but they want to rent one?"
- Right, interesting question.
I've never rented a bike before,
but it is actually a really good way of traveling.
Because it means that you don't have to worry
about bagging your bike up, putting it in a box,
getting it stowed away.
You can arrive there, get to the hire place,
find the right size bike, that's key.
So if you ride a 54-centimeter frame then make sure
you look for a 54-centimeter frame when you get there.
And then yeah just try and get it set up
as closely as your normal bike as possible.
But I would say a big tip is to bring your own pedals.
- Yeah that's a good point that.
And also check that brakes are the right way around.
- Yeah, check the brakes the right way around
and bring your own pedals.
So say if you're riding LOOK pedals, or Speedplay,
then make sure you bring those along
and they can just put them on
and it should feel as close to your bike as before.
- Yeah, I had a look online earlier as well,
for the prices on bike hire on trips.
And it's not cheap, it's not quite as cheap as hiring a car.
But, then you do get to ride a pretty cool bike for a week.
- Yeah I guess that's another point isn't it?
That you can ride a bike you might want to try
or might want to buy in the future.
- Yep, good.
- Right quick, we have to be quick, mate.
- Oh sorry.
- The next question, from Pete F,
"I just bought fenders, UK translation mud guards,
"for winter riding.
"Why are they so," beep, "expensive?"
- We just don't know, Pete.
But have you ever tried building your own?
I imagine there's a reason behind it.
They probably aren't that easy to build.
- I think they are quite difficult to build.
- Khenerav, Kodilakar, maybe?
- (laughs) Good one, yep, good one.
- "A warm hello to the GCN team.
"My question to you, is it better to work on FTP only
"on a FTP building specific plan, or would other plans,
"say a time trial specific plan
"be equally beneficial?
"Since both plans put a rider at
"a better position than before?"
You know what, I would just go and choose
the one that you prefer the look of.
But, doing time trial training to increase your FTP
is definitely going to work.
- 100%, yeah, it's pretty much the same workout, is it not?
- Yeah, an FTP training will benefit your time trialing.
So, win-win.
- Best of both worlds really.
Next question comes in from Tom Garner,
"I only get out on my bike for an hour or two a week
"due to rugby over winter.
"What's the best training to do
"in the short one or two sessions I get a week?
"I'm doing the London to Paris," fantastic,
"bike ride next year, so increasing my FTP is ideal."
What do we think, Chris?
- Well, I reckon a good hard interval session
will really suit you, something with long intervals
to help increase your FTP that we just talked about.
And then, yeah, 10 to 12 minute efforts
would be ideal for that.
- Yeah, we've said that quite a lot on this specific show,
about interval training and making it
really time efficient, because the harder you go,
the more you're really going to get out of the training
in the next coming weeks or days, et cetera.
So yeah, 45 minute session can be really hard
and you can get a lot out of it
by structuring it well and getting interval training.
- Enjoy the rugby. - Yeah, do.
- Callumph: "I have a recovery question.
"I find that after particularly tough indoor Zwift sessions,
"my muscles are more sore than usual.
"Are there self-massage techniques to assist recovery?
"Just like the pros get massaged after stages?
"And can you simply do that yourself?
"Secondly, what are your thoughts regarding cold showers,
"or contrast showers to speed recovery?"
- Ugh, interesting one.
Recovery is key to any cyclist,
and getting the most amount of recovery is also key.
But then massage and actively trying to recover
is also really important. - Yeah.
- A lot of pros end up taking a foam roller
or a tennis ball, et cetera et cetera really,
you can use pretty much whatever,
to really roll out your legs,
so you don't have to have a soigneur or a masseuse there
to massage your legs.
You can actually get the same benefit
from just using a foam roller.
- Yeah definitely and hot and cold showers like you mention,
they really work well as well.
- Have you actually used them? - Yeah.
- I used them at the start of my career.
I did some ice bath during, actually
my first junior Tour of Isle of Man, and yeah, it did work.
But then I just went and used massage, because I thought--
- Yeah, massage is more enjoyable,
but hot and showers, they definitely help you feel better.
- Ah, interesting.
Unfortunately we've come to the end
of this week's Ask GCN Anything.
I mean, I have to say Chris,
I'm pretty happy with how fast we did that Quick Fire Round.
- Seven out of 10 I reckon.
- Yeah, and just remember, if you want
to get your questions in for the next week,
then use the hashtag #torqueback.
And if you want to be in with a chance
of winning three free months subscription from Zwift,
then to use the hashtag #askGCNtraining.
- Nice, that's not it though.
We have some epic deals up in the shop.
So, 10% off selected kit bundles and a free hat.
You also get three for two on fan kit socks.
- Yes, and that's not all.
You also can get your hands on
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with the very nice GCN globe.
- Yes, saucy.
- But it's not only that, I know, we're going crazy!
- Ah!
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- Available in grind or beans.
- Ah mate, that smells so good.
- (sniffs) Mm, aromatic.
- Yeah so make sure you head over to the shop
to get your hands on these.
But if you want to watch some more GCN action
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