The second week of January begins the 6th annual EPC Stationary Trainer Series. The class will again be held Tuesday and Thursday evenings at Body Mecca Concepts on Broadway  and 2nd Avenue. The series runs twelve weeks beginning January 11th running through the last week of March.

Training on the stationary trainer is the best way to accomplish quality cycling-specific training in a short amount of time. Intervals and exercises can be controlled and executed with precision and then repeated to allow for adaptation and progression of fitness over several weeks. The group setting makes things more enjoyable and hold you a bit more accountable to show up and get your training in!

The EPC Trainer Series is a progressive training class that develops pedaling technique, cycling specific strength, aerobic endurance and anaerobic capacity. The group setting (20+ athletes) makes each workout not only challenging, but fun and enjoyable while you make progress towards your 2011 cycling goals. The cost of the 12-week series is $335.  EPC Club Members save $40 (@ $295) and receive priority enrollment.

Email: info@epcmultisport.com to reserve your spot!

SAVE $30 BY ENROLLING IN DECEMBER!

The official club launch is on January 1, but you can save money by signing up in December. Club dues for 2011 will be $150 (includes your choice of club jersey or tri kit, a personal EPC web log-in to access your own Training Peaks Calendar and Log, helpful training downloads from the EPC Training Library, the EPC Club Event Calendar and social network to plan your training, and discounts from vendors and sponsors).

By signing up in December you can save $30 over the regular club dues and enroll for only $120 until the end of the month!

EMAIL:  info@epcmultisport.com to sign up!

It’s about that time of year to start your aerobic base building for your next racing/training season. After your last event of this year you hopefully took a little time off to rest and unwind from the hectic training year. After this short break of maybe a week or two, or three, you maybe got back into easy training with less day-to-day structure and plenty of emphasis on enhancing your technique, without any intensity and pretty low volume (based on how you feel on a given day). Now that you’ve allowed your body and mind the time it needs to recover and rebuild it’s time to look forward to building a strong aerobic engine that will form the foundation of your entire year ahead of training and racing. Sounds important. Well it is! In fact your aerobic base is the single most important component to your success as an endurance athlete. The word endurance in the phrase endurance athlete should clue you in on the importance of aerobic training. Fact is, short racing events such as a sprint triathlon or 40k time-trial consist of 97 percent aerobic energy production and only 3 percent anaerobic. Move up to a two to three hour event like a cross-county mountain bike race, a marathon, or an olympic distance triathlon and you’re looking a 98/2 aerobic vs. anaerobic energy production. Forget about events over three hours as they are almost entirely aerobic.

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It’s mid-November and I’m back to work. My last race was XTERRA World Champs in Maui on October 24th. After the race we kicked back and enjoyed Hawaii for several days before heading back to the mainland. The next week and half I laid low and did nothing physical. I got some work done around the house, worked on my coaching business for the new year, got some extra sleep, and was just plain lazy at times. Two full weeks of absolutely nothing physical. This combined with Halloween candy throughout the day and a little extra wine in the evening, I put on a couple of pounds and that was the signal that I’ve rested enough and my body had recovered well enough!

By the week of November 8th I eased back into training with a “workout-a-day” plan. Two swims, two rides, two runs, one day off, all 45 minutes to an hour long, all easy just focusing on drill work and technique. Felt good to get moving again. This week, the week of the 15th, I’m on to the “two-workout-a-day” plan, adding in some yoga sessions, and an additional run and two additional swims. For the remainder of the month the focus will continue to be on improving technique while easing into aerobic training by December.

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Goal setting is a valuable and effective practice that most athletes end up ignoring. Properly set goals provide us with the reason for getting up at 5 am for swim practice and getting in those long winter trainer sessions and 2 hour runs in 20 degree weather. Goal setting lays the foundation for our training and provides the road map to success.

Here are some tips to help you set your own goals and use them to help you achieve:

1. Set long-term goals first. Think down the road not only for this year’s training and racing, but two, three and more years in the future. Write down 2-3 goals you’d like to accomplish each year for the next three years.

2. Set short-term goals. Now narrow your focus to your 2011 season. Write down what you want to achieve in the coming year. Think beyond just race results or times, keeping all your goals measurable. Be sure to have training objectives and lifestyle commitments included. Set specific goals for every eight to twelve weeks of the year.

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Strength training is an essential component to the endurance athlete’s annual training plan. Muscular strength is the basis of all movement. As endurance athletes we rely on our aerobic system to be able to produce virtually endless muscular contractions required to swim, bike, and run over specific distances. However, we are limited at just how much force can be applied to those contractions based on the maximum strength our muscles have to work from. Put simply, the more weight you can move in one repetition directly relates to how forcefully you can pull during your swim stroke, pedal your bike and push off on your running stride. In addition to increasing the amount of force you can apply to forward motion, strength training has several other benefits including improving your body composition. Strength training develops lean muscle mass. Lean muscle mass utilizes more calories than fat. The more muscle mass you have, the more energy you are using even at rest. This shift in caloric usage leads to leaner total body mass. Basically, increased muscle mass burns more fat and makes you leaner and faster.

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2.5 pounds of custom titanium goodness.

This should help keep me out riding all winter long!

www.sevencycles.com

-CW

Buy now and save for 2011! We’re planning our order for next year and offering you what we have left from this year at our lowest prices ever. Take advantage and stock up for your winter training gear and racing gear now for next year. All clothing designs will remain the same for 2011. Sizes are extremely limited so don’t delay! Once these are gone, you can’t get more until March (and they will cost more). Call 720.841.8905 or email info@epcmultisport.com to order.

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