Fred Matheny's
Complete Book of
Road Bike Training

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$39.95 eBook RBR Publishing Co. 277 pages   27 photos; 53 tables & charts PDF file size. 2.66 MB

eBooks by Fred Matheny

Basic Training for Roadies*
Off-Season Training for Roadies*     

Spring Training for Roadies*

Supercharge Your Training*

Coach Fred's Solutions to Road Cycling Challenges, Vol. 1
Coach Fred's Solutions to Road Cycling Challenges, Vol. 2
Coach Fred's Solutions to Road Cycling Challenges, combo Vols. 1&2

*Included in Fred Matheny's Complete Book of Road Bike Training for a savings of $13.85

REVIEWS

• "This will become one of those books that defines the sport. Fred Matheny combines the best time-honored training strategies with the newest techniques, such as power measuring, to give you very effective training advice. Only a personal coach could help you better." -- Chris Carmichael of Carmichael Training Systems (CTS) and Lance Armstrong's coach
   

• "This book brings back many memories of my cycling career -- the training, the learning and the growing. It's a true encyclopedia of road cycling, written with the flair and panache that only Fred Matheny can create because of his 30 years in the sport." -- Ron Kiefel, 7-time Tour de France competitor
   

• "Every rider, from fitness seekers to full-blown racers, can benefit from Fred Matheny's road bike wisdom. He combines decades of experience with the latest training techniques to help you reach your full potential on the bike." -- Sal Ruibal, USA Today cycling writer
   

• "What a great eBook! The download went off without a hitch. Believe it or not, I found on my bookshelf the 1982 edition of Fred Matheny’s paperback Beginning Bicycle Racing. My how things in the cycling training world have changed in 24 years!" -- Holmes M., RBR newsletter subscriber
   

• "Fred has done a supreme job of taking the mystery out of road cycling performance and also made racing approachable for everyone. This book has everything you need to succeed." -- Alex Stieda, coach, Tour de France yellow jersey holder

From the Introduction by Fred Matheny

My Complete Book of Road Bike Training brings together and reshapes all of the key information from 4 eBooks I’ve written for RBR Publishing Company. Included are . . .

• Basic Training for Roadies

• Off-Season Training for Roadies

• Spring Training for Roadies

• Supercharge Your Training

Road riding was my first love and it remains my favorite type of cycling. I helped found RoadBikeRider.com to provide roadies with a dedicated source of “how to” information for riding better and getting more fun and fitness from the sport.

This eBook is simply the best collection of road riding and training in-formation that I could assemble.

The 4 parts, being an amalgam of the eBooks, naturally touch on similar key topics. For example, you’ll find a discussion of all-important lactate threshold training in several places. In each part it’s treated differently, oriented to the time of year and specific training goals. You’ll benefit from this perspective as you develop your own training plan with the recommendations provided.

(By the way, you’ll see a good deal of information about lactate threshold training credited to Lance Armstrong’s coach, Chris Carmichael, who says LT workouts were the key to Lance’s astounding success.)

Thanks to this approach, each part of my Complete Book of Road Bike Training provides all of the essential information necessary, standing alone so you can enter at the best place for your needs.

You don’t have to start at page 1, for instance, if it’s March and you’re on the doorstep of the new season. In this case, start with Part 3: Spring Training. Virtually everything you should know for the spring period is in that section. Then read the rest of the eBook, particularly Part 1: Foundation Information, to fill in the overall picture and get additional perspectives on key training topics.

(The following passage is from Part 1: Foundation Information, chapter 9. Here Coach Fred Matheny begins his discussion of the essence of better performance -- better pedaling.)

EXCERPT: Building the Base

Most cyclists realize the importance of a good endurance base. We know the litany: steady miles (1) develop the ability to process huge amounts of oxygen, (2) prepare the cardiovascular system for high-speed training, and (3) reduce body fat so climbing is improved. Endurance is important for long one-day rides, centuries, cross-state treks and tours.

In chapter 13, I discuss how to prepare specifically for these events. But before you can ride long distances with style and comfort, you must learn to pedal efficiently.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BETTER PEDALING

Here’s an eye-opening fact: When you ride steadily for an hour, you make about 5,400 pedal strokes. A century ride may mean 40,000 turns of the crank. Any flaw in your pedaling style gets magnified by the sheer number of times you perform the motion. Poor technique leads to premature fatigue and overuse injuries. It’s obvious that honing your pedal stroke is the first step to building endurance and well worth some effort.

EXAMPLE!  A few years ago, I was riding in Boulder, Colorado, a road bike mecca where it isn’t unusual to see hundreds of other cyclists during a morning spin. Sporting the latest trade team jerseys and shorts, they look, to the casual eye, like pros. Then I noticed a lone rider coming at me. Something about him screamed “Pro!” even though he wore a nondescript jersey. It wasn’t the clothes, it was the pedal stroke that set him apart: rock-solid shoulders, relaxed arms and a silky spin that seemed effortless even though he was going uphill into a brisk wind off the mountains. It was 7-time Tour de France rider and Giro d’Italia stage winner Ron Kiefel, out for a leg-loosening spin. No way for this retired pro to hide—the elegance and efficiency of his pedal stroke gave him away.

I know what you’re thinking: Why should you care about looking elegant? Why devote any effort to honing a silky spin when a choppier style probably gets you down the road nearly as well?

• A smooth stroke is more efficient on long rides. Although the difference between the pedal strokes of Ron Kiefel and those of an average rider may be miniscule for each revolution, over thousands of repetitions it results in significant energy savings. A small improvement in form pays off in less fatigue and faster average speed.
   

• A smooth stroke reduces injuries. Pushing down hard on the pedal in a lurching, square stroke increases the chance of damage to the tendons around your ankles and knees. When you smooth out your stroke, you distribute the workload among all the leg’s structures, lessening the chance of straining any given part.
   

• A smooth stroke allows you to pedal faster. And fast pedaling, according to coach Chris Carmichael is the key to developing power. At 100 rpm, the leg muscles have to push down with much less force on each stroke compared with going the same speed at 50 rpm. A faster pedal stroke lets you use suppleness and agility rather than brute strength to power your bike.

(Next, Coach Fred details five proven methods for improving your pedal stroke.)

 

TOC: Fred Matheny's
Complete Book of Road Bike Training

About the Author Acknowledgments Introduction PART 1: FOUNDATION INFORMATION 1. Training vs. 'Just Riding' 2. Benefits for Body and Mind 3. The Ways We Improve 4. The Limits to Improvement 5. Learn the Lingo 6. The Periodized Training Year 7. All About Intensity 8. Overtraining and Recovery 9. Building the Base 10. Raising Lactate Threshold 11. Building Power 12. Developing Speed 13. Increasing Endurance 14. Limited-Time Training 15. Tapering and Peaking 16. Nutrition 17. Wisdom of the Cycling Coaches PART 2: OFF-SEASON TRAINING Introduction How to Use This Section 18. Rest, Recovery, Remediation 19. Dreams, Goals, Limiters 20. Physiological Testing 21. Whipping Winter Weather 22. Reaching Ideal Weight 23. Resistance Training 24. Strength Conversion 25. Crosstraining 26. Indoor Cycling 27. Better Bike-Handling Skills 28. Three Off-Season Programs PART 3: SPRING TRAINING Introduction How to Use This Section 29. Setting the Stage 30. Building Endurance 31. Muscular Endurance 32. Spring Into LT 33. Climbing 34. Sprinting 35. Group Rides 36. Overtraining 37. Spring Injuries 38. Spring Weather 39. Three Spring Training Plans PART 4: SUPERCHARGED TRAINING Introduction How to Use This Section 40. Manipulating Intensity 41. Warming Up for Top Performance 42. Power Training 43. Simplified Testing for Wattage and VO2 Max 44. High-Cadence Pedaling 45. ‘Stage Race’ Training 46. Speedwork for Faster Long Rides 47. How Hard? As Hard as You Can! 48. ‘Spinning’ for Strength and Power 49. Cardio-Resistance Workouts 50. Painless LT Training 51. Using Centuries to Boost Fitness 52. Hill Circuits for Better Climbing 53. Get Dirty 54. Tapering for Top Performance 55. Special Techniques of the Pros Glossary Index Excerpt