Cycling With Core-Breathing to Develop Endurance – An Approach

Here are questions to ponder: How are you creating your breath and how are you breathing as you are cycling? How you answer that question is beginning to analyze your development of endurance within cycling. For how you create your breath is about the torso, it’s the physical side of endurance, performance, and how you are breathing during cycling. It’s about your pattern of breathing during different parts of your cycling. Do not think there is a right way or a wrong way to breathe for that idea limits your thinking on the subject of breath development within cycling for endurance. There is only an effective way or ineffective way to breathe using the core to enhance endurance while you’re cycling. Core and breathing development is the foundation for endurance and performance development.

If you cycle for fun, and want to increase enjoyment, ability, and performance in cycling, you need to learn to incorporate the development of your breathing abilities with core breathing as your foundation. Your actual physical force coming from the core area of the torso is in direct relationship to stage of your breathing. Core and breath are interlocked with the function of creating force from the core into your cycling. As your exhalation reaches its peak, you’re at the weakest point of force creation within your core.

To experience the feeling of force change as you exhale, try this exercise. Feel your core in action and change as your breath changes. Inhale by pushing out your belly button and leaving your upper chest at rest. Do not take your breath with your chest by pushing it out. In this program the chest expands after the core, for the core forces the chest to expand. With the belly button out from the inhale, pause. Feel tension in the muscles around the core from pushing it out. Then tighten the muscles around the belly button and push down towards the feet. As you push slowly (and do it very slowly so your mind can direct the action), feel the tension in the core going down to your feet and at the same time relax your shoulder muscles in direct response to core feeling. The shoulders will naturally relax with tension in the core and if the mind directs the shoulders to do so.

Then lift something with little weight slowly and feel how much effort it takes to do it. Effort is the key word to focus on. Put the weight down slowly so your mind can feel it clearly, and relax your shoulders. Exhale half way by pulling in the belly button, then pause and tighten the core muscles and push the core down your legs towards the feet and at the same time relax your shoulders slowly. Then lift the light weight again and feel the difference in effort. Put down the weight again and exhale all the way by pulling in the core and then pause and tighten. Then lift again and feel how much effort it takes and how it feels different between having full breath and no breath within your core. A weightlifter will never pick up heavy weight on an inhale or with low breath for they feel they are at their weakest in those two stages of breathing.

Experiencing the differences gives the mind the ability to choose to change and use the core/breathing within cycling or any other sport.

This is a small example of how breath and core work to form force. You can feel your own strength change with your level of exhalation and inhalation when you are working with something that has weight.

How you view the function of the core area of the torso and how it influences breath usage affects how you value your core/breathing development within your exercise programs. Looking for the most effective core development and breathing enhancement will affect your overall ability within your sport and enjoyment. Look at the function of core/breathing to adjust to the demands within the physical activity during competition itself. Breathing is the foundation for endurance and performance. It is the triggering of the core to be forceful physically.

Concepts within this program are core are breathing together. If you want a strong usage of core within your sport, breathing is the triggering of the core. Do not think of core without breath and breath without core, for they work together for performance.

Each physical sport will use core/breathing to fit within the sport to create endurance and strength. Weightlifters will use core and breathing to affect their ability to lift. Swimmers will use the ability to breathe in a very different way to lengthen endurance. Finding the most effective way to engage core/breathing to create your breath for endurance is the challenge to increase performance.

The order for core/breathing to develop endurance begins with two parts; one is movement within the torso to form inhalation and exhalation beginning and ending with the core. The second part is how the mind directs energy and strength into sets of muscles for cycling. As your breath changes so will performance. Being focused on breath first will bring into focus your physical and mental abilities related to cycling.

What lessens performance is fatigue. There are two types. One is in your body and the muscles. The other is fatigue of breath which has progressive affects within performance of muscles. Fatigue within breathing ability begins with a pattern of breathing that becomes shorter. Mouth breathing becomes the main way to breathe, which creates less range of movement within the whole torso. This turns into lower endurance and then turns into loss of strength. Your mind is watching and feeling the change. Fatigue of muscles has a direct relationship to breathing, for with shortness of breath and breathing with your mouth, muscles become tight in the legs and shoulders; this tightens the whole torso. Think of breathing abilities as the foundation that supports physical and mental performance abilities in cycling. This brings into clarity what to work on for performance, between breath, body and mind for they are linked together.

Performance is based on an old idea. Your physical performance is based on your weakest link; finding the weakest link within your mind, body and spirit is the challenge to improve ones performance. One of the weakest links in performance development is spirit, for it is the least understood and developed in exercises. There needs to be focus on the meaning of spirit, which is founded on breath, and the directional abilities of the mind within your physical movement. Creating your spirit within your exercising program lets you develop your spirit force, but they are different in refinement and bringing them together create choices within cycling for endurance ability.

Bringing up your performance takes a degree of understanding that brings into focus the directional abilities of the mind within the movement of the physical muscles and your core/breathing that forms your spirit force within cycling. The development of spirit (breath) force within cycling is not simple, yet people do it naturally in order to have any level of performance. Refining the natural process of developing your spirit within your cycling takes lot of internal feeling of muscles in action and mental methods that affect endurance.

Qi Gong is an ancient system to develop core/breathing to have endurance and mental directive force in movement. Qi Gong is a method of bringing spirit as the foundation to support mind and body. This method has been refined over centuries into many forms that affect energy and strength within a conscious directive mind. Taking core/breathing from a general training to a refined training to enhance performance within cycling takes thought and physical feeling to engage the core. Breathing in a mental directive way is rewarding.

Cycling takes a lot of physical endurance and your breath usage affects your ability to keep up. How many hours a week do you work on your breath development and controlling it to enhance your cycling? Is core/breathing development part of your program and if not, why not? When you get tried as you are cycling, is it muscles, which can be fixed with exercises? Or is being tired from not being able to inhale and exhale easily? Training the physical body in an organizing manner is the main focus for most performance programs, but they do not focus on development of breath integrated within the exercises that enhances breath range ability. This is important for developing endurance of ones abilities physically.

Refining training to focus on core/breathing as the foundation to physical muscle force would be ideal, but most people think physical first and breath is a distant second. Having core and breathing as the central foundational focus within each exercise changes the whole body reaction to the exercise. Core and breathing affects the use of the shoulder muscles by not letting them become tight. Disengaging the use of the shoulders and connecting to core force during your exercises is a key part of enhancing performance in cycling or any sport.

To enhance your trained performance there is a general toning of muscles that enhances the mind/body connection feeling and feedback connected to the strength that rests in the core. Physically there is a central area of strength. It is the core and tapping into that source within training forms possibilities for physical force of action.

Each sport has its own set of muscle developments that fit into body movements of the sport. Being clear on what groups of muscles that are needed to be developed in conjunction with development of the core and breathing will not waste time and enhance the enjoyment of performance.

Using Qi Gong training for developing performance is about the relationship to core within the breath as the central area of strength and force of movement. Then, to train the mind to project energy and strength within your physical movement has to be developed over time and learning from your effort. Understanding Qi Gong can be confusing, for there are many forms and each form affects the body/mind relationship in different ways. Finding the most effective form for yourself is a challenge, but you never waste time learning Qi Gong from a good instructor. It is about the long term effects when you learn Qi Gong.

Qi Gong is developed from Eastern ideas of energy flow and strength within each breath in movement. A Western way of looking at Qi Gong is learning to be in the zone, which affects physical performance. The core is activated with inhalation for strength. The release of energy within the core and body is within exhalation as you express your physical force in physical movement. In cycling, finding and developing an effective form of Qi Gong that trains you to use muscles to control short inhales and long exhales will affect endurance. The longer your exhale, the better your overall performance can be in your sport. Learning to inhale fast and exhale long takes training time independent of other training for it should be its own program to be developed.

Qi Gong teaches that the core is the source of strength and energy that are linked in different amounts. Because it is a source only, core energy has to be directed to have any real effect on performance. You can have a strong core, but if you do not direct the energy effectively, you will waste much of the force that rests in that area. Learning to direct the core/breathing force is an art of mind and body.

Performance is about the internal force of energy and strength flowing through the body for external expression within the movement of the body like in cycling. It takes a lot effort to be a cyclist; learning how to develop your best abilities is an art of expression, for it is force of action that makes it enjoyable to be a cyclist.

Finding and learning core/breathing techniques within different Qi Gong schools will always help in life for one main reason; you should not hold stress in the shoulders. The more a person uses core and breathing, the less stress can be held in shoulders which affect abilities of the body to move and overall strength.

http://www.bartleyenergycoach.com Qi Gong instructor for Core/breathing as the source of ones physcial force within physical action.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Bartley

Review of Cycle Training Programs

Over the last several months we have been compiling and comparing cycle training programs that are available online. We were amazed at just how many there were and even more amazed at the quality of many of those that we investigated. Here are some of the best cycle training programs that we came across. We have reviewed the top 3.

1. Mycycle.com
The low down:
This is the best online cycle training program that we have found by far. It is a completely web based training program that incorporates training plans and schedules, advice from professional riders, online tracking charts and system, interactive coaching, and more all under one easy to use, attractive website.

The Highlights:
Multiple training programs to fit any cyclist.
Specializing in cycle training plans for “time poor people”.
Personal progress tracking system with charts and graphs.
Exclusive tips & advice from REAL experts.
Estimated 10-30% Improvement in cycling performance.
100% Money back guarantee.

Cost: $97 one-time membership fee grants full access. No hidden costs.

2. Advanced Guide to Base Cycling Training
The low down:
A series of e-books each touching on a different aspect of cycling training. The books are written by Samuel Mascarell, a professional triathlon and cyclist trainer. The offer includes a total of 4 information packed (instant download) e-books including:

“Advanced Guide to Base Cycling Training”
“How to Customize your Own Cycling Training Plan”
“The 5 Minute Guide For Cycling Beginners”
“7 Ideas To Improve Your Cycling Training Plan”

Cost: $34 for all 4 e-books

3. Bicycle Century Training Book
The low down:
This training program is very specific in that it focuses on the goal of riding a Century (100 mile ride). This challenging goal is something that any moderately serious cyclist will have on the list of road biking goals. The unique thing about this e-book is that it covers a wide variety of important fitness topics that are often times overlooked in other cycle training manuals. This is a good product for the price and can be downloaded instantly.

The Highlights:
A good section on the mental aspect of distance training and cycling.
How to manage nutrition during training and on the ride.
Tips on equipment that is critical during long rides.
How to integrate this training with weight loss.
How to monitor and manage heart rate during long distance rides.
FREE BONUS of a 16 Week Training Program.
Free BONUS of a Century Training Log.

Cost: $19.98

Look

There are many bikes to choose from now days in the $2000 price range, but the Look 566 is one of the best.

Cycle Training that works

Whether you are a category 2 road bike racer or a weekend warrior, we all want to be the best road cyclist that we can be when the season starts. That is why dedicated training and regular workouts are critical. But not just any old workout will do. How many times have you felt that your training regimen has gone flat? It feels the same every time and you know deep down that you really aren’t improving. We all have had this problem. Or maybe you are a new cyclist who simply wants to get into shape for the upcoming season. Or maybe you want to keep up with those friends that have been riding longer than you have. This is why it is soooo important to get hooked up with a training program that will add variety and force us out of our hum drum training regimens into something more fun that will actually make us better riders.

We at roadbicycles.org are recommending the mycycling.com training program. This program is the best online road cycling program we have ever come across……See Explosive Results in just Weeks!

It includes everything from a beginners training program to secret pro sessions that will push you to higher levels of cycling and endurance. This system includes not only great training tips and tricks, but full training schedules, a tracking system with graphs and charts, and professional cyclists who can answer questions and help you along. It really is a fantastic service that puts the fun back into cycling training and one that we highly recommend.

Here is some of what you get for a relatively small one time membership fee:

1.  Multiple training programs for all aspects of road cycling.

2. Training and riding tips from professional cyclists who know what it takes to succeed.

3. A personal progress training system complete with charts and graphs.

4. A comprehensive resource section that includes video tutorials.

5. Online cycle training blog with regular updates.

6. An iron clad 100% money back guarantee.

And much more!

DON’T PUT IT OFF! START YOUR NEW TRAINING REGIMEN AND TRACKING SYSTEM TODAY!

Sidi Road Bike Shoes

Sidi is probably the most recognizable road riding shoe on any of the grand tours. Sidi has taken adjustability to the next level resulting in an extremely comfortable shoe to wear. Performance is in no way sacrificed as the unique sole design maximizes energy output yet remains comfortable. Durability is a factor when spending money on a good road riding shoe and even though Sidi shoes can be a little on the spendy side, they have unparalleled life. Check out this video review for more on Sidi shoes.

Road Bike Tire Pressure

This article is for those of us that simply grab the old tire pump and start cranking away on it until our road bike tires are satisfactorily firm to touch and call it good. This will usually suffice and most of the time the ride will go off without a hitch. However, a little attention to the actual pressure and some small adjustments will make the ride more comfortable and maximize the rolling efficiency of the tires on the asphalt.

First thing is first. You really need a tire pump with a pressure gauge built into it. This will save you the hassle of removing the pump nozzle and applying a separate pressure gauge to check where you are. There are all kinds of different models out there and honestly just about any one will work. Note: A word of caution on buying a cheap plastic pump. They tend to break or leak fairly quickly, so spend the few extra bucks on a decent pump.

 

Road cycling tire pressures generally range between 80-105 psi. This may seem like a narrow range and that the difference is minimal, but remember that these are slender tires and tubes and a little change makes a big difference. The following are some factors that will require consideration when inflating the tires:
1. Air temperature. Cold = more air (100psi). Hot = less air (90-95psi).
2. Riding surface. Rough, cracked roads = more air to avoid pinch flats, but this results in rougher ride too.
3. Flat vs. Hilly ride. On a flat ride you can run lower air pressure and be more comfortable. On a climbing day it is advisable to increase the pressure to decrease rolling resistance and maximize efficiency for those grueling workouts (100-103psi).
4. Tire condition. If your tires are becoming worn, then be very careful not to over inflate or under inflate. This will increase your risk of flats on the ride, and nobody wants that.

Always check the inflation recommendations made by the manufacturer before adding or subtracting air from your bicycle tires.
An interesting thing about bike tires is that they tend to slowly leak when sitting in the garage for a few days and so we recommend that you check your tire pressure before every ride. This just helps to ensure a more enjoyable outing.

Cycling Water Bottles

The importance of hydration when cycling goes without saying. The longer the ride, the more critical this becomes. While water bottles are mostly all the same, there are a few things to consider when picking up a new one.

1. Is the size adequate? Small 12 once bottles might do well for a short 1 hour ride, but will quickly run out beyond that and leave the cyclist without option. The 16-20 once sizes are more practicle and will last longer and you won’t care if you don’t use it all on a shorter ride.

2. One or two bottles on the bike? Again, it is all about distance. If you are usually riding criteriums and not 3-5 hours tours, then one bottle makes sense. The main issue with 2 bottles on the bike is weight and aerodynamics. Most of us have the option of adding a second bottle for longer rides and taking it off for shorter ones.

3. How about a hydration pack? Well, most road cyclists don’t like these. They are bulky, heavy, non-aerodynamic, and trap heat along the back. That said, there is a place for these on long tours or overnight rides (supported or not). For regular training and recreation rides however, we recommend leaving it at home.

4. Is there really a difference in water bottle cages? For most of us the answer is no.   For those serious cyclists that want to shave ounces off of their overall bike weight the answere is yes.  Carbon fiber is lightest, then alluminum, then steel and plastic.  The most important fact really is the ease with which one can remove the bottle and return it during riding.

A note on bacteria: Water bottles are notorious for developing a ‘funky’ odor after 3-6 months of use. This is usually the result of a build up of bacteria and sometimes fungus. Washing the bottle with hot water and soap can help, but ultimately replacment is recommended at regular intervals. Let’s face it, bottles are inexpensive, illness is not. So get some new ones already.

Cycling Shorts & Leggings

Many a road cyclist has been mocked for wearing those “spandex” shorts and looking a little funny. The reality is, however, that bike shorts are not made of spandex like material and in fact are extremely comfortable and functionally specific to the sport of cycling. The cut itself is important in that it they are made to allow for a seated position in the saddle without the bunching and squishing of traditional cut lower body garments. They have a built in pad or chamois (pronounced ‘shammy’). This makes a tremendous difference in comfort on longer rides and helps deter saddle sores. There is usually an elastic band around the leg with a rubberized grip to keep the shorts leg from riding up with each peddle stroke and causing friction irritation. This is also far more aerodynamic. The material (and there is a wide range of types) is moisture wicking and designed to cool the rider.

There are several different lengths of riding pants. There are shorts, 3/4 lengths or calf length and full length designs. Most avid riders have all three so that they can ride most of the year and a wide range of temperatures.

Like Jerseys, cycling shorts tend to be expensive, but last a long time with proper care. We recommend following the washing and drying instructions carefully to prolong the life. We have brought to you the best deals we could find on cycling shorts and pants. Take a look and get stocked up.

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