strength and conditioning for cycling
DESCRIPTION
Strength and conditioning for cycling - injury and overtraining preventionTRANSCRIPT
www.nwconditioning.com
Strength and conditioning for cycling
Prevention strategies for injury and overtraining
www.nwconditioning.com
Session overview
• A bit about me
• What is strength and conditioning?
• Common injuries and methods of prevention
• What is overtraining and how to avoid it
www.nwconditioning.com
Neil Welch MSc ASCC• BSc Sports science and physiology
• MSc Strength and conditioning
• Worked with snowboard-X and ski coaches in Canada
• Experience with premiership rugby teams
• S&C coach for the the British alpine development ski team
• Work with athletes from multiple sports including rugby, rowing and triathlon
• Founder of nw conditioning strength and conditioning consultancy
www.nwconditioning.com
What is Strength and Conditioning?
“The physical and physiological preparation of athletes for sport
performance”
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The role of the Coach
A strength and conditioning coach will design a bespoke training program based around your individual goals.
This program will be aimed at:– Maximising competition performance
– Increasing strength and power
– Improving metabolic conditioning
– Developing movement patterns
– Preventing injury
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Training for L’etape du tour
• Distance: 181km
• Total ascent: 4100m
• It is an aerobic endurance event
• Training is aimed at increasing your VO2 max, lactate threshold and tolerance to cope with time in the saddle
• The high training volume required means a lot of time in the saddle and a lot of pedal turns.
• A 2 hour ride at 90rpm is 10,800 revolutions
• A small malalignment or imbalance repeated this many times can lead to overuse injuries
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Iliotibial band (ITB) Syndrome• ITB is a band of fibrous tissue running
from the lateral hip to the lateral knee
• It can become inflamed because of friction with the femoral condyle (hip bone)
• Often due to tightness in ITB
• This tightness can be made worse due to weak hip abductors
• Risk factors include being new to a sport and large increases in volume
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Preventing ITB Syndrome
• Increasing activation of the hip abductors
• Achieved by applying a lateral resistance in order to activate
• Stretching
• Monitoring training volume
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Quadriceps and patellar tendonitis
• Inflammation of the tendon
• The tendon is the connective tissue joining muscle to the bone
• Tendonitis caused by overuse of the muscle or too much load being exerted through it.
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Preventing tendonitis
• Increasing lower body strength - this will increase your ability to generate and tolerate forces
• Stretching - reduces the tension on the tendons
• Monitoring training volume
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Lower back pain
• Reported by up to 70% of cyclists
• Caused by prolonged flexion of lumbar spine
• Can be caused by a lack of core strength to maintain a neutral spine
• Incorrect saddle position can also be a factor
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Preventing low back pain
• Bike setup - get it done professionally!
• Core strength - activation needs to become automatic
• The ‘big three’ core exercises– Curl ups– Side bridges– Bird dogs
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Muscle tightness
• Hamstrings• Hip flexors• Quadriceps• Glutes• ITB
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Stretching
• This is an often overlooked aspect of performance
• Regular stretching can help to reduce injury and improve your performance
• Static stretching as well as PNF best for increasing range of motion
• Stretching should be done post training or even as a session on its own
• Stretches should be held for between 45s - 1min
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Exercises for injury prevention
• 6 exercises that can help prevent injury
• Videos for all 6 injury prevention exercises and stretches can be found at:
www.nwconditioning.com/sky
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Overtraining syndrome
Process Training Intensified training
Outcome Acute fatigueFunctional overreaching
Non-functional overreaching
Overtraining syndrome
Recovery Day(s) Days-weeksWeeks-months
Months
Performance IncreaseTemporary performance decrement
Stagnation to decrease
Decrease
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Overtraining symptoms
• Insomnia• Reduced appetite• Drop in performance• Constant fatigue• Irritability• Increased respiratory infections• Muscle soreness• Headaches
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Preventing overtraining
• Keep a note of your training volume
• Be on the look out for the symptoms
• Easier to keep track using our app
• Don’t be afraid to rest, it’s an important part of training…but don’t use it as an excuse!
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Exercises
www.nwconditioning.com/sky
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