Schmidt Mountain Bike Training

2. Auflage 2014
ISBN: 978-1-78255-688-6
Verlag: Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd.
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 256 Seiten

This book is a solid introduction to mountain bike training that is based on training science foundations and discipline-specific features (e.g., cross-country and marathon).

Details and overviews of all basic areas of training methodology are presented: aspects of heart-rate-oriented training, periodization of training into different phases and advice on how to plan and evaluate your own training diary.

Information and suggestions on strength training and stretching are accompanied by tips on optimal and performance-enhancing nutrition. The book finishes with descriptions of technique and mental training.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Schmidt, Achim

Leseproben

2   The Physiology and Anatomy of a Mountain Biker
2.1 From Beginner to Pro From a Physiological Perspective
For an individual with little endurance background, mountain biking will trigger certain changes in the body. The purpose of these changes is to adapt the body to increased performance demands. In addition to visible changes, such as more defined muscles or weight loss, a series of other more subtle adaptation processes take place, which increase the performance level of the body’s complex system. For a mountain biker who takes his hobby seriously, learning as much about the body as possible should be a fundamental requirement because it enables him to do the sport he loves. An understanding and awareness of the body are becoming less and less emphasized in a time of computer-controlled training, and an unavoidable consequence of this is that many elite athletes overtrain until their bodies break down. This chapter presents the anatomical and physiological basics relevant to the endurance sport mountain biking. It also looks at the adaptation processes caused by endurance training and should help the mountain biker to understand the physical processes, injuries and also performance improvement. This knowledge will also provide a basic understanding of training and all associated factors. There is not enough room to explore these topics in great detail, but interested readers can always consult good anatomy and physiology books to find more in-depth descriptions. 2.1.1 Training Effects on the Heart, Circulation and Musculoskeletal System
The body’s adaptation process is divided into two phases. During the first phase, at low training volumes and intensities (i.e., at grass roots and rehab level), there is just a functional adaptation that is characterized by an improved metabolism and a corresponding increase in the economy of the cardiovascular system. The second adaptation phase is dimensional adaptation, during which the size of the internal organs changes. The heart becomes more efficient. Regular, long-term endurance training leads to an adaptation process in the heart that results in what is known as athlete’s heart, characterized by an increase in size and a resulting drop in heart rate. This adaptation process is a result of the faster metabolism, especially in the muscles, in which increased oxygen and nutritional requirements can only be met by a greater blood circulation, requiring a more efficient heart. While an untrained heart weighs about 10.6 ounces (300 g), that of an endurance athlete can weigh up to 17.6 ounces (500 g). This increase in weight is accompanied by an increase in size. From about 800 ml for men and 500 ml for women, heart size can increase up to 900–1200 milliliters, and in rare cases up to 1500 milliliters. The largest hearts can be found in road racing cyclists and are the result of their often extreme endurance training loads. The increase in heart volume enables a greater stroke volume. The stroke volume is the amount of blood that the heart pumps into the aorta per beat (80 ml for the untrained and up to 150 ml for trained endurance athletes). However, as the body does not need more blood for the same performance, the heart can pump more slowly. The maximum possible cardiac output per minute (i.e., the total amount of blood pumped by the left side of the heart per minute [heart rate × stroke volume; e.g., 70 × 80 ml = 5.6 l/min at rest]), rises in a trained athlete compared to an untrained person so that the muscles have more blood available to them per unit of time. The maximum heart rate increases only minimally after years of endurance training, so the greater maximum stroke volume produces a greatly increased maximum cardiac output per minute. Fig. 2.1: Anatomy and the cardiac cycle At maximum effort, the untrained individual attains a cardiac output of about 20 liters, while someone with endurance training can attain values of over 30 liters. The maximum heart rate is usually calculated by the formula 220 – age, which should be treated as an approximate figure and is therefore practically useless at elite level. There is more on the determining and importance of maximum heart rate in chapter 3. A clear indicator of athlete’s heart is a lowered heart rate from about 60–70 (70–80 for women) bpm for the untrained athlete to 40–50 bpm at high performance level. At pro level, resting heart rates of below 40 bpm are common and may occasionally be as low as 30 bpm. Training should never just stop completely once your mountain biking career is over, as this can cause the heart to suffer potentially dangerous training withdrawal symptoms. The heart’s function is illustrated in figure 2.1. The advantages of athlete’s heart: • greater efficiency • the same performance can be achieved with a lower heart rate lower resting and working heart rate, which protects the heart (comparable to lower revs in a car) • economizing the circulatory system • other positive physical adaptation processes take place during the development of athlete’s heart Vascular System Oxygen-rich blood is sent round the body via the aorta, the arteries and the arterioles. The arterioles and capillaries of the muscles are actively constricted at rest, thereby preventing unnecessary blood supply to the muscles because at rest other organs require the blood (e.g., gastro-intestinal tract, kidneys, liver). When a person starts to move, the blood vessels in the working muscles expand to allow more blood, and therefore more oxygen and nutrients, to flow into the muscle fibers. There is therefore a corresponding reduction in blood flow to the digestive system during exercise. The heart pumps harder to meet the muscles’ increased demand for blood. The capillaries, the smallest blood vessels and also where oxygen exchange takes place (oxygen carbon dioxide, nutrients metabolites), are connected to the venules and ultimately to the veins, which join either the superior or inferior vena cava. The veins transport the blood back to the heart. Fig. 2.2: Circulatory system Fig. 2.3: Anatomy of the lungs Respiration Oxygen-poor, carbon-dioxide-rich blood flows into the alveoli, the extremely thin-walled capillaries inside the lungs, where it releases its carbon dioxide and absorbs oxygen. This process is called external respiration, while the exchange of substances between the blood and the body cells is called internal respiration. With the aid of the breathing muscles, primarily the diaphragm, at rest the lungs expand during inhalation, air flows down the trachea and bronchia into the pulmonary alveoli where the gaseous exchange takes place, and finally the carbon dioxide air escapes from the lungs (exhalation). Only during exercise (e.g., cycling)–when breathing is heavier–is the diaphragm breathing supported by chest breathing. A whole series of auxiliary respiratory muscles then reinforce the inhalation and exhalation processes and increase the energy requirement of the respiratory muscles up to 10% of the total energy requirement. During exercise, the oxygen requirement of these muscles increases to up to 15–20% of the maximum oxygen intake. At rest, for each breath, only about 0.5 liters of air is breathed in and out 15 times per minute ( = 7.5 l); while at maximum effort, the trained mountain biker may after a finishing sprint, for example, inhale and exhale over 190 liters of air per minute. The vital capacity (the maximum amount of air that a person can expel from the lungs after first filling the lungs to their maximum) is highly dependent on age, sex and body size. The vital capacity is usually between three and seven liters, but it reveals little about a mountain biker’s absolute endurance ability. The elite African distance runners, for example, have small lungs compared to Europeans but still usually run faster. Blood The 5–6 liters of blood in our bodies contain roughly 55% blood plasma (fluid) and about 45% various blood cells. Blood accounts for about 5–6% of our body-weight. Endurance training, such as mountain biking, increases blood volume by about 15%. These are the main functions attributed to blood: • transport (oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, metabolic waste, hormones), • the transportation and circulation of heat, • clotting and • immune defense. 1 mm3 of blood (i.e., a tiny amount) contains an incredible 4.5–5 million red blood corpuscles and about 5,000–8,000 white blood corpuscles for immune defense. 100 milliliters of blood also contains about 7 grams of protein. The red blood corpuscles (erythrocytes) are responsible for transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide. The hematocrit value shows the volume percentage of blood cells in the blood. Hematocrit is now often used as proof of the commonly used doping agent (especially in road cycling) erythropoietin (EPO). EPO increases the production of red blood cells, which enables the athlete to absorb more oxygen. The result is not only a significantly higher performance level, but also a significantly higher risk of dying of deep vein thrombosis (blood clot). The sport of road cycling, where this doping method is still more commonly abused than in mountain...

Über Autor(innen)

Achim Schmidt was born in Cologne, Germany, in 1969, and currently works as a sports scientist in the cycling department at the Institute of Outdoor Sports and Ecology at the German Sport University in Cologne.

He has been actively involved in road and mountain bike racing since 1985. Since 1989 he has been an A-Amateur (category 1) road racing cyclist and he also took part in mountain bike races. He has coached many male and female cyclists. Schmidt has published several papers and books on the subject of cycling and works as a consultant for various clubs and associations in the areas of youth and junior talent development.