by admin on September 3, 2010
One of many rising traits in cycling is the ability to create your individual bike, built to your personal specifications. You are able to do this by going to a specialist bike builder although that may get really expensive. One of the methods lots of people end up with a customized built bike is through the gradual customisation of their existing bike.
One of many first issues that tends to be modified is the handlebar and this could be for a few reasons. Firstly, as a result of the riding stance is not quite proper for the rider, perhaps they should have an excessive amount of of their physique weight over the handlebars making them really feel unstable or perhaps the handlebars really feel too far-off to regulate the bike properly. The other purpose is essentially to reinforce the looks of your bike and to perhaps make it stand out just a little from everyone else. New handlebars are one of many best adjustments to make which will handle the entire above.
There are many various kinds of road handlebar designs out there as after-market products to help you resolve an issue together with your driving position or just to enhance the seems to be of your bike. Drop handlebars are the type of handlebar you traditionally see on road bikes or observe cycles. They’ve a short straight tube which then bends away from the rider and drops into a deep C shape. This enables the rider to adopt a number of using positions. A casual experience may mean a more upright place with the arms resting on top of the handlebars. A racing position will greater than likely require the rider to drop his body forwards along with his palms on the underside part of the C.
Pursuit handlebars, that are additionally typically often known as bull horn handlebars due to their appearance. Their use comes from devoted track racing where the position is right for pursuit riding. A technique during which you might make your individual bullhorn handlebars if in case you have a street bike is to chop the drop off your drop handlebars and remount them upside down. This would possibly not be a perfect solution but it will provide you with an analogous riding position.
There are lots of different variations of the above which have been developed for different functions and specialisms and it is at all times price having a very good go searching at what’a obtainable as there may be bound to be something that offers you the effect you are looking for.
by admin on August 31, 2010
Here are some tips for running and duathlon training.
1) Be consistent and don’t allow your running routine to be constantly interrupted . Things come up and get in the way – sickness, vacation/holidays, injuries, family and work, but if you can manage to get a run in every 48-72 hours then your muscle memory will retain the work that you’ve put into your running.
- On mornings when you’d be tempted to sleep in, sleep in your running shorts and with your shoes next to your bed .
- Pack your running shoes and take them with you to work. .
- Include running gear when you pack for a holiday, no matter how short it might be. And when you’re really busy, remind yourself that a short 15-20 minute jaunt is better than nothing at all .
2) Lose weight: Lifting 1, 5, or 10 extra pounds with every step over a 26.2 mile marathon, or even a 3 mile fun run is massive. Your body must lift the extra weight with each step, and if you take 10,000 steps and weigh 3 extra pounds, that’s 30,000 extra foot pounds you need to lift – a huge metabolic requirement. If you’re hammering your running , but not focusing on proper timing and content of nutrition to achieve weight loss, you’re basically getting about half the benefit of your training. Lose a handful of pounds and you can honestly feel light as a feather – there is a huge difference, in both speed and joint impact.
3) Until a running cadence of 86-90bpm becomes second nature, you need to focus the entire time . Try these things – count your steps as you run, or play hot potato and try to keep your feet off the ground as much as possible; take time spans of 20 seconds and work on getting 30 running-steps in with either your right or left foot.
It’s far harder to increase your stride cadence than it is to increase your stride length. Once you dialed in a cadence close to 90, it will become much easier for you to increase pace by striding out just a little longer when you need that extra burst of speed. You might initially feel like you’re just bouncing up and down as you try to achieve the high cadence, but eventually, it will feel smooth, steady and relaxed.
4) A treadmill will keep moving underneath you no matter what, so they’re great to help increase your running cadence. Like an indoor trainer, there are fewer interruptions like stoplights and street crossings on a treadmill, so it can really help you focus on the cadence.
At least every once in a while, run on a treadmill, setting the treadmill at a slightly faster speed than you are comfortable with, and allowing your legs to experience and memorize the rapid leg turnover.
5) Hills: The beauty of hills is that you can reach higher physiological intensities without the pounding of running. This is because your feet are much closer to the ground running up a hill, so there’s less body momentum on impact. Using hills on a regular basis in your training, will reduce your risk of injury and increase your accomplishable intensity. For long runs, try to regularly include some hilly routes , and at least once every two weeks, attempt to include a hill repeat or rolling hill course workout, at a pace close to your ventilatory threshold.
6) Plyometric exercise, where you work on producing fast, powerful movements, and improving your nervous system, teach the elastic muscles of the lower leg to quickly absorb your body weight and re-contract after your foot touches the ground while running .
As a result, you minimize your ground contact time and maximize your recoil with each step. Over thousands of steps, this can be a huge speed boost. Plyometrics do not need to be a daily routine, and just once a week can provide enormous benefits. Good plyometric exercises include hopping with one foot or both feet onto a higher surface like a step bench, performing explosive jumps from a lunge or squat position, or standing under a basketball hoop and repetitively tossing a ball against the backboard while jumping to retrieve it. Your body can genuinely learn how to “rebound” far more efficiently. Typical plyometric workouts include 2-3 sets of 10-20 jumps for 2-3 different exercises.
There’s more running info at this Wordpress blog about duathlon training.
