Some useful notes from Australian Sprint Cycling Coach

Found this on another forum written by Australian Sprint Cycling Coach. Paul Rogers.

Lots of useful info regarding training:

"I am currently the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Australian
National Sprint Cycling Team and have been for about five years. I am also
the Strength Scientist for the South Australian Sports Institute in
Adelaide, Australia, where the National Sprint Program is based. In
addition, for "fun", I help coach a group of developmental sprint cyclists,
which form the core of our SA State Sprint team and half of whom are now in
the Top 10 sprinters in Australia, which would make them National champions
in all but a handful of countries and, when I get time, I roll around the
track myself.

Some points (for free):

1. We don't keep any secrets from anyone, including the Poms, the Frogs, Ze
   Germans or the Yanks. In fact, people just generally don't believe what we
   tell them, disagree or their programs (or minds) are too set in concrete to
   change. We invite other top riders to train with us and they get faster, but
   they go home and do the same old thing. The Head Coach, support staff and I
   are happy to tell anyone and everyone what we do. We usually just don't get
   time to sit around on chat rooms or make social chit chat on E-mail, let
   alone write a book.
   
   

What Charlie Walsh and Gary West used to do with our sprinters when they
were the Head Coaches was state of the art at the time and they are both
great coaches. You will not find anyone in Australian Cycling who will
question that or say a word against what they did at the time, but times
have changed and those methods are not quite enough to consistently hit the
top spots now, although you can still be troublesome internationally if
you've got natural speed. The top speeds have gone to a new level and to
reach that level, you have to specialise your sprint riders more. I'm sure
if Charlie and Westy were still coaching the Oz team, they wouldn't be doing
exactly the same things they were doing ten years ago. They are too smart
for that.

Most of what we do is based on methods and research that have been around
for decades but have not been applied to cycling. It has mostly been used in
athletics and we have copied a lot from that and what the French and Germans
have done at various times. The Brits were formerly coached by our current
Head Track Coach, so they do a lot of similar things too. What the Dutch are
doing now, I'm not sure, but they were mostly all speed skaters before they
were top cyclists, so maybe there's something in that.

1. We are constantly trying new things and changing what we do, so what we
   do this year will be different to what we did last year and so on. Australia
   is a small country and is competing with some real powerhouses in terms of
   talent pools, resources and money that we can't even dream of matching, so
   we have to be a step ahead or we're not in the race.

2. What sprinters did 10 years ago is completely different to what most of
   the top sprinters are doing now. The critical factors that determine success
   or failure have changed. Tactics have changed and the tournament formats
   have changed. Training that would win 10 years ago is generally not as
   successful today, but every dog has his or her day and some old-school
   trainers still come out on top now and again, but it is happening less and
   less.

3. Our philosophy is simple. Most events are speed endurance. To win you
   need to go faster for longer than the other guy or gal. Some riders are
   better at faster, some are better at longer, but they generally need a bit
   of both. To have speed endurance, first you need speed. If you can't ride
   5.0 for a flying 100m, you won't ride 10.1 for a 200m. Speed is hard to
   train and takes a long time. Endurance is easy by comparison and we just
   chuck that on at the end. To get up to speed, you need acceleration and that
   means power. Power is a combination of strength and speed. The speed part
   you get on the track, the strength you get in the gym. Low cadence power
   (0-120rpm or so) we can train in the gym too, but high cadence power
   (120-200rpm) is too fast to do in the gym and you generally need to be
   chasing a maniac on a motorbike (e.g., our Head Coach) down the bank to
   increase that. Or at least, someone faster than you to break the wind so you
   can go overspeed.

4. Aerobic Capacity (VO2max, AT) is the base for enduros, strength is the
   base for sprinters. We do three gym sessions and two track sessions for most
   of the year. Road is just for recovery, to keep them a little bit lean and
   to keep the sprinters out of the pub and out of trouble. It is generally a
   max of 2hrs, but mostly only 1 and is very easy - talking the whole time.

5. When strength is the focus, we don't care what numbers they pump out on
   track, just what they lift. When power or speed is the focus, we back the
   gym off (2/wk and easier sessions) so we can get the numbers we want on the
   track (3-4/wk). Generally, half the year is spent focussed on strength and
   half on power and speed (roughly - depends on competitive calendar) although
   we always train a bit of everything, it's just the proportion of each that
   changes. The strength work is not all done in one block. We cycle through
   strength, power and speed at least twice per year.

6. Gym is generally 3-4sets of 3 max lower body strength or power lifts -
   early in the phase, two strength and one power, later, two power and one
   strength. I don't use cleans, jerks or snatches with our current riders -
   they are too technical for maximal efforts unless you have years of
   experience. We do one bilateral strength lift each session for "core"
   strength (Squat, Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift) - usually lower back is the
   limiting factor not legs and this is the only reason I use these lifts - for
   back strength in standing starts. The rest of the lifts are unilateral. How
   many feet do you push each pedal with at one time? If you train bilaterally
   you get stronger bilaterally and unilateral strength lags behind. If you
   train unilaterally, you get stronger unilaterally. It's a neural thing.

Single-leg Press is our bread and butter. Different foot and hip positions
for different phases of pedal stroke, standing, seated, etc. I use high
speed video to match joint angles and velocities for each rider. We mainly
do it ballistically for power - throw the sled as far as you can - at
different percentages of max to match up to different muscle contraction
velocities for different phases of the acceleration (different cadences). We
do a lot of single-leg plyos on boxes, stairs, bunjee sleds, etc during
speed phases. Strength and power gains are extremely specific and do not
necessarily transfer well. When Ryan Bayley beat Sean Eadie in the
Commonwealth Games sprint final in 2002, Sean was tripling 250kg for a
parallel back squat and Ryan was tripling 120kg. On single-leg press, they
were much closer (20kg) and so was the racing.

Single-leg squats (front and back) and deadlifts usually make up the third
exercise and are as much for pelvic stability as strength. I'm going to try
single-leg pulls and cleans this year, but these will not be our primary
power exercises - more of a preparation for the work before Beijing. We have
done SL squats, deadlifts and pulls for years now and the riders are pretty
stable. An example of numbers - our best single-leg squat figures are 3 @
165kg on each leg (just over 360lbs). The weakest of the girls (who just
entered the squad this year) is 3 @ 80kg on each leg, but she only weighs
about 50kg. Two riders have done the 165kg so far. We have riders who can do
sets of standing hops onto 1m+ boxes. The lowest is for one of the girls and
is a 70cm box for sets of 8 each leg.

1. Upper body, we do two exercise per session (a push and a pull in the same
   plane of movement, different each day) in general prep and two per week in
   specific prep (both pulls) so they can keep hold of the handlebars in
   standing starts. The girls are starting to push themselves off the bike,
   their legs are so strong (around 3 @ 250kg on each leg for the girls and up
   to 350kg for the guys on SLP). Abs and core, we do two per session - one
   mainly flexion, one mainly extension. Some have rotational or lateral
   components, but not isometric holds or pilates mumbo jumbo. If their "core
   stability" is poor, they wouldn't be able to squat on one leg. Lying on the
   ground and waving your legs in the air doesn't transfer to the bike. That
   might annoy the physio's and guru's who make money out of Swiss balls and
   all that stuff, but I tried it for three years in 20 different sports and it
   didn't make any difference to performance or injury rates. They get really
   good at balancing on a ball, but there's no Olympic event for that. It
   doesn't transfer to the sport. Fix their technical problems in the actual
   technique (soapbox time is now over).

2. A Gym session lasts about 2.5-3 hours for 6 or 7 exercises, a maximum of
   33 sets including 12 warm-ups sets, so that's about one set every six
   minutes or more on average. We don't set maximum rests, just minimums. If
   they need longer to get their heads in gear, they take it. Ryan Bayley is
   the slowest trainer in the world. Lucky he's so bloody fast, they'll pay my
   bill to sit there and talk about muscle cars and heavy metal music. Reps are
   a maximum of 6 for strength, and 4 - 15 for power (less for high percentages

3. 60-70% max, more for low percentages - 20%, or BW for plyos) Total
   contraction time for a set (not counting hang time in the air) is around
   6-8s max - phosphate energy system all the way. Minimum of 2 min rest, but
   that is never in danger. Only the phosphate energy system can deliver energy
   fast enough for maximal work and you've got about 8s max.

4. On the track they take about 3 hours for 3 or 4 efforts including half
   hour warm-up routine - same as pre-race warm-up. Warm-up, change gears,
   roll-up, effort, roll down 20-30min rest, roll-up, effort, etc. Lot's more
   rest. Rest usually consists of sitting on their arses, paying out on each
   other, drinking Coca Cola (sponsorship please - the Coke bill is killing us)
   and the occasional chocolate cake. This is especially good when there is a
   joint sprinter/enduro training session. (Enduros don't get any cake -
   they're too paranoid about body fat). In general prep phase, the sprinters
   ride to track and gym (15-20min easy each way) and in spec prep, they drive..
   Each track effort is no longer than about 15s and usually less than 10s.
   Again, mainly phosphate system.

5. The one thing we do that most coaches can't cop is this. If you don't
   make the target times or loads on the first effort or set, you warm down and
   go home. You aren't fresh enough to train at a level that will make you
   improve. If you do a PB, you warm down and go home. If you are on fire that
   much you can blow yourself to pieces in a couple of sets or efforts and it
   will take weeks to dig you out of the hole you put yourself in, so whatever
   it is, if you PB, you stop and come back next time. This philosophy takes
   everyone a while to accept, but it works. When we don't follow the rules, if
   we let someone pump out a series of PBs in one session, they are almost
   invariably wrecked for weeks afterwards and we never get close to quality
   training during that time. Sometimes, you can see it coming, but sometimes
   it just comes out of the blue. When it does, warm down, go home. Sometimes,
   at lower levels you can get away with it, but the better you get, the more
   capacity you have to exceed your normal limits, the more this becomes
   important. Enduros don't need to do this. Everything is submaximal.

6. In general prep, the sprinters might do 2 x 1hr easy aerobic/coffee
   rides per week and an easier recovery ride on days off (unless the're too
   fat, then they might do 2hrs and less chocolate cake). This year, we are
   doing a total of six aerobic development rides (over Christmas - fat time).
   In spec prep, they just do the recovery rides.

7. We generally always do track after gym. Gym in mornings (8:30am-11/12)
   track in the arvo (2:30/3pm-5:30/6pm). If the gym session is too hard, it
   will bugger them for track. As I said, for about half the year, we don't
   care. For the other half, I water down the gym so the track work is 100%.
   There is some short term potentiation from doing some maximal strength or
   power efforts but the research is not clear on time frames since everyone
   does something different. This is one thing we are looking at. If we do two
   maximal power ergo tests (6s with 4-5min recovery), the second one is always
   much better. The same has been shown with some contrast-loading studies on
   squats and plyos, etc., but an equal number of studies have shown no effect..
   The time courses and stimuli are always different though, so it's hard to
   compare. I think there's something in it so if you find something that works
   for you, go with it. The exception is start sessions. We never do standing
   starts after gym. If we do, they are always crap sessions.

8. Coming up to the major comp for the year (Worlds or Olympics), we slot
   in a speed endurance block. This involves the addition of some longer
   sustained efforts or sets of short efforts with low recovery once or twice
   per week, usually one on an ergo and one on the track. This increases the
   muscles ability to buffer hydrogen ions from the anaerobic glycolysis energy
   pathway that you have to rely on when the phosphates run out and increases
   the enzyme capacity of that pathway as well, so it can run at a higher
   level. Adaptation is relatively fast and 6-8wks will usually give a massive
   increase in this capacity.

9. Here's the logic.
   Volume is a speed killer. It doesn't matter what you do, if you do a lot, it
   will make you slower. The protein in your muscles (myosin heavy chain
   isoforms for those who know their molecular biology) will change to a
   slower, more endurance friendly type if you do too much volume. This is
   individually variable, but two sessions every day of anything will make you
   slower as will lots of aerobic work. You might still be fast for an enduro,
   but in sprinter terms, you're still slow.

Going slow makes you slow. If you want to be able to go faster, then going
at less than maximal speed generally won't do it. If it does, then you
weren't operating at 100% before. That's OK. Most people can't switch
everything on. You have to practice it. It takes years to reach your 100%
level even without any actual physiological improvement. Most sprint events
require sustained power output at cadences over 160rpm. If you don't
practice this, you won't get good at it. Most people will spend all their
bickies just getting up to 160rpm on a decent gear, so to train maximally at
that level, you have to get up to 160rpm without using up your phosphate
stores. That's where the motor bike comes in. Use the slipstream to get up
to max speed or over and then spend your bickies. That way you work
maximally at maximal speed. You have to train your nervous system to
coordinate your muscular contractions at that speed.

Same in the gym. If all you do is slow, heavy. You get STRONG and SLOW. You
need to do most of your work at race speeds using submaximal loads but at
high speeds. If you can't do single-leg stuff, then Olympic pulling
movements are your next best option, but unloaded plyos are more important
for higher cadences. You don't need to be able to clean or snatch or jerk.
The pull phase from the floor to full hip and knee extension is where the
gains come from. What happens after that doesn't matter. You can throw the
bar out of the window and the gains will be the same. I would only recommend
this on your last rep as most gym owners get quite irate about their
equipment being heaved out into the street, as do passing pedestrians. The
overspeed work will come as you try to get away.

Use your maximum capacities at the maximum rate and in as specific a way as
possible to transfer to the bike. I can outlift all our top riders in the
gym and out-power them on the ergo, but I'm not in the race on the track. I
can't put my power through the bike into the track. I'm just not technically
as good as they are. Ryan Bayley may look like a monkey humping a tennis
ball when he sprints but most of his power is getting onto the track.

....

Weight training for enduros - the same strategies apply but maximal strength
and power are less critical. All endurance riding, even the bunch sprint at
the end, is really submaximal. A little bit of gym regularly helps to
maintain the structural integrity of the body, prevent imbalances and
prepare you for crashes, but the real gains come on the road. Racing is the
best training. All our best track enduros race on the road in Europe. They
come together for camps to touch up their track skills, but all of that was
learnt as juniors and in domestic track racing on the way up. For strength
endurance on the bike, ride up hills in the saddle on bigger gears. That was
the only strength work out team pursuit did for the last three years and
they won everything there was to win with a bucket load of world records to

boot. Incidentally, they are also the fastest starters."

Paul Rogers
Gympie, Australia

"We invite other top riders to train with us and they get faster"

Imagine what would happen to the British team if they took him up on this offer.

Can't be working too well for them then can it?
Useful information nonetheless

When this article was written.. we were in the process of totally annihilating you in Athens, so actually it was pretty effective. Times change though eh? :)

Weird, I can't reply to the thread I started but can on this.

Oh well. It seems that people whinge (sneer?) when talking about races they can and do have - with each other, on the roads - and love to talk about racing in the abstract, such as the above.

The majority of people I've raced on the track do well because they are fit, not necessarily because they are strong. Only after a certain point (at the very top end of the 'B Cats' at HH, for example) does pure strength start to really play a part.

stupid roadies trying to "race" me when I'm doing work stuff and carrying a heavy bag are annoying twats.

I race on the track, not on the road.

If you don't react in the slightest, they aren't trying to 'race' you, they're just riding along more quickly than you.

Take a chilling fuck pill.

but they aren't riding quicker, they are drafting me and then trying dangerous moves to get by when i stop at lights or slow down for my destination.

as I said, this isn't for here.

Well, for some reason, I can't post in the trackies forum now. Are testers banned or something?

Oh, I get it now. You've locked the thread. Giving it the TTID treatment. You've turned into Object.

I'll give you some treatment in a minute my boy!

this was about australians, lucky I didn't lock this one too

I'll give you some treatment in a minute my boy!

grab your coat Scarlet you pulled

'tt' as in TT.

He's out of control. It's all this weight lifting testosterone. He'll be voting Conservative next.

I find this bit freakishly impressive:

The girls are starting to push themselves off the bike,
their legs are so strong (around 3 @ 250kg on each leg for the girls and up
to 350kg for the guys on SLP).

Girls doing 250kg on a single leg press!

wtf? I can do about 80kg with two legs last time I checked.

"I race on the track, not on the road."

If you're in London, then this means you are not racing at all - there's no track to race on (until March/April), which is why I asked about where people were actually having races. Clearly RPM you operate in more rarified circumstances, on your rollers, alone.

I love racing people anywhere and everywhere. Gets me fit. Best one recently was at 6am with a crazy little Saffer all the way from Eltham to near Elephant & Castle (I exaggerate, but only slightly). Killed me for two days. Best training I've done for months!

I agree. I race people all the time on my way to work. I basically cycle as fast as I can for 6 full miles. Jumping red lights as I go. I know this is bad and dangerous and probably not good for me. But my competitiveness and hatred of being overtaken compels me to do this. I know there is something wrong with me. I just accept it and get on with it. I never ever endanger or draft other cyslists though

haha, yes. never be overtaken is also my rule and it gets me into all sorts of scraps! racing to fitness works if you're competitive and most racers by definition are.

on a training one ... I find that racing roadies is good because it forces me to up the cadence - my commute bike is 48/18 so often I'll have to spin like a b*stard to keep with them.

"I race on the track, not on the road."

If you're in London, then this means you are not racing at all - there's no track to race on (until March/April),

it means I'm not "racing" twats on the road. which I won't be doing any time of the year.

there are indoor tracks within a few hours of london, and although not everyone can do the winter leagues, training sessions may still include race type scenarios.

as i said, it's not for this forum IMO.

and I wasn't "racing" mike on saturday either, merely busting a sprint for my own training. and of course he wasn't "racing" me either.

I had the pleasure of watching Mike TT on Saturday as we rode back from RP.

I find this bit freakishly impressive:

Girls doing 250kg on a single leg press!

wtf? I can do about 80kg with two legs last time I checked.

you can surely do more than your own bodyweight in a single press?

The glue fumes are making you sound hyper-incredulous :p

stop sniffing them then!

Actualy pure strength in its correct term never plays a part at a track league or on the road and at most only very rarely on a standing start.....

as for fit, what to you does fit mean?

Weird, I can't reply to the thread I started but can on this.

Oh well. It seems that people whinge (sneer?) when talking about races they can and do have - with each other, on the roads - and love to talk about racing in the abstract, such as the above.

The majority of people I've raced on the track do well because they are fit, not necessarily because they are strong. Only after a certain point (at the very top end of the 'B Cats' at HH, for example) does pure strength start to really play a part.

by the way interesting how the best post on any forum ever (the one originally posted on here) turns into a petty discussion about racing people or not on commutes!

There is a gold mine of very useful info in that post maybe we should try discussing that instead ;-)

you can surely do more than your own bodyweight in a single press?

To do them 'properly' your hip has to go past parallel to your knee.

I was so curious to try some of this stuff out, I went to the gym just now.

I can knock out 10reps of 40kg as a single leg press. 90kg for two legs.

I weigh 64kg.

So yeah, like I said - I find those figures phenomenal.

And I agree very much with babydinotrackboy.

Its a wealth of quality info.