Category Archives: Stages Cycling

Get into the exercise habit

The dark days of November and December are the time to really get extra serious about regular workouts. There’s lots of celebratory occasions coming up with extra indulgences, so regular workouts need to happen. No magic formula other than intention and commitment. Make a commitment to how much exercise you can realistically do in a week, have some flexibility on when and stick with the sessions even if the time changes.

Weight gain is much easier to prevent than it is to lose. I’m not a dieter by any means, although I do make a few guidelines for myself to follow for indulgences. Here are a few of them:

  • Keep yourself honest with your alcohol intake, record how many drinks you have in a week
  • Make a top 10 list of favourite party foods and stick with it. If it is not on the list, then leave it on the tray. Fried food is one of mine, and perhaps that is too broad a category
  • No sugary breakfasts. Healthy stuff starts the day off right and have fun later

Most of all, I get extra serious about workouts this time of year. Cycling classes have some extra challenges. Stay diligent with weight training. As my colleague told me, exercise really is the fountain of youth-

Hour of Power- Stages Cycling

After a lot of consideration and talk, we completed the Hour of Power ride this evening at the Toronto Athletic Club. Our group had tested our functional threshold power (FTP) at a previous time and I had always wondered if that theoretical number translated to actual performance. When my FTP was calculated with a 20 min test, I felt very confident I could produce that power for an hour. When my FTP was calculated in February with an 8min test, I felt a lot less confident about my capabilities.

Armed with some very well selected tunes, we did a 15 min warmup and hit varying intervals of 95-100%, 100-105% set to the selected songs. I backed off and took a few ‘breaks’ of less than 1min here and there. Turns out I was able to complete the 60min with an average power that was 3 watts below my FTP, so that was a wonderful surprise! Our field test was a success. The ‘theoretical’ maximum power that you can ride for an hour, is a REAL thing provided that you actually push yourself during the test!