19 Sports located at the Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah
For the past 6 weeks I have been training with the folks at 19 Sports in an attempt to turn my whoa into go. For those who didn’t read the first installment of this series, 19 Sports www.nineteensports.com offers 8-week classes on a Computrainer with the goal of increasing power and overall fitness. In addition to the classes, the 19 Sports team set me up with a training schedule that details each day’s efforts on and off the bike.
The month of February was scheduled to get me ready for the Intermountain Cup season opener this weekend in St George, Utah. On average, I spent around 12.5 hours a week riding, hiking, running, playing racquetball, weight lifting, and even some yoga. My training plan had me doing easy days, moderate days with a few hard efforts, and impossibly hard days.
There is no coasting on the Computrainer
On Tuesdays and Thursdays I attended 70-minute Computrainer classes at 19 Sports. Each class focuses on a different type of riding. My favorite (said with heavy sarcasm) is the slow cadence riding in a huge gear with increasing tension from the Computrainer. It’s designed to build muscle and power in my legs. After an hour and three hard intervals my legs felt like bricks. All of the classes were hard. 19 Sports claims a 70-minute class is like riding outside for 2.5 hours. No doubt it’s hard, but I don’t think it’s quite that difficult. I usually rode outside for an hour or two after the class.
Is all this work paying off? I retook the 40-minute initial test and my watts have improved from an average of 189 to 223 or about 15% better. I must be doing something right but I won’t know for sure until race day. Check back to see if I can keep up with the 30-39 experts on Saturday.