FORWARD

• Our Philosophy - where is the data?
• Using the hyperlinks to your advantage
• Building your own roadmap to your personal best

I. THE PHYSIOLOGY OF PERFORMANCE - understanding the basic human machine

1. Powering the cell
• Cellular Energy Production - aerobic/anaerobic metabolism, oxidation, ATP
2. The Musculoskeletal System
• The Skeletal Muscle
• Energy Requirements of bicycling - including calculating your own personal energy requirements for a ride.
  • formula to calculate energy requirements
  • special case - hills

3. The Cardiovascular System - heart/lungs/circulatory system
• Cardiovascular Physiology - delivering oxygen to the muscle cell (including measures of CV performance)

II. NUTRITION PHYSIOLOGY - fueling the muscles

Physiology of Nutrition - energy content of food; digestion & absorption; internal energy storage. Includes the effects of exercise on digestion/absorption.
• Carbohydrates
  • Glycemic Index
  • Fructose
• Fats
• Protein
• Hydration
  • Electrolytes
  • Hyponatremia

1. A Basic Nutrition Plan - elements of a personal nutritional plan to maximize your performance goals (training, pre-event, during the ride, and post-event)
2. "Healthy Diet" tips- how to keep your heart and pancreas happy.
3. Weight control

III. TRAINING AND COMPETING - planning a custom training program

Step One - Clarify Your Goals. To develop a truly customized training regimen, you will first need to understand your personal riding goals. The recommendations that follow are linked to 6 common variations based on the intensity and distance of common rides. Yours may not be an exact fit, but it will you a place to start.

1. Proper nutrition to maximize performance.
   • Nutrition plans for the 6 common types of rides - pre-event, event, and post-event nutrition recommendations
     • Snacks - covers the pros and cons of various aspects of eating during the ride, including some recipes you can prepare at home to keep things interesting and take the pressure off your wallet.
       • Energy bars, homemade snacks and recipe ideas
       • Caught short on the road? Store bought snacks
       • Energy gels/sports drinks
         Energy bars/gels - are additives helpful?
       • Sports Drinks
     • Fluids
     • The post ride recovery period

   • Special cases
     • Triathlons
     • Liquids versus solids for that long ride
   • Recipes
     • Pasta
     • Rice
   • Nutritional (supplements, diets) Performance Enhancers - facts, myths, and misperceptions about dietary fads and supplements.
     • Paleo diet - a low carbohydrate diet
     • Sex variables - different needs in men and women
     • Antioxidants
     • Creatine Phosphate
     • Author's vitamin regimen

2. Training to maximize performance.
• Are your goals realistic?
• Basic Training Concepts
  • Details to consider as you design your training program
    • First, a good training base.
    • Training Basics (including detraining)
    • Training to the Numbers (increasing your aerobic threshold).
      • perceived effort
      • heart rate monitor
      • lactate threshold
      • Intervals ( High Intensity Training)
      • Cadence
  • Special Issues
    • Fatigue (overtraining, chronic fatigue)
      • Muscle pain and soreness
        • muscle cramps
    • The post ride recovery period
    • Altitude
    • Hills
    • Aging and physical performance
    • Respiratory training (breathing)

• Training Tips
  • Training tips and training aids- a summary of various non-nutritional tips to aid your training program.
    • Finding a coach
    • Preseason training
    • Analyzing/structuring your training program
    • Training plan/training log - develop a personal training program.
    • Off season training/cross training
      • The on line coach's approach
    • Heart rate monitor - pros, cons, and an approach to develop your own training plan with a HRM.
    • Weight/strength training
    • Stationary cycling
    • Stretching/massage/muscle cramps
    • Should I get an exercise treadmill?
    • Miscellaneous Training Questions

• Step by step instructions to your own Personalized Training (and Training Nutrition) Program

3. Riding Tips
   • Climbing (hills) - Descending
   • Windy Conditions - Road Conditions
   • Mountain biking
   • Form and Technique

4. Bringing it all together
• Getting the edge - tips for a PR (Personal Record)
• Facebook Project - design your own training program
• Design a personal training program - Cycling Performance Tips training program software

IV. EQUIPMENT - fine tuning your gear

1. Bikes
   • The traditional bicycle
     • Sizing/Fit
       • Frame Sizing
       • Crank length
     • Handlebars
     • Saddles
     • Cables
     • Brakes, Rims, & Wheels
     • Tires & Tubes
     • Chains
     • Pedals
   • Alternatives
     • Recumbents
     • Electric Bikes
     • Wooden bicycles - an art form
2. Trainers
3. Clothing
4. Tools

V. Medical Issues - fine tuning your body

• Stay active, stay healthy
• Exercise and the digestive tract - what the literature says; pluses and minuses
  • Exercise and keep your digestive tract healthy
  • Minimize the negative effects of exercise on your digestive function

1. Psychological factors
2. Sleep
3. Musculoskeletal
   • Breaks, Sprains, and First Aid tips
   • Back and Neck Pain
   • Hip/knee/leg pain(IT Band syndrome; hip pain)
   • Foot Pain
   • Hand and Shoulder Syndromes
4. Infections, the Immune system, and Cycling
• Traveler's diarrhea
• Swallow a bug?
• Can I train while ill?
5. Miscellaneous digestive tract questions
6. Altitude and its impact on Training & Performance
7. Anemia (blood count or hemoglobin/hematocrit)
8. Headaches with exercise
9. Heat illness- too much (hyperthermia) and too little (hypothermia)
10. Miscellaneous Medical Questions from readers
    • Cardiac - Palpitations
    • Fatigue, Avoiding the flu, B12 injections
    • Skeletal system - Osteoporosis
    • Saddle sores
    • Broken clavicle
11. Accidents and Liability

VI. Traveling - tools to plan your cycling trip

1. Travel Planning - step by step
2. Mapping your route
3. The author's personal reminder list for a multi day bike tour
4. The author's personal first aid kit for a multi day tour
5. Links to commercial sites that might be of help (including clothing and equipment - no endorsement intended).

1. Glossary (Index)
2. Archives - Past Performance Tips questions
3. Reference Sites - research your own performance information
   • The International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements (IBIDS) - 328,000 scientific citations and abstracts from the scientific literature on dietary supplements, including vitamins, minerals, and botanicals.
   • PubMed - 9 million citations in MEDLINE database
   • National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Dietary and Herbal Supplements
   • Links to other performance physiology and nutrition sites
4. Reference Texts
5. Bike Trivia
   
   Cycling Performance Tips
   Homepage | Table of Contents