by hattenburrow | Dec 30, 2016 | Coaching
Imagine falling off your bike so badly that you’re scared to touch your brakes. This is exactly what happened to one of my clients. Now after two years she has decided to battle her fear and get back in the saddle with my help.
Pauline and I have been on a journey over several sessions to regain her confidence in cycling. At the start of her first session she would not use her brakes in a controlled way opting for pedalling backwards and slamming them on at the last minute which made her feel out of control.
I broke down braking into simple steps helping her think about the process of feathering her brakes to control her speed instead of pedalling backwards and gradually pulling them on to stop herself in a controlled manner. She also gripped the handle bars very tightly which was not helping her sharp braking. I told her to think about having a baby bird in each hand which she wouldn’t want to squash this helped her not grip so tightly and in return her braking was not so sharp and her upper body relaxed releasing some tension she was feeling.
When your confidence is knocked getting over the psychological barriers can be challenging. Fear is the mechanism our bodies use to keep us out of dangerous situations, a little fear can be good, as it stops you doing anything where you could put your life in danger, but there is a problem when fear takes over and makes you act irrationally. For example Pauline’s ‘fear’ of pulling on her brakes in case she goes over her handle bars means she has been trying not to brake or brake at the last moment baking her braking jerky and more likely to cause her an issue in the future.
To work through her fear we spoke about the three places Pauline would like to cycle to with her partner Brian, once she was back riding and also to recall positive memories from the past. I also have been helping her not think about the accident and instead look to her future cycling adventures which has also helped her go from saying ‘I would like to try and ride my bike again’ to ‘I will ride my bike again’ changing her mind-set has been really important and has helped us progress over a few sessions where Pauline now is happier riding around braking and passing others on her bike.
As a coach I am constantly looking for ways to help my clients get over their own challenges so they can get the most out of their cycling. I find visualisation of what they want to achieve really helpful and have also found his myself.
I am really proud of Pauline she has shown such determination and will-power to make her dream a reality, well done Pauline.
by hattenburrow | Dec 3, 2016 | Coaching
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Today I coached my mountain bike academy riders, the session was based around pumping, a key trail skill that is used to carry speed through transitions. The key to this skill is using your body to ‘weight’ and ‘unweight’ the bike.
Technique:
- Look a head
- Feet in the ready position
- On the downward slope into the dip of each roller push yourself into the bike to ‘weight’ it
- keep your heels down pushing forward on your pedals
- On the upward slope and to the top bring your body back up to ‘unweight’ the bike
Tips:
- 90% of the movement should be your legs squashing the back wheel into the ground
- Keep your chin up, don’t lean forward to wait the bike, instead crouch back and down into a squat
Pedal 2 Pedal mountain bike academy runs from Queen Elizabeth Country Park If you are interested in joining please use the contact form.
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by hattenburrow | Nov 24, 2015 | Coaching, Training
As the leaves cover the ground and riding conditions become somewhat soggy it is important to look after your bike.
Yes I know when you get home a cuppa and hot steamy shower sound tempting but if you want your bike to be in tip top condition and ready for your next session you need to give it some TLC before you tend to yourself!
Here are my tips for keeping your bike rolling over the winter.
First of all you will need to buy some Duck Smart bike cleaner I recommend the Earth Mover as it cuts through the grime quickly, smells nice and is biodegradable.
You will also need an old towel which you can cut into piece (leggings, t-shirts and old tea towels are great alternatives)! A scrubbing brush from somewhere like Morrison’s and also an old sock or two!
- Start by wetting your bike frame being careful not to get too much water around the joints
- Spray on the Duck Smart, all over the frame, chain and cassette
- Go flick the kettle
- Lightly use the scrubby brush alongside the hose to wash off the grit and grime again being careful not to get too much water in your bikes joints
- Now use the scrubby brush on your cassette and chain to remove and grit and grime still left behind
- Turn your bike upside down and check the jocky wheels for grit
- Dry your frame with the towel
- Use a sock to dry around the seals in your forks
- Use a different cloth to clean your brake rotors
- The final sock should be used to wipe over your chain
- Use a wet lubricant to oil the joints in your chain and leave to soak in. I like Muc-Off wet lube the colour makes it easy to see when it has soaked into the joints
- After about 15 mins go back and remove as much oil as possible from your chain with the sock, a good tip is when you run your figure over it your figure should come away pretty clean and not caked in oil
So there you go that is my wet weather clean routine. Before you get out and ride this winter it is a good plan to make sure your bike has had a good service if you live around Hampshire Bike Fixers Portsmouth is a great place to go to make sure your bike is ready for winter riding.
Happy Riding x
by hattenburrow | Feb 8, 2014 | Coaching, Training
Last week I revisited the incredible team at Surrey Human Performance Institute for a vo2 max test. My last one was in June, when my vo2 max was 47.5 at a power of 240 watts. I was in the middle of my racing season so took on board the new training program as much as I could but with races every other weekend this wasn’t always easy. Have a look at my plan here.
When my season ended in September I really concentrated on performing anaerobic threshold sessions at a hear rate of 150 – 155 and a wattage of 180 – 200 watts. I have been doing one or two of these sessions a week along with hill sprints and strength and conditioning to build the power in my legs, i am now going to change tact and concentrate on getting in a long endurance ride every week and increasing my leg speed on tempo rides when my heart rate will be low and in a fat burning zone and my leg speed high. This will improve my oxygen use and my cycling efficiency.
After my latest VO2 max test my new VO2 max is 50.7 at a power output of 280 watts. This is a great improvement and i feel happy that all the hardwork working at AT has paid off! I think it also highlights the importance of knowing your numbers and working within heart rate zones as my performance has improved, lets just wait and see how this transfers into racing!
My new anaerobic threshold is 229 watts and a heart rate of 145 – 150. I am now working on my new training program ready for my first race in March.
by hattenburrow | Jul 5, 2013 | Coaching, Training
Last week I had a V02 Max Test (the maximum capacity of an individual’s body to transport and use oxygen during incremental exercise, which reflects the physical fitness of the individual) with Surrey Human Performance Institute.
I had felt recently that my training had plateaued especially since trying to encompass training for Ride London in August with cross country racing.
My VO2 Max came out at 47.5 ml/kg/min at a power output of 241 watts. I was very please that this was a good result in the good category at the higher end of the scale as my Dad had said his VO2 was low and with it being linked to genetics I was suspecting mine to be slightly lower than this.
The summery of my results can be seen below:
My Anaerobic Threshold (AT) lies at a power output of 184 watts and a heart rate of 150 – 155 bpm to improve this i need to train around this threshold for around 30 – 40 mins twice a week.
It was really interesting performing the VO2 max test and the data has been very valuable in moving my training forward i will use my new programme to help increase my performance. I have decided to concentrate on improving my AT, maximal aerobic power, lactate clearance and endurance as i feel at the moment these three sessions will have the more effect on both my long distance work and racing.
Thank you to SHPI for taking the time to do the test with me! I will keep you updated on my progress with my new training programme.
by hattenburrow | Mar 26, 2013 | Breeze, Coaching
On Saturday I braved the wind and rain to take part in my Breeze level one ride leadership award. British Cycling’s Breeze campaign is to get more women into riding bikes for fun, the aim is to help women to feel confident and comfortable about riding bikes.
I decided as biking has opened so many doors for me that I would like to volunteer some of my time to help get other ladies on to their bikes! The training took part over the course of a day and incorporated class room lectures with out door practical sessions. It was fun and informative and was a great introduction to the sort of rides i could expect to run as a Breeze champion. I met lots of other Breeze ride leaders and it was a fantastic opportunity to network and build a base of riding buddies.
If you would like to find out more about becoming a ride leader and getting more women out on their bikes contact the Breeze network.
I will be running Breeze rides from April 2014 from Petersfield and the surrounding area please contact me if you are interested in joining h.attenburrow@gmail.com. Rides will be tailored to ability and can be off road or on road.
Happy Cycling!
