I bet you never thought of this one! The next time you eat dinner, take a look at your plate. Is it a panoply of bright colors? Or does it consist of a dull monochromatic arrangement? If your meals tend to resemble the latter, you may not be getting the nutrition necessary to lead a healthy life. Foods like tomatoes and beets (red), broccoli, asparagus and spinach (green), corn and squash (yellow), oranges and sweet potatoes (orange), cauliflower and onions (white), and eggplant and blueberries (blue/purple) offer a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. They are also nutrient-dense meaning they provide great nutritive value at a low caloric cost. So make sure your meals have a variety of colors to ensure you are eating healthfully.

NEXT POST –May 26, 2013

Cycle Log: Endurance Phase II – Week 4

Week 3 is the third week of the first mesocycle of my Endurance Phase II for the 2013 racing season (click here for a detailed description of macrocycles, mesocycles and microcycles), which means it is a recovery week. Here are the actual workouts with the plan for the week of May 13-19, 2013 (click here to download my plan for Endurance Phase II).

Week of 5/13/12	Mon	Tues	Wed	Th	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
Goal	1.5 HC	1.5 SS	OFF	1.0 AR	OFF	1.0 AR	OFF	5.0
Actual	1.75 HC	1.75 SS	OFF	1.0 AR	OFF	1.0 AR	OFF	5.5

                                             

Although this was a recovery week, I had two great rides on Monday and Tuesday in 90° temperatures. I did a Hill Climb ride on Monday and a Steady Spinning workout on Tuesday. I did both on my trusty Trek hybrid. I rode very well but got a bit dehydrated on both days. I used the rest of the week for easy rides and recovery, so I’m back to the harder stuff this week. As always, I’ll let you know how it goes. Have a great week!

NEXT POST – May 22, 2013

Lose Weight WITHOUT Dieting: Tip #86

I just published another article at Active.com titled 9 Cycling Tips for Better Hill Climbing. In this article, I discuss specific steps you can take to improve your climbing ability and confidence. As always, I hope you find it helpful!

NEXT POST – May 19, 2013

Cycle Log: Endurance Phase II – Week 3

Week 2 is the second week of the first mesocycle of my Endurance Phase II for the 2013 racing season (click here for a detailed description of macrocycles, mesocycles and microcycles). Here are the actual workouts with the plan for the week of May 6-12, 2013 (click here to download my plan for Endurance Phase II).

Week of 5/6/12	Mon	Tues	Wed	Th	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
Goal	1.75 SS	1.0 AR	OFF	1.5 SI	OFF	1.25 CI	OFF	5.5
Actual	1.75 SS	1.0 AR	OFF	1.5 HC	OFF	1.25 CI	OFF	5.5

                                             

I had a great week. I am really having fun getting outside and riding my favorite bike, which is my Trek hybrid. I had a great Steady Spinning ride on Monday and a strong Hill Climb workout on Thursday. I did Saturday’s Cadence Intervals session on a stationary bike and performed 4 x 5:00 intervals at 100+ rpm in Zone 3. I felt strong throughout the week and already feel like my fitness is improving. I have a couple of fairly hard workouts to start next week and then I recover. As always, I’ll let you know how it goes. Have a great week!

NEXT POST – May 15, 2013

NEW ARTICLE – 9 Cycling Tips for Better Climbing

As a competitive athlete, you will often encounter roadblocks to your success. One of those roadblocks is your workload. In recent months, my Holmes Fitness Coaching business has taken off and I have been extremely busy, which has reduced my available training time (of course that’s not all bad). That reduced training time is reflected in my Endurance Phase II training plan. I have reduced my workout frequency from 5 to 4 days per week. This will also reduce my overall volume; however, I still get in some excellent training so I don’t think my performance will be negatively affected in the long run. Here are a few specifics:

• The primary goal of this training plan is to improve my aerobic and muscular endurance. I also want to enhance my neuromuscular coordination (the ability to pedal a high cadence).
• The training plan consists of three, 21-day mesocycles and uses a 16/5 training pattern (16 days of relatively hard training followed by 5 days of recovery).
• Volume increases slowly from the first mesocycle to the last.
• There is relatively little high-intensity training. I’ll increase that in the next training plan as I prepare for the championship events we have in September.

Click here to review my Endurance Phase II training plan.

NEXT POST – May 12, 2013                                                   

Cycle Log: Endurance Phase II – Week 2

Week 1 is the first week of the first mesocycle of my Endurance Phase II training plan for the 2013 racing season (click here for a detailed description of macrocycles, mesocycles and microcycles). Here are the actual workouts with the plan for the week of April 29 to May 5, 2013 (click here to download my plan for Endurance Phase II):

Week of 4/29/12	Mon	Tues	Wed	Th	Fri	Sat	Sun	Total
Goal	1.5 SS	1.0 AR	OFF	1.5 SS	OFF	1.5 SS	OFF	5.5
Actual	1.5 SS	1.0 AR	OFF	1.25 SS	0.75 AR	1.5 SS	OFF	6.0

                                             

I began my second Endurance Phase for 2013 this week. This one consists of 3 mesocycles (9 weeks total) that are designed to boost my aerobic and muscular endurance.  I am off to a good start including my first outdoor ride in almost two months. I have good aerobic fitness and excellent neuromuscular coordination (the ability to pedal a high cadence); however, I have lost some muscular endurance (the ability to pedal a relatively big gear at a moderate cadence for an extended period of time). In other words, my climbing legs are gone! Oh well, I’ll get them back quickly. I have my first interval workouts coming up this week. As always, I’ll let you know how it goes. Have a great week!

NEXT POST – May 8, 2013

My Endurance Phase II Training Plan