Mastering Cyclocross: Specialized Training for Peri- and Postmenopausal Women with AXN Fitness and Coaching
SO YOU WANT TO RACE CROSS ?
… and you want to do well ?
Or maybe you’re just getting into the sport and you have no idea how to prepare. Or maybe this year you have a big hairy goal, like winning your local series, state or national championship. We can all dream can’t we?
Cross is a long season and you can burn your matches every weekend. Without careful training, there is great risk of burnout or injury. Or if you’ve got a big hairy goal…peaking at the wrong time (I’ve done all of these things because I DIDN’T have a coach!).
Cyclocross training isn’t road, gravel or mountain bike training.
It is very specific, and one of the benefits of having a coach and a solid training program, is you shouldn’t be spending countless hours on your bike in Zone 2. And quite honestly, for female athletes 40 and older, cross is absolutely perfect for our physiology! Honestly, spending hours and hours in Zone 2 was developed for 20-something male athletes. So old school…
AXN Fitness and Coaching has created a peri- and postmenopausal-specific training program for womxn. Don’t get me wrong, we love coaching ALL athletes, but our core purpose is to support women in every way we can. We have helped women in their 70s ride the coast of Africa, women race stage mountain bike races; we have an athlete who intends on riding her bike around the world! We have many successful clients, each with their own personal goals.
Our cyclocross training plan takes into account cyclocross-specific training, nutrition, hydration, sleep and recovery.
We will help you navigate your cyclocross season in a fun, safe and injury-free way with 1:1 coaching and training plan tweaking. This is not a cookie-cutter one-size-fits-all plan; this plan will be customized for your specific needs.
We can all do something really hard for 45-60 minutes!
But AXN Fitness and Coaching will ensure that you are thriving…while you’re suffering.
Doesn’t that sound “great?”
LET’S TALK…TRAINING
Training for cyclocross shouldn’t be time consuming.
This is one of the most appealing aspects of training and racing cyclocross…it’s NOT a time suck!
When I raced cyclocross in my 40s and early 50s, some of the strongest athletes were in my age group. We may not have been the fastest out of the starting gate, but we were the strongest at the finish. One of the reasons why cyclocross is such a great sport for peri- and postmenopausal athletes is that our bodies are primed for high intensity racing. We perform at our best with shorter intense efforts, rather than hours of riding.
The training itself is rather simple; strength training to gain propulsive power, HIIT workouts, running to gain foot speed, and most importantly, skills practice.
Cyclocross skills are key to effective racing. And the only way to create good habits out of the gate is to find a cyclocross-specific skills clinic and learn the skills correctly. And practice, practice, practice. An example of why this is important — I won a race because my competition clipped her foot when jumping over the last barrier. That small mistake was enough for me to sprint to the finish line first.
A coach will help you put your season together and train appropriately. The key is not to try and win every weekend, but to be selective. That’s where coaching can help!
LET’S TALK…INTENSITY
I never thought it was possible to drool while racing, but then I started racing cyclocross.
In colder weather, you can drool and have snot running down your face, all at the same time!
Yes, the sport is very intenseThat feeling of leaving it all out there when you’re done racing is intoxicating. I soon realized that I could survive the sufferfest that is cyclocross. It may not feel great while you’re doing it, as your heart rate shoots through the roof, and you swear to yourself you’ll never do it again.
But the minute you’re done, and feel the empty tank fatigue from putting it all out there, you start talking about your next race! Cyclocross is weird that way.
How do you prepare your body for cyclocross intensity?
There are certainly different techniques, but the best is hiring a coach.
A coach will help guide your body to adapt to the intensity, make sure you don’t overtrain or get burned out, and will help you to race at your best.
Another method is “racing into shape” which is basically showing up, racing, and hoping that it will help move the fitness needle for the next weekend when you do it again.
The problem with this is there’s no monitoring how your body is adapting to sudden intensity and it also sets you up for injury. Racing with intensity is basically burning all your matches every time you race, and recovery is crucial. Most of us don’t recover enough and this also sets you up for injury.
Racing with intensity will always feel hard.
The difference is in time, your body will become more efficient and you will be able to perform at a higher intensity for a longer period of time. And that’s when it’s time to move to a higher category. As with all racing, it will never feel easy if you’re putting it all out there.