UTILISATION OF THE RPE SCALE

 

t is highly important to ascertain where you are in terms of exercise intensity  in your cycle classes so that you know what levels you can push your body & mind to and beyond, ultimately this will lead to better quality & faster results.

One of the biggest indicators of exercise intensity especially within  INDOOR CYCLE classes & of course cycling outside is the usage of RPE scales. RPE is very commonly used by professional athletes, and sports & exercise scientists during lab based tests (such as VO2 max wingate tests etc to accurately determine exercise intensity.

 RPE is, your rating of perceived exertion rated from 10-100%. This is the physiological effects of the efforts you are making during your session;  For example,  feeling like you are totally gasping for air at the end of a 15 second effort, like you are no longer able to maintain the exercise intensity, could certainly be an indicator that you are working at your 100% effort.  Whilst if you experiencing a feeling a burn in the legs maybe an indicator that you are working at a 80-90% effort. It is highly important to ascertain where you are in terms of exercise intensity so you know what levels you can push to and beyond, ultimately this will lead to better quality results.

Remember that everyday is different, but your RPE scale will stay the same, however it is very important to note scientific studies have shown that that your heart rate measurements will fluctuate on a day to day basis (HR is not a stable neither reliable exercise intensity measurement) so therefore  you should use RPE scales in accordance with HR to track your exercise intensity rather than HR alone. If you do not have a HR monitor then really there is no need to panic you would just use the RPE scale to track your session on the bike!

If you would like to read further regarding exercise intensity then please, by all means visit my sister blog site: www.bodywizeaustralia.blogspot.com.au

Us this in your classes to progress........

 

RACE STAGE 4

Welcome riders to Race Stage 4 !

RACE STAGE 4 - TRAINING AT ALTITUDE, NEEDS REAL WORK ATTITUDE!

Check out the tracklist:
http://soundcloud.com/bodywizeaustralia/sets/indoor-cycle-race-stage-4

This stage of our race is the penultimate test of our endurance, or as I like to call it 'staying power.' It is of extreme importance that we maintain our current strong position as a peloton within this race. The sacrifice the riders face in order to accomplish this, will take mental and physical strengths to a whole new level. The main tactic to keep in mind during race stage 4 is this; Endurance is the ability to persist; even with ever increasing pressure & fatigue. This must evolve from each and everyone of us within our crew, dropping out is not an option, but the efforts required to compete for a place on the podium is an option.

During our cruisy warm up we remind ourselves of our goals and ambitions of this race stage. Whilst we are 'Running' and gradually increasing our intensity, we remind one another that to gain new fitness & improve perfromance is not going to be an easy ride. Then....BANG!!

That's it! The start gun fires, we have to begin a-blazing the heart and legs as during this track as we have a hill start and lengthy mountainous finish. I'm talking about a mountain which is an ultimate test of our leg strength and persistance to an absolute extreeme level SOMEWHERE YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN BEFORE!This is your chance of being in the race for the polker dot jersey.
'Give me Luv' is a 10 minute and 41 second relentless stint of working up and holding the highest loads we can handle. Team coach is looking for 100 percent effort on the big gears, aimng for an RPM of 65. Once our cadence drops, this is when our team will be in trouble, so we ride like warriors, shoulder to shoulder like a swarm of bees, aiming for the 1st of our 3 summits during this race. We have to grit our teeth, give our body the tough 'love' it needs to change to a new level of fitness and an even better position for our race. Our RPE builds from 8 for the first 4 minutes then for our next 6 minute stint we do not drop our effort below 100%- anything less we will slip down the hill and be out of our race position. Do not make this possibility...fianlly we reach the peak! Congratulate one another once we hit the summit, it's a whole new level which we reached together,a gruelling level of strength that we could only have ever dreamed of, has just been reached. As we reach altitude, we must suck up all the oxygen we can, remain in the the game and keep pressing ahead.

We are 'On The Run' during track 3 over a few small bumps in the road. Accelerating on top; attacking out of the saddle until we arrive at the top of each bump, then maintaining this cadence once we hit the deck as we swiftily descend down the backside of the bump; before we rise again. This track is split into 2x two minute halves. Feeling an uncomfortable RPE of level 7-8 throughout the track, it certainly is not an opportunity for sitting back and letting things wash over us. Moreover; we must use the opportunity to practice attacking, as we drive out of the saddle for short sharp bursts. The main objective for us is to maintain cadence over a moderate load, whilst controling through our centre of gravity so that we ride with efficiency, allowing us to save some energy for later down the track.

Track 4 AKA 'Adagio for strings' arrives which means we are testing all areas of our fitness during our mixed terrain where the working phases are between 2.5 to 3 minutes in duration. Its time to turn yourself in to an awesome all-rounder. Although adiago means the beat is 60 RPM's, we are riding way beyond this speed at many points during this track. Beginning with an intermediate climb, our second summit completes with another extreme ascent, this time dig in deeper you won't regret a thing! It's a short sharp stint of strength. Beyond our strength peak lies a flat. We bust out speed & sprints for an enduring 2.5 mins before descending for the final 3 minutes! Strength, power, sprinting, speed and endurance are all being put to the test riders, and due to this factor if we let circumstances control us, this part of the race may begin to bend your mind. It's up to you to leave absolutley no room for doubt in your mind that you can get through this, we must be there to abolish our competitors. As great allrounders it is our chance to get ahead.

The reward of working hard, is of course experienced during the next track, 'Rapture'.  A sweet, easy flat terrain. Some great, well earned recovery where we can move comfortably into the slip stream, easing out to a better position during 2 occasions but over all, our mission is to be able to conserve our energy sources for our grand finale.

Before we know it,  the easy terrain disappears. When we look onwards and upwards up all we can see is our final mountainous terrain. 'Sweet Dreams' of.... POWER, POWER and more POWER! Have you got what it takes to stay up with the hill climbers and allrounders? Ladies and gents its the fight for the yellow jersey. We split into 3 mini groups to make us a force not to be recond with. 3 stages which of blocking and attacking to bridge the gaps, will drive your legs and heart into total oblivion. This is going to get messy so hold on tight and push like mad, looking for control from RPE of 7 working to 9.5. Persistant attitude at altitude is what we need to get to the top first. If you had the attidude you owned that for sure!

Just when you think you can't do anymore..... there is more. Dig in and see what yoiu can get! Your Performance is only  'getting better' from here; 1x practice run,  followed by 2x time trials marking the end of our race. You have 1:45 seconds to sprint to the line and if you don't get there the first time you have another chance to nail it. This track is what we call 'the truth'...you will find out why!!!
All you got to think is GO! GO! GO! Are we gasping for air? Of course we are! We know this is where results live, SO COMPETE NOW FOR YOUR BEST before you go home!

1. WARM UP.RPE 3/4/5 Running. Sultan, Ned Shepard, Freddie Le Grand & Mitchell Crown. Genre = Progressive House
2. MOUNTAIN START. RPE 7/8/9/10 Give me Luv. Alcatraz. Genre = House
3. BUMPY ROAD. RPE 7&8.5. On the Run. Feat David Boomah. Shy FX. Genre = Drum & Bass
4. MIXED TERRAIN. RPE 8-9.5 Adagio for Strings. Technical, Steve Hill. Genre = Hard Dance
5. EASY FLAT. RPE 6&7. Rapture. Avicii new generation extended mix. Nadia Ali. Genre = Progressive House
6. POWER CLIMB. Sweet Dreams. RPE 7,8&9. Nick Club Remix. Dj Nick Corline. Genre = Progressive House
7. 2 X TIME-TRIAL FINALE. Recovery phases RPE 4 work phase RPE 9&10. Getting Better. (Gammer Update). Darren Styles. Genre = Hardcore
8. RECOVERY RIDE. RPE 5/4/3. The Arrival Feat.Tali & Waahli. Smokey Joe & The Kid. Genre = Hip-Hop
9. STRETCH. Im your Baby tonight. Ely Bruna. Genre = Chillout

HAPPY NEW YEAR-STAGE 3

Happy New Year 2012 everyone. May all your aspirations turn into real life results 2012.

Presented here is a continuation of our race -Stage 3 is now upon us, be warned it all ends in one BIG leg catastrophe. We battle up together during stage three with one mission in mind- 'One Team-One Dream!'. We start and finish together Peleton- pushing each others boundaries and fulfilling all potentials within each of us. Above all it is your own mission to come out of this stage feeling proud of the efforts you have made.

 As illustrated above, during the start of stage 3 (post warm up) we endure a mixed terrain, it's not long into the track before we hit an easy ascent with some light gears, and the gradient gradually increases.

We hit a flat at the bottom of the descent, where as leaders we encourage our riders to drive their legs through the correct gear for the beat, so that we can stay as one team. 'Carte Blanche' meaning complete freedom to act as one thinks best; we need to use our coaching skills to use the correct gears to challenge each participant to train as they think best to an RPE of 6 or 7 throughout the track. Aligning ourselves with the beat is the purpose over the enduring 7 min track, and our focus of course  is riding as a pack, blocking our opponents so we can stream ahead.   

A classic hardcore Madonna remix track is used to motivate our riders to power attack during our second ascent. 'Life is a mystery' is short, sharp and sure as hell burns! We use this track to break away from our opponents. It is now our responsibility as top coaches to ensure riders interval train between RPE levels 8-9 during the sharp ascending attack phases, whilst returning to a recovery of an RPE of 5 or 6 during our steep descents. To ensure everyone is on the right track here, coach some feeling cues. For example; how should the team feel at RPE'S 8&9 in comparison to RPE 5&6?.   Congratulate yourselves for achieving breathless and being  able to recover as only top athletes can really understand how to do this.

The hard work has been done for the moment riders. We head strongly forth ward into Track 6 a Hardcore Genre, yet nice and easy on the flat. Since our huge efforts created a big gap between us and our opponents during our last efforts, we now focus on light gears, so that we can sustain race pace (riding with the beat) over the whole road we are literally 'High on Life'. As great  coaches we have the opportunity of coaching the correct gears enabling riders to literally stick rubber to road and bottom into saddle. NO CHEATING.

Alas , don't get too comfortable riders, as our opponents begin to bridge the gap. Remember our mission is to approach the hill with one shared goal in mind 'we begin and finish together' . Hard Dance track 'Deeper' sets the scene for the first of our twin peaks. Time to take the opposition by sprinting through moderate to high gears getting ahead of the game challenging ourselves will ramp us into a more favourable position. Adrenaline is pumping and breathing is very uncomfortable at an RPE of 7 & 8. Don't be afraid to work hard as both efforts follow active recovery.

We got ahead, so now as the gradient markedly increases during 'Pasilda', the team trains with 8 mins of pure strength and endurance. Climbers- this is your time to shine. There's definitely no time for negative thinking. The clock is ticking, as the steady ascent dictates, we must apply maximum force over the pedal for the duration. We are to persist the maximum force to reach the top of the first of the peaks together,  to even begin to think about tackling a winning result. Please take note that the gears we use during this track are nothing but big and riding with awesome technique plus sustained effort will segregate us, from our weaknesses.

As we edge towards our second summit your motivation as Peleton leader is of paramount importance. You are to get the absolute best out of each and every rider in your team or our mission will end in defeat! During 'I have a dream' is our last chance to break our opponents. No-one said winning was easy.  Your legs will feel like they are travelling through hell, but it will be sure as hell worth it! Our opponents are not backing down, and by no means easy to beat. This means that all team members have their turn to group together, attacking and blocking simultaneously through some huge gears. Turning up the heat and burning through the burn, is your ultimate aim at this high altitude, working at an RPE of 9, allowing your teams' dreams to become a reality. Its a sprint finish, and all you got to think is 'yes we can' to accomplish our mission. Dont back down. Arriving at the peak together, beating your opponents means battling with persistence. Wheel to wheel, steel to steal, shoulder to shoulder can you work to your maximal potential driving the opposition to their defeat? You can if you really want it.  Well done Peleton- mission accomplished.

1.WARM UP. RPE 3-4. Jam in the Jungle by Basement freaks- Genre = Breaks
2.MIXED TERRAIN. RPE 5-6-7 Carte Blanche- by Veracoche- Genre  = Trance
3. POWER CLIMB INTERVALS RPE 8&9/ 5&6. Life is a Mystery by Eraserhead. Genre = Hardcore
4. FLAT . RPE 6.High on Life by Force and Styles. Genre = Hardcore
5. POWER ASCENT. RPE 7-8. Deeper by Rock N Roller. Genre = Hard Dance
6. STEADY ASCENT. RPE 8. Pasilda (ATFC Remix) by Afro Medusa. Genre = House
7. STEEP POWER ASCENT. RPE8&9. I have a Dream by Steve Hill. Genre = Hard Dance
8. COOL DOWN AND MUSCLE RELEASE. RPE 8/7/6/5/4/3 Beachball (Andry meets Schalli @ Monkey Island Remix) by Nalin & Kane. Genre = Chill out

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