What is Functional Training?

Recently I read an article in a fitness trade magazine regarding Functional Training. The writer called it a “New Trend.” As I read the article, I realized the type of training she was describing has been around since Spartacus. It was just new to the author.
As an industry we need to market to the public for a couple of reasons. First, we need customers or we won’t remain in business. Successful marketing should create interest in our products or services which will hopefully result in a purchase. Secondly, we want to help the public engage in a healthy lifestyle because in the end, all parts affect the whole. If we can help others stay healthy, we ultimately help ourselves.
Marketing is an essential aspect of any business. When a person views advertisements on television for drugs, insurance or financial planning, we would hope they realize the people they’re watching are only portraying roles of a doctor or a banker. It’s an advertisement. You would also hope the public would keep in mind, actors or celebrities are being compensated for their endorsements. However, when a real doctor or pharmacist informs us of a new drug or a Stanford M.B.A. educates us regarding the stock market, we generally give it more clout. Why don’t we see exercise physiologists, strength coaches and athletic trainers as judges on Dancing with the Stars or film critics on Extra? How come it’s always the other way around? It’s because television and marketing have an entertainment value in their message. When I read a trade magazine I would like to be educated or informed first and then entertained second. If there is such as thing as Functional Training, then as an industry we should be clear on the definition. Consumers aren’t always interested in the definition but, between ourselves, as an industry, we should attempt to be more concise. Exercise and nutrition are the “drugs” or recommended “investments” we make to our clients and members.
We know marketing works. Is Functional Training a marketing term or is really a type of training? For example, can we define aerobics? Jogging? Yoga? Mind body exercise? Plyometrics? I think we can. However, it’s very difficult to settle on a definition of Functional Training. Although the article I read in the trade magazine had many good points and some great recommendations, the article never defined it. The article quoted a fitness expert who stated their program “reached beyond the scope of basic exercises.” This quote led me to believe their functional training exercises were superior when it came to function. This seems to contradict itself. For example, a foundation of anything usually consists of the basics. However, anything above the foundation is superior. In mechanics, a foundation or basic design always dictates its function. I mean, you could use a guitar as a hammer, but it won’t last very long. (That was a joke.) Plus, shouldn’t a person learn the basics before they progress to more complicated exercises?
We function every day. We squat, lunge, curl things towards our bodies, curl out of bed, place stuff over our heads, pick things up off the floor and push and pull with both arms, or one at a time. Sounds like squats, lunges, curls, sit ups, over head press, dead lift, row and presses to me. I rarely see people in their normal day with one or two feet wrapped in a cord performing an exercise, standing on a dome-shaped ball lifting a weight, climbing on monkey bars, jumping on a trampoline or swinging ropes. Again, if you practice guitar, you become a proficient as a guitarist, not a drummer or for that matter, a better parent. Of course, your sense of time, intonation and overall musicianship may become enhanced and you may improve as a drummer. Maybe even your hearing will become more acute and as a parent, you’ll listen more. (Another joke!) However, according to the S.A.I.D. Principle (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands), the adaptations are specific. Hold on….. I’m not for one instant stating these functional exercises won’t enhance function, but, as an industry speaking to each other— should we define only those types of exercise as functional training? Are these exercises functional because they are not in a fixed plane? Walking is in a fixed plane — predominately the saggital plane. Does that mean it’s not functional? Is it because it’s unstable? Most chairs are fairly fixed, especially the first chair you sit in the morning. Does that mean it’s not functional? Is it because they are multi-joint or compound exercises? So are squats, cleans and dead lifts. Are these basic exercises less functional than performing those same movements on a ball, a foam roller or strapped in a swing? Maybe the author should have revised the message to “How to increase function in your training!”
Almost every exercise can be argued to serve some type of function however, it’s up the trainer or exerciser to determine what piece of equipment or “tool” to use to enhance that function. I just read this study http://www.ptjournalonline.org/content/early/2008/02/21/ptj.20070045.abstract entitled Patterns During- Sit-to-Stand Task One Year following Unilateral Total Knee Arthroplasty. The study concluded that the test subjects had weak quadriceps so they relied more on their hips to stand up. In essence, they weren’t functioning properly. As they exercised and rehabbed their knees, the quadriceps got stronger but the altered movement patterns remained.
Here was their conclusion:
The increased hip extensor moment demonstrated that subjects adopted a strategy to avoid the use of the quadriceps femoris muscle, yet this strategy persisted as the quadriceps femoris muscle strength improved. This pattern may be a learned movement pattern that may not resolve without retraining.
The same thing can happen increasing their strength or fitness in the gym. A person gets stronger, but unless specific retraining of the altered movement pattern is introduced, strengthening alone won’t solve poor mechanics. Poor mechanics result in poor function which eventually leads to dysfunction. In essence, you have a stronger person functioning incorrectly. This is an important concept to always remember when exercising or performing any movements in general.
Many of the exercises or modalities called “functional training” are cool and a lot of fun. For most people, it’s a new way to train and may cause members to stop and watch. Equipment manufacturers who sell these functional training tools or equipment use the term functional and have science to back it up. The industry changes so fast that they responsibly recommend we attend yearly seminars and workshops. Marketers and the press can also increase the demand for these new tools and programming. Some trainers and coaches in their excitement, are quick to use these tools. They may however, lack the knowledge of biomechanics or progression to incorporate these tools, or, in many cases, may have too many participants to properly supervise them. I myself have witnessed clients, who in an effort to keep up, compensate with an altered pattern to complete the exercise, or use the new tool. The client is now reinforcing a poor altered pattern or actually, creating another compensatory pattern and may not even know it. Good trainers can spot this. In order to correct these patterns, a trainer must often use slow and controlled, isolated movement to reprogram their movement patterns. In fact, a leg curl, knee extension and a lateral raise are all single joint motions that are basic exercises and supposedly non-functional, however they are staple exercises commonly used to rehabilitate knees and shoulders to help people function properly in their daily activities.

I found a few definitions of the word functional:

• Functional – Of or pertaining to a function or functions.
• Capable of serving the purpose for which it was designed.
• Constructed or made according to the principles of functionalism or primarily as a direct fulfillment of a material need.
• Designed for or adapted to a particular function or use.
What is Functional Training?

• Something you do in work, daily life or sport.
• Exercise that mimics work or daily life.
• Integrated movements are functional.
• If knee flexion is 90° or shoulder flexion is 120° you are “functional.” Orthopedic surgeons.
• Sport Specific Training versus Functional Exercise.

As an industry, we need, and will keep evolving. Ironically, that can mean reviving older tools or techniques, in a fresh new way. Using “Functional Training” as a marketing term is effective for attracting new members and clients. Even vaguely defined, the concept of functional training is worthy of health and fitness professionals to incorporate it as a programming term. However, rather than a marketing term, I would like to think of it as —-an excellent concept. Kind of like……..having fun or being happy! When we’re functioning we’re happy!
I’m my opinion the fitness industry has never been better, or more informed. Exercise in general has the ability to increase function. Metaphorically speaking, all of our drugs and financial advice work to some degree or another.
Professionally, or as a trade, we should recognize that Functional Training is another tool in the toolbox and if we’re going to use it, we should know what the definition is and what we should be looking for. Especially, with the modern day’s level of fitness and the increasingly sedentary lifestyle that technology is leading us towards. As an industry, we can help improve them and ourselves; we must be careful though…. We don’t want to market without substance. We are a service industry first and a sales industry second. When it comes to discussing exercise programming as a profession, I hope we’re trainers that can sell, not salespeople who can train. We have to do both well; let’s just watch the grey area so it doesn’t get too blurry.
Most people need to begin exercising with the basics and progress properly from there. As one of the quotes from the article stated, “Education is key!” Otherwise, let’s call it what it is and instead, the title of the article would have been “How to Increase Sales with Functional Training!”

Editorial for an article in the November issue of Men’s Journal entitled

I really enjoyed Daniel Duane’s article. He made some great points and delivered some great advice. Basically, you don’t need fancy stuff to get fit. We’re actually born with everything we need. I encourage you all to read it. However, again he’s no different than anyone else. He’s marketing his article and didn’t want to point the finger at the real culprit.
The real culprit is the public, consumer or in this case, the reader; not the gym, the trainer or the person selling you the membership. If the public takes no interest in their own health then they won’t know the difference between the right exercise to perform, whether the article Dan wrote had merit or whether a trainer was good or not.
Why is the consumer so disconnected that they have to be entertained for the lousy 45 minutes to an hour they spend in the gym? Do they watch TV when working, driving or having sex? Why is their health any less important? Why do they continue to buy the same “snake oil” promises over and over again? You can’t get in shape in just 15 minutes a day. In fact, you can’t do anything worthwhile in 15 minutes.
Dan doesn’t want to say it, but here’s why? Because in general, the consumer is lazy, overloaded with no time from all the bad decisions they’ve made, poor nutrition choices from lack of planning and again laziness, poor financial planning made worse from the excessive amount of children they shouldn’t have had, time wasted from watching useless TV like Dancing with the Stars, American Idol and any reality show in existence, plus, they’re being held with “kid gloves” by celebrity doctors (that in most part know less than a personal trainer and doctors go to school for 10 years, and, are just as intent on marketing themselves) that parking further away from the grocery store will help them get in shape. I can’t see how carrying Doritos or hotdogs a little further to the car is going to get you in shape. How much lower can they lower the bench mark for health and fitness?
In essence, for whatever reason, health and fitness is not the publics’ priority. There is nothing more important than your health. No matter what financial or family responsibilities you might have, a person’s health must be integrated into those responsibilities. If not, you’re lazy, an idiot or just in denial. These poorly planned life-choices are affecting the standard of living we currently have and the future of this country as a whole. My intentions are positive and being nice doesn’t seem to be getting us anywhere. Sorry to sound so callous but, sometimes “tough love” is necessary to kick some people in the rear end. Think of an alcoholic. Do you keep making excuses for them and applaud them when they’re just a little drunk? At some point you have to get tough and take the alcohol away. When you do, it ain’t going to be pretty.
Since it’s not politically correct to tell someone they’re lazy, unmotivated, uncreative and fairly dumb (enough statistics prove that unhealthy people have a lower IQ) the public will just keep buying the same crapola year after year. Until we stop making excuses, or rewarding mediocre decisions and results, it will never get better. Not everyone gets an A in school. You have to earn it.
It’s time we stop pointing the finger at equipment or fitness professionals. There are good doctors and bad doctors, good lawyers and bad lawyers. The consumer needs to learn the difference on how to choose between good equipment or a good trainer. The public needs to be held accountable for their own mediocrity. Daniel, by the way, 10% body fat for a male is not inhuman. Restraint is a sign of humanity. Stop eating so much.
It’s not up to you or I to force feed people information on their own well-being. It’s up the individual to watch, read and educate themselves regarding their own bodies and what works for them.
I’m sorry Daniel that you had bad experiences with your trainer, but if you had educated yourself a little prior to hiring them, you might have known the difference. In any event, it doesn’t take a lot of common sense to know that squatting on a ball will only help if you’re going to be in the circus. You wouldn’t want to shoot a cannon standing on a piece of ice would you?

Editorial of the article “Is this any way to lose weight.”

Anyone who writes or advises you on how to lose weight without addressing activity, rest and genetics is either trying to sell you something or clueless.
Gary Taubes is a real intelligent guy. He has a degree in applied physics from Harvard, aerospace engineering from Stanford and journalism from Columbia University. He’s also written some books on eating. However, some of his claims make absolutely no sense at all in the context of total health. It reminds me of the surgeon who wanted to operate on my knee when the real problem was my flat-feet that were causing the stress. You can’t isolate one component of how our bodies work. Rest, movement, diet and genetics are what determine our physical health.
For example, he claims that there is “no compelling data that exercise has any effect on losing weight.” Intelligent guy but where’s the common sense? Weight alone is not as important as the type of weight, or body composition. Body fat is what we monitor now. That’s why BMI (Body Mass Index) is now referred to, as a Big Misunderstanding of Information! Show us the compelling evidence that exercise causes weight gain. Yes, exercise or movement can make us hungry but it can also make us tired. Should we not exercise because it makes us sleep better? In fact, there is compelling evidence that lack of sleep causes fat-gain. Besides, most people that need to lose weight have a variety of other lurking problems that can be completely reversed by exercise. Arthritis, heart disease, stress and on and on ….. In fact, in the January, 2011 issue of Newsweek there is an article entitled “Can you build a better brain” where the author states that a year of exercise can give a 70-year-old the connectivity of a 30-year-old improving memory, planning, dealing with ambiguity and multitasking. I guess we should sacrifice our mind so we will not be hungry from exercise? Plus, the heart doesn’t get stronger from eating; it gets stronger from pumping blood to the muscles. Muscles create, or prevent movement. The kiss of death is exercise? I don’t think so. Do you really need a study to comprehend this? Don’t see too many cyclists, runners, gymnasts, swimmers, climbers, basketball players, tennis players, etc, that are overweight. Since Mr. Taubes wants to ignore how the body functions and its requirement of movement to maintain itself, I’ll address of few of the dietary comments both Gary and Dr. Eric Westman (director of Lifestyle Medicine Clinic at Duke) claim to be experts in.

1. You don’t have to use portion control. That’s right, sausage for breakfast
eat four hotdogs for lunch and a 24 oz-porterhouse for dinner. The next day just reverse it. Steak and eggs for breakfast, another four hotdogs for lunch and some Italian sausage for dinner. I’m salivating right now. It’s so ludicrous I can’t believe I’m writing it. First, I guarantee you won’t lose body fat or weight and I’ve eaten like this. It doesn’t lower my appetite at all. I don’t know about you, but the more I eat, the more I can eat. Once stuffed, I like to maintain it. What do the lap band and a gastric bypass have in common? They both make the stomach smaller. Eating all this meat won’t keep it small for long. What is ironic is that if you look at the doctor’s typical menu listed in the article, the guy eats like a bird. Two eggs with juice and coffee for breakfast, a salad for lunch, an 8-ounce rib eye (good luck trying to find a steak that small in a restaurant unless you’re ordering a filet mignon) and gelatin for dinner! Appears like portion control to me. If this guy tries to do more than 40 minutes of activity in a day, he’s going to run out of gas!
2. Say no to fruit because it’s got hidden sugars. Have you ever tried to eat six bananas, six apples or an entire watermelon? Why not? Because the body won’t take that much sugar. However, I’m sure you’ve eaten a whole pizza. I guess you’ll have to obtain all the vitamins, minerals and from salami and butter.
3. Don’t try to limit fat. Eat as much butter and lard as you want. Pack it on. They claim our hunger will go down automatically. No kidding. The gastric emptying time (the satiety effect) for fat is much longer; but how much can we eat? Try eating tabs of butter at one sitting. Yeck!
4. Back when we were hunter-gatherers we ate meat as often as we could get it and no highly refined grains and sugars. Nice point, except that we were also moving (didn’t have to exercise) to catch the food or to not become the food. Don’t think anyone was watching TV or sitting around for hours a day on a computer or a vehicle. Not to mention we were probably dead by age twenty!
I’m not a big sugar fan and agree that high processed foods are somewhat “empty.” However, it’s the lack of movement and sleep along with the large portions that cause the weight gain in most people. It’s not just food. Again, addressing a person’s health without correlating it to their movement patterns, sleep, diet and genetics is very misleading, if not, just ludicrous. Advising people to eat as much as they want, is not the answer.

2011 Master’s Nationals in Bend, Oregon

2011 Master’s National Championships in Bend, Oregon.

At the beginning of 2011, Nationals was not on my radar. My real focus was always the Master’s National Championships in Havana, Cuba and the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah. However, it seemed that I would have a free place to stay and I had some frequent flyer miles so the idea of competing started to become a reality. The dates seemed to fall perfectly in with my master plan. I could compete in three events: time trial, criterium and road race in late August and early September. Return home, race the velodrome and a 20k time trial and then take 10-12 days off before leaving for Cuba and Utah. Well, not totally off. I race mountain bike in Utah so I planned on doing three or four mountain bike rides as well.
I think it was John Lennon that said “life happens when you are busy making other plans.” In this case I probably should have made other plans because a ton of things went wrong.
I made the mistake of racing eight times (the track three days and two criteriums) in the week leading up Nationals. In my own defense, I don’t have much experience racing the track. The races are much shorter so I figured it wouldn’t be a problem. Man, was I wrong! Since you can’t change gears on a track bike you have to pick a gear that will make you go fast, which usually happens to be a big or hard gear. The races are much shorter on the track but they are all-out efforts. On Sunday, the day before I was to leave for Oregon, everything hurt. My hips were killing me: hip flexors, glutes, quads, IT band, shins— my fascia even seemed to hurt! This was a bad sign. Plus, my free place to stay fell through. I should’ve just stayed home.
I made the trip but was still in pain so I decided to not pre-ride the time trial course. I’m not a great time trialist and figured it would be better to save my legs.

Time Trial – Wednesday 8/31/2011

The course was awesome. Much more technical than I expected. It would’ve been a real advantage if I had ridden the course. When you’re riding as fast as you can and you see a corner, it helps to know how sharp the corner is. In this course, you only saw that corner once. It was hilly too. If you know the length of the hill you can gauge your effort. I didn’t know the course.. …… The results spoke for themselves. I wasn’t last, but seven minutes slower than the winner! I did see a small herd of deer on my descent right on the side of the road. I’ve heard of them jumping out in front of you so I backed off for them too. They sure beautiful animals.
On my cool-down, I happened to see a Snap Fitness gym and stopped in to check it out. A few of the trainers recommended some massage therapists and decided to get a massage. The masseuse happened to work at yoga studio so I decided to return the next day for a class.
On Thursday, as I was leaving for the class I thought I might visit a few of the other Snap Fitness locations so I checked my wallet for business cards. My company has a deal with Snap Fitness and thought I might as well do a little promotion while I was in town. I only had one business card in my wallet but luckily I had brought extra cards in my lap top briefcase. I grabbed everything and headed to Yoga. The yoga class was great and my hips did feel better after the class. On the way to the gym I spotted a Wells Fargo and thought I’d grab some extra cash in case I decided to get another massage. Stopped but, uh-oh, no wallet. Hmmmm…. The business cards were in the middle console but no wallet. “Maybe I never brought it.” I went to the gym, met the manager, exchanged cards and headed back to the hotel. I immediately checked where I last saw my wallet two hours prior but it wasn’t there! Now, I’m worried. I don’t have much cash and I flew here. Without an ID I can’t fly! It just doesn’t make sense. Why would someone steal my wallet out of my room but pass on my lap top and two $5000 bikes? If I did take my wallet and someone stole it out of the rental van, why would someone steal it but leave my Blackberry and my digital camera? I checked the van time after time, went through every inch of my room again and again but it wasn’t there! I had no other choice; I had to cancel everything in my wallet. It’s now Thursday and Monday is Labor Day. If I don’t get an ID by Saturday I’m stuck in Bend without cash. The only person who can help me is my friend Debra who’s watching my dog Mufasa at home, but she isn’t answering her phone. I finally get in touch with her and she’s able to get my passport to overnight it the next day. I’m not that confident in the next-day service…..After a sleepless night I rise early and go to the DMV. After a long line, they inform me, they can’t help me. Great…. On my way back to the room I feel I’d better eat something because I’ll have to race in a few hours. As I’m waiting for my breakfast I receive a “non-sufficient” funds notice on my Blackberry. Now, I’m freaking out. Did someone withdraw cash from my bank account? Do I just get up and leave, drive back to the room and then go to the bank. If I do that, I’ll have to eat really close to the criterium. I decide to wait. Three minutes, five minutes, eight minutes, eleven minutes and I finally get my food. I inhale it and get back to the room. I transfer some money from one account to another and then drive to Wells Fargo Bank. The banker assures me that both my Visa and two debit cards are cancelled. Whew…. With this mindset I head out to the National Championship Criterium.

Criterium – Friday 9/2/2011

The course was a long rectangle of a kilometer and half. I honestly didn’t even feel like riding my bike. This was to be my 85th race of the season and after losing my wallet and the pain in my hips; my head wasn’t in it.
It was fast right out of the gun. I didn’t feel like hurting. After 15 minutes I was done. I had averaged 29.2 mph. They weren’t fooling around. I decided to watch the race for a bit and twenty minutes later nine racers crashed in corner four. That could’ve been me. In hindsight, I’m glad I pulled out.
Went back to the room; still stressed out….hoping my passport would arrive the next day.
That night, the room above me had their TV so loud I couldn’t sleep. At 4:30am I finally called the front desk. I had put my clothes on and went room to room to make sure which room it was. They weren’t even awake. Thankfully, the front desk got them to turn it off.
At about 10am the UPS guy knocks on my door and I now have my passport! A load off my mind.

Road Race – Sunday 9/4/2011

Everything from waist down is still hurting. Just sitting on my bike hurts. I’m not in the mood. I’m here—- I start the race anyway. I do one lap and just couldn’t get my mind into racing. The course was really cool though. I limped back to the start/finish. I could barely turn the pedals in a small gear. I don’t even want to see my bike for at least two weeks. Those plans of racing the velodrome and a 20k time trial next week…… I don’t think so. I hope a break will get my head on straight. I’m mentally and physically burnt. I still have another 15 races to go! Yikes.

End of Summer Ontario Grand Prix – 2011

I had just raced the Encino velodrome the day before so my legs were really tired. I had signed up for two races today: 50+ and the Category III race. The first was pretty fast race for a bunch of old geezers. I didn’t have the legs to go for primes so I just stayed in the pack. A six-man break-away got away and with four laps to go I decided to try and bridge. I hammered as hard as I could and got about 30-40 meters away from the break, but unfortunately died. No more legs. Luckily I had stimulated the pack to chase and we caught the break with a lap and half to go. I just didn’t have the speed to contest the win but ended up 9th. We averaged 27.4 mph and my max speed was 37 mph.

Another horrific crash!

I normally don’t watch the sprint in the races before mine in case there is a crash. I don’t like seeing anyone crash, especially before I’m about to race. However, in this case, there were to guys, Mike Johnston and Chris Demarchi who were about two minutes ahead. With such a lead I didn’t think anyone was going to kill themselves for third. For some unknown reason, some racer who was about 40 places back decided to sprint. When he did, he clipped out of the pedal, lost control and banged into another racer causing that racer to crash right on his face! Again, he wasn’t moving…… Two days in a row this happened….. Again, we waited until the paramedics took him away. Was this a sign? Should I not do this race? Cat III races are normally very aggressive and since most of the racers are twenty and younger they ride erratically and often with no logic at all.

CAT 3 Race.

I almost didn’t start, but as the gun went off I found myself in the pack again. My legs were toast so I figured I would try for the primes and at least come away with something. Ontario is a six-corner crit and it was now windy. I didn’t have a good position for the first prime but got a really good jump on the backside of the course for the second prime. I’m turning the last corner when a buddy of mine (Bart) dragged a couple of other racers up to my wheel. He smiled as he passed me as if to say “that’s racing.” I’ll remember that next time he goes for a prime. Two laps later I repeat the same attack on the backside of the course and this time I get a huge gap. When I come across the finish line to win the prime you can barely see the pack. After that, I sit up, move to the back of the pack and decide to save it for the sprint.
About halfway through the race I’m on the outside in turn five and I hear a crash happening on the inside. I floor it– move to the gutter and by-pass the whole thing. As we come around the next lap I can see a rider in a fetal position on the ground. Since the crash was far from the start/finish no one knew someone was hurt. There he lay until finally an official arrived and basically guarded him for the rest of the race as we flew around him.
With two laps to go I move up. As we cross the line for the bell lap, I move up to the third line, right on Bart’s wheel. He’s pretty strong and had been resting at the back of the pack with me so I figured he’d be a good wheel to follow. We fly around on the inside of corner one at about 32 mph and all of sudden, the front line just sat up! Not good. Bart starts yelling “C’mon…..this is bulls!@#.” On the bell lap, it’s like sharks looking to feed. Any smell of blood and they attack. The outside section of the pack sensed the slowing of the inside and they gunned it. Within five seconds I went from the third line to about 20th…..argh! As we fly into corner two I can see and hear a melee of racers crashing. Bikes and racers were flying into the air! I jammed on the brakes and started to slide. Luckily, I navigated past a few guys and slid in between a few bikes lying on the road. Right behind me, a huge racer (probably 6’4) t-boned something in the road— was thrown from his bike and flew over my left shoulder! I was able to unclip from my pedals and not fall down. There I was, standing in the middle of six to eight riders all on the ground in pain and I was unscathed! I raised both of my arms in the air and yelled “YEAH!!!” The guy behind me did the same and we high-fived. I know it seems insensitive, but in the moment, it was such a relief, especially after the two horrific crashes I had witnessed in the last two days. I got back on my bike, rode slowly to the finish (passed the poor rider who was still on the ground; found out later he had broken his hip), collect a pair of nice tires from my prime and headed home. Whew…. Safe to fight another day.

First USA Cycling Race at the Encino Velodrome August, 20, 2011

I’ve been training at both the Encino velodrome and the ADT velodrome for a while now. Last year I had borrowed a bike at the Master’s Pan American Games in Cuba, qualified for the pursuit and then won a bronze. Because of that, I’ve gotten into riding the track. I’ve even done some practice races at Encino; however these races weren’t sanctioned by USA Cycling. Today would be first time registering and riding a USA Cycling track event.
Encino is an outdoor track and today was a scorcher! The track is 250 meters with 28 degree banking in the corners, a bit of a downhill on the back side and a bit of an uphill on the finish straight. I signed in and got my number; 808. Today would be an omnium of three races: a flying 200, a point’s race and a miss and out. The rider who has the greatest aggregate points or places the best in all three races wins the omnium.
A flying 200 “Encino style” is when all the riders slowly ride around the top edge of the track called the Balustrade. One at a time the riders “get the bell” which indicates they should go “like at bat out of hell,” for 200 meters. With only 200 meters, everything has to go perfect. One of the hardest things to do in track racing is to learn which gear is best for each event. Track bikes don’t have gears or brakes, so you have to choose the right gear. I had been using an 88 inch gear or even a 90 inch gear, but today I was trying a 94 inch gear. The inches are how far the bike will travel with one revolution of the crank arm. When it came my turn, I gave it all I had. I finished with a 12.79 (that’s in seconds), my fastest time ever! Only problem was, I didn’t wait for the bell so they didn’t time me. Honestly, I didn’t even care. I was so glad the gear had worked. I was learning how to be a better track racer.
The second race was a 40-lap point’s race. Every 10 laps you sprint for the first three places. At the end of the race, whoever has the most points, wins. On lap 10, I sprinted and got 2nd. On lap 20 I sprinted and got first, but the kid who got second passed me after the line and yelled “let’s go.” I was out of breath from sprinting and was reluctant because there was still a lot to go in the race, however since the kid was pulling and doing the work, I got on his wheel. We got a gap! The field wasn’t really responding. By lap 30 we were gone and I beat him again for the max points. This time he was done and couldn’t keep the pace. I was feeling good being out on my own and I was really close to lapping the pack! I hammered and hammered until finally I was on the back wheel of the pack. On the 40th lap I let them sprint it out and won by a long shot!
The miss and out is a fun race. On designated laps, the officials pull the last rider across the line. Sometimes called an “eliminator” race, you don’t want to be in the front, but you definitely don’t want to be pulled in the back. I went early for the first elimination so I wouldn’t get pulled first. Made it on the next two eliminations and now it was down to three riders. One of the riders (Sam) is much faster than I. He’s a brute. At 23 years old, about 6’3 and 220 lbs, he’s hard to beat in pure speed. He was leading it out; he didn’t want to chance losing. However, he kept looking back to see who was going to jump around him. As we went around the last corner for the sprint he looked to his left as the other racer dived under him. With his attention on him, I gunned it and was able to come around him! Now it was down to the last two Mohicans. The kid thought he could lead the old man out, but the impetuous youth ran out of steam in the last few meters as I came around him to win the race and the omnium! What a great day!
P.S. Well, almost a great day. After my races, I decided to remain and watch the Madison races. I have never seen one before. A Madison is where two or three riders trade off throwing each other to gain speed. It involves superior riding skills and impeccable timing. The last team to go was a man and a woman. The woman was Dena Eaton who in 2010 swept the Master World Track races in Portugal with five world titles. As they came around turn four for their first exchange, she lost control of the bike and crashed at about 32 miles per hour! It was horrific! She hit the pavement so hard that she bounced into the wall and then tumbled and spun around like a rag doll, sliding face down the track. She didn’t move…… Blood was pouring everywhere. The officials were told not to move her until the paramedics arrived. I later found out she broke her cheek, nose and her back! So sad…… It was a poignant reminder of how dangerous cycling is and how, in a split second, a life-altering event can happen. It totally took the wind out of my sails and I had to leave the track. I hope she recovers.

2011 Master’s State Championships

A few days ago a buddy of mine named Dan Sweitlik emailed me and said he and another friend PacMan, (yeah that’s his name) wanted to work together to try and win at the California State Championships. The course is in Bakersfield with a distance of a little over 31 miles long with a hill that lasts about a mile and half. It’s not steep, but last year it was too long for me and I got dropped at the crest. I was able to catch on the descent, so I recanted the same story to Dan and told him if I could get close to the finish together I would work with them.

The weather was cool and cloudy as we approached the 7:30am start. Two seconds after the starting whistle, my computer flew off my bike! Great….

The course was interesting. Tons of potholes, cattle crossings and a slight wind. Just like a thought, I got dropped at the top of the hill but you know me, I made it back on the descent. The pack had broken in two which left only about 20 of us. As we made the final right hand corner for the one kilometer to the finish I was second wheel. Perfect! With 700 meters to go, Dan came through hard so I jumped on his wheel. It’s best to stay in the front in a sprint; less guys to pass and less guys that could cause a problem. The finish was getting closer and closer and Dan did a great job of stringing it out. PacMan was definitely the strongest of the day. I had been observing him in the climb and he never looked like he was hurting. I hit it hard with about 500 meters to go and died with about 300 to go. It was PacMan’s turn. I couldn’t believe it! It looked like our plan was about to work! Don’t ask me why, but as I pulled off, he slid by and then came right into my left side. No problem, I just leaned in, but he lost it and fell, hooking my bars and dragging me to the ground. Bam! We were flying over 30 mph, so it definitely hurt. I landed hard on my right side and then flipped over to my left. I immediately curled up into a ball in case someone from the sprinting pack couldn’t avoid running me over. Luckily, no one did. I slowly stood up and brushed myself off. It stung pretty hard. As I looked around, there were five or six guys on the ground. One racer was moaning pretty loud. Since we were close the finish, a bunch of people came out to help the guy moaning and PacMan didn’t look very good. He was bleeding from the head and the face. He really messed himself up. I think he broke his collar bone and maybe his face. His cheek was really big and cut pretty bad. Head wounds bleed a lot so he had a lot of blood on him. I got banged up and the road rash on my elbows and knees was stinging. I couldn’t do much for the guys on the ground so I got back on my bike and finished the race. I strolled over the line for 23rd. About three meters from the line I found my computer!

It was my first real fast crash in over three years and I survived. I think lifting weights helps and my guardian angel was watching out for me.

My shorts and jersey are toast, left adductor feels a little strained, my pelvis and neck are stiff and showering isn’t fun, but the bike is fine. Tomorrow is the elite state championships road race. Hopefully, no one will be pulling me down.

Since this was about my 50th or 60th race of the year and my first crash, I’m not so bad….

I spoke to PacMan later and he broke his shoulder and received 30 stitches in his face. Racing can be a bitch sometimes….the sport is not for wusses.

2011 San Luis Rey Road Race

San Luis Rey Road Race – 2011

   Awoke to howling winds of 40-50 mph.  Not a good sign before a 75 mile road race. I decided to call the Escondido police department to see if it was just as windy there. The race was 150 miles away from my home so I was hoping the weather conditions might be different.  I was lucky; the woman said there was no wind at all. Great! I headed out, and just like she said, there wasn’t very much wind at all. It was hot though. I had ample time to get ready and although you don’t really need to warm up for a 75 mile race in 90 degree weather, I had just gotten my new Lemond Revolution Trainer and I decided to soft pedal for 30 minutes.  

The course was a moderately hilly 14.7-mile circuit on well-paved roads. The final 2.2 miles climb of each lap was about 400 feet. Total climbing per lap was approximately 530 feet. We were doing five laps.

I didn’t have anyone to feed me water in the feed zone, so I loaded up on salt pills, bars, Gu and carried an additional bottle in my jersey. I staged in the shade until the very last minute when the official gives us last minute instructions. 

The race started with a 2.5 mile descent. Although I had spun my legs, my blood felt like sludge because of the heat. The descent was fast. It had a few switch backs and a nice S-turn about half way down. The rest of course was fairly flat. It was an out and back, which meant we had to climb that same 2.2 miles on the way back.

We stayed together for the entire first lap until the ascent of the second lap. It wasn’t steep but the distance was a little long for me. As we got close to the top I came unhooked from the lead group. I looked at my computer and I was going 19 mph on a 5% grade and they were pulling away! I was the last guy from the lead group to get dropped but luckily on the descent, another four racers pulled up from behind. The pack had been cut in half!  The five of us worked together for the next six or seven miles and rejoined the group before the next turn-around. We stayed together for the return and up the hill the third time,  but this time we were flying. I came unglued in the exact same spot.  At the turn-around  I could see one little racer ( I think he weighed less than my dog Mufasa) who had a huge gap on the rest of the lead group.  He was a good minute ahead of them.  Unfortunately for me, there was no one to help me on the descent but I went as fast as I could. Max speed was 57.5 mph. I started picking off a few guys on the flats, but they couldn’t hold my wheel and I was alone again. I time trialed for about 10 miles and almost caught the pack (which was now about 20 racers) as they slowed down before the right turn to the hill for the fourth lap.  Everyone knew the hill would be hard, so they had slowed down before the storm. It was my chance to regain the group but the wind had substantially picked up and I just couldn’t get there. They must have hammered up the hill because, at the turn-around they had three or four minutes on me. I tried to maintain  a good tempo up the hill but by now, it was hot, windy and my legs were tired. I had been out on my own for 14.5 miles and had another lap to go. I went as fast as I could on the descent but the wind had picked up and there was a head wind. I made myself as small as I could but had no reprieve. That’s how it went for the rest of the race. By the last climb, four racers caught me on the hill. I picked up the tempo and dropped them only to be passed by one guy 50 meters from the line. 75 miles, 3500 ft of climbing, 3000 calories expended in under about 3:27 minutes.

   I need to lose weight to be able to climb that fast for that long…. State championships in about a month. I need to lose 10 lbs. Had my body fat tested about a week ago and I was 4.9%. Not much fat to lose, so I guess I’ll have to catabolize some muscle!

Glendora Mountain Hill Climb

So far, not a great season.

Glendora Mountain Hill Climb

Once again, the weather is not participating. It’s supposed to be spring but no one told Mother Nature.  It’s been raining all night and its cold. Lucky for me my start time isn’t until 1:32pm; hopefully it will be warmer. I don’t mind the rain, especially going uphill, but the rain AND the cold is miserable.  The hill climb poses a steady pitch between 4.5 – 5.5 percent. GMR confronts racers with a dizzying number of corners, as it twists and turns up the mountainside. Historically the time trial used the full 8 miles of GMR. A road closure, however, forced the reduction to a 3.7-mile stretch of it. (See course profile below) At 162 lbs I’m not feeling too optimistic. For my talent, I need to be at least 12 pounds lighter. I just haven’t been able to lose the weight.

I had climbed it twice the day before to get a hang of the corners and the gearing so I knew what to do. I averaged 95% or my max heart rate for 18:06 which left me in 66^th place out of 93 racers. Cycling is very unforgiving. Either you have it or you don’t. Nobody can help you in a time trial.

San Dimas Hospital Road Race

The race course terrain makes this course a challenge for all riders: bigger riders face the daunting climb up Cannon that has a 13-percent kicker; once over that climb, the smaller climbers must hang on as the course is flat and fast for the next couple of miles. Every rider looks to the rollers through the park to even out some of those differences in rider size and ability. To master this stage requires a solid all around riding style. Bottom line: anyone can get dropped on this tough circuit. (See the course profile below. The kicker is a mile six)

It was sunny at the start, but very breezy with a cold wind. There were King of the Mountain (KOM) points on laps 2, 4 and 6 and sprint points on laps 3, 5 and 7. This would insure the race would be hard! We were doing eight laps of this seven mile circuit for a total of 56 miles.

Lap 1 was no problem. The course had a lot of dangerous obstacles that kept you on your toes: potholes, hay bales, bulges and cracks in the road plus, we had sections where we could race the entire road but other sections where the center-line rule was in effect. You had to stay vigilant with that many racers.  Lap two was another story. On the rollers I could comfortably stay close to the front, but then they drilled it up the steep climb for the KOM points. I can match the speed, but that hill was a little too long for me. I unhooked from the lead pack as we crested the top, but with a screaming downhill I was able to catch back on. Lap three was the same story. I came unhooked on the longer steep climb to have to fight my way back.  This happened again on lap 4, 5 and finally, on lap six, I couldn’t make my way back to the group. The weather had changed by now. It was two hours later, the sun had gone and the cold wind had picked up considerably. I was cold and now on my own. Somewhere in the middle of lap six approximately 15 riders came up from behind.  Some help….. yeah. I stayed with them but again came unglued up the steep climb. The extra body weight was just killing me. I clawed my way back for lap seven.  On the descent up the second set of rollers something loud hit my bike. Another racer yelled “what the f^%$ was that?” “I don’t know I replied.” It turns out I had broken a spoke. I was using my Zipp 202 carbon wheel set which only weighs a little more than a pound. Great for a hill climb but not strong enough for this kind of a course. In a pack, there are sometimes where you just can’t see what’s coming. I had rolled over two holes for water pipes (or some kind of cap) and it had popped my spoke. It was now rattling, making a ruckus and making the other racers uneasy (I didn’t blame them). I fell back on the fast descent and took lap eight on my own. I eventually had to stop and wrap the spoke around another spoke. It came undone again right before the last screaming downhill and I was so tired I didn’t care. The spoke eventually broke off but I paid for it. My nice carbon paint job was all scratched on my both sides of the chain staysL

I didn’t make the time cut-off and tried to appeal to the lead official about my mechanical. No go….. That’s racing. I was so beat; I had to lie in my van for an hour before I left the course. I felt nauseous for the rest of the day and couldn’t sleep. At 2am I finally had to get up and took a sleeping pill or I knew I would be a zombie the next day. I need to get those wheels fixed and remember to only use them on hill climbs! I’ve been learning a lot of lessons this season.

2011 Ontario Grand Prix

Ontario Grand Prix – 2011

After 25 years of racing a bicycle I finally got something for free. My friend Mario Cortes has started a new team sponsored by a Columbian clothing company called Suarez and was kind enough to ask me to ride for it. I received two kits a skin suit, three pairs of socks, arm warmers, knee warmers, gloves, vest and a cool jacket! This would be my first race with the new kit. Unfortunately, it’s mostly white. If I had any brains, I would have stayed home. I woke up to pouring rain and wind gusts of 30-35 mph. Today was also the LA marathon. I figured if they could run in the cold, windy rain for hours then I could race too. I loaded up the van and Mufasa and drove 83 miles to the race. It took much longer than I anticipated and by the time I got my number on, I only had a few minutes to ride around to warm up. At 52 degrees, with those cold winds and raining, there was really no way to warm up.

Masters 45+

I did the 45+ race first. Small pack of about 35 guys. Luckily for us, it stopped raining. The course has six corners with a little chicane before the 200 meter sprint to the start/finish. I went for a prime but couldn’t get up to the first two guys. I went for the next one, but didn’t get that either. However, I turned around and there was no one there! Five of us were away. It turns out Steve Strickler who rides for Amgen was with us, so his other three teammates were blocking. It was hard for a few laps. With only five of us and no real pack, it was hard to stay out of the wind. Steve and one other rider turned the screws a little tighter and dropped the three of us. I was so pissed. The pack caught us with five laps to go. With three to go the called another prime for a pair of tires so I went hard for that one and won it. With two laps to go, it started to pour. Great…. I got in a decent position, but lost some ground in the chicane and got 10^th in the field or 13^th place overall. Steve and the other guy stayed away for first and second. If I could’ve only stayed with them………

I went back to the van, took Mufasa for a little run and then back to dry off. My legs didn’t feel that great. Maybe it was the cold or maybe it was the lack of warm-up. I had about 45 minutes before the Cat 3 race and it was getting windier and windier. Twenty minutes prior to the race I dragged my butt out of the van and spun on my trainer for ten minutes. It was cold and windy at the start but not raining.

Cat 3

This pack was even smaller. Maybe only 25 racers. On the second lap into the race it started to pour. The wind was bad. There was no real pack; everyone was in a straight line trying to avoid the win. I went for a prime and thought I had it, when at the last second, some guy came out of nowhere and beat me. Bummer… It kept raining but everyone was riding safe. I think sometimes it’s almost safer to ride in the rain. People are more cautious. I went for the next prime and the same guy got it. He was definitely stronger. As we went through the first corner and into the head wind, there was a surge. I had just finished going for that second prime and didn’t have it to go with the first eight guys. I figured I would jump on the rest of the pack except one problem….. There wasn’t any pack. The race had broken apart but I was in front and didn’t know it. Three guys went buy and I jumped on them. Two of them dropped me so I waited for the next three guys and got on them. That’s how it went for a while. We dropped two of them which left one small dude and me. He and I worked for the rest of the race. I could see the lead eight or nine guys a ways up and two other guys in between us. I beat him in the sprint for 12^th. Only 13 of us finished. At least I wasn’t last. I had enough and just wanted to get home. The rain was so bad, the 101 freeway was shutdown. I had to take two other freeways which took miles out of the way. Now all I have to do is my macroeconomics final….. So much fun