CROSS TRAINING FOR DUMMIES
I'VE SAID IT BEFORE AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN, I may not be as smart as I look but I'm still pretty dern smart. How smart? Well, take crosstraining for example...
... you know what crosstraining is?
Crosstraining is anything you do that is different from your normal training. Lots of sports use cycling as crosstraining... in fact, nearly all injured athletes use "the bike" for recovery and returning to normal functions.
Which begs the question... why do we riders of the two wheels do any other sports at all?
Because all the smart people say we should crosstrain. Fact is cycling is very repetitive and very limited in range of motion. There is a long list of crosstraining that we can bring into our world.
Myself, being a dummy, I'll keep it simple. All noncycling activity is good. Side to side activities are better. Upper body and core work a huuuuuuge bonus.
Have at it.
Another benefit is to bring newness and freshness back into a potentially stale regimen...
... which is what I did tonight, even though it was stupid hard.
But, since this is for dummies and because it is simple I'll share it. Extra credit because it highlights my low IQ.
I raced home to get on my road bike for the last Market Ride of the year.
Kitted up.
Prepped bike.
Filled bottles.
Grabbed shoes...
... realized new road shoe cleats where in van, which is at dealer for service...
... never one to bail, slipped on the mtb shoes, pumped up the tires on the gravel bike to a million and off I went.
To make it extra silly, I chased Matt up a local, heinous climb... which sounds a lot like heinous crime, which is what it was.
Sur, that was it and we would barely make the start I suggested we head on over, but noooooo he wanted to bag one more of these beauts.
Yes, that is a very notsosmart warm up to one of the snappiest road rides in town: bagging climbs, showing up on gravel bike.
But, that's crosstraining for dummies like me... just grab an inappropriate bike and pedal like helk...
... and I definitely pedaled like helk, so much so...
... that I snagged some PRs on those climbs...
... which proves to this dummy, even though that gravel bike is 5lbs heavier, with giant tires...
- getting proper sleep - I've had a ton lately
- losing some LBs
- taking some time off
- having a dern nice gravel bike
... can make crosstraing the dummy way really fun.
And, it really is all about fun.
Fun facts:
- 9 out of 10 cyclists will drive to a ride or race at least once a month.
- Less than 10% of those 9 have a good strategy for changing clothes
https://pedalindustries.com/products/pedalindustries-changing-poncho
This is the very best way to change your clothes, wipe off your body, and quickclean your bike - in that order - after a thrilling outing with your posse.
The good news is, we have some in stock and they make great gifts for those friends who really should keep certain body parts out of public view.
Use promo code: XTRAIN
https://pedalindustries.com/products/pedalindustries-changing-poncho
162.4
stretch
8.2 hrs
https://www.strava.com/activities/4252620339