Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

while HIT (or SIT) does have a beneficial effect (and of course I use it in training my clients and myself) one should also reaslise that the gains obtained in such a manner have a different time course for adaptation and one's fitness improvement can plateau more quickly as well (and it might be less sustainable). So knowing when and how to use such training is helpful context.

Substantial improvements in aerobic abilities takes months and years of training. Sure you can get a quick hit but it's generally not sustainable.[/quote]

that's why your the man can i just ask what your background is is alex?

What do you want to know, beyond the following?

http://www.cyclecoach.com/index.php?opt ... &Itemid=75

wowee. thats quite a profile. the reason i ask is because i just graduated as a sports scientist/exercise physiologist and now doing my honours research (on sprint training as it turns out). i'd love to get into the business and train cyclists etc...how would you recommend going about that/.

Alex Simmons/RST wrote:What do you want to know, beyond the following?

http://www.cyclecoach.com/index.php?opt ... &Itemid=75

Given the standard of your research activities, I often wondered about your professional background. One definitely not out of some lay background. Now it all makes sense.

But tell you what, you don't fit that typical pencil flicking, nerdy mathematician/physicist mold.

sogood wrote:Given the standard of your research activities, I often wondered about your professional background.

Well apart from coaching and my involvement at the interface between the more "sciencey" and practical implementation side of things, I also have a long career history in business and government organisations.

I worked for the Australian Trade Commission for over a decade in a variety of roles, most notably being the head of a State office in Northern Australia and the Manager of programs to promote Australia as a location for multinational headquarter and service centre operations. Even a short stint based in Germany.

I also have over a decade of experience in the business of customer contact centres. I have managed many corporate blue chip clients, prepared a zillion business proposals, negotiated many corporate contracts as well as developed strategic business plans and undertaken detailed business analysis and profitability assessments - mentoring operational leaders on how to interpret, use and make decisions based on combining financial and operational performance reports.

I have been lucky enough to travel the world a couple of times though my work, and around Australia countless times.

As for the science of cycling and coaching, I am for the most part self taught but have some excellent friends and mentors in people like Dr Andrew Coggan and Ric Stern. And of course you learn from every athlete you coach (which in itself includes several coaches).

Yes, it's your analytical skills that showed, one that's consistent with your background. If you can stand going through business proposals, then no data can faze you.

hoon wrote:wowee. thats quite a profile. the reason i ask is because i just graduated as a sports scientist/exercise physiologist and now doing my honours research (on sprint training as it turns out). i'd love to get into the business and train cyclists etc...how would you recommend going about that/.

Well to coach you will need* to have a coaching accreditation via CA, so I would start by making enquiries of CA for their Level 1 coaching course. It's fairly basic stuff but it does mean that you are then covered by the coaching insurance policy held by CA and have had some basic level of due diligence undertaken (ethical matters mostly).

You also might also consider finding ways to "shadow" an experienced coach, one who is engaged by CA or one of the sports institutes.

After that, well if you want to coach, well then it's up to you to develop a coaching business, join a professional coaching organisation (like RST) or to apply for a paid cycle coaching position (not many of those).

Like any small business, the expert knowledge is only one part of the equation - you have to know how to manage a successful business as well.

* well you can coach without it but without accreditation then you might have significant restrictions wrt venue access etc.

colafreak wrote:The above has interesting ramifications for the discussion on commuting being good training.

I was thinking about the commuting for training thread yesterday while I was damaging my knee ...if you are doing efforts while commuting in a city can you do the distances needed without interruptions?... why I say this is because even thou I live in the country side I sometimes struggle to find the right roads without interruption.
ie:five minute all out efforts = over 3 km in distance....plus a bit more if you are going to ramp up to it.
20 min FTP = 11 kms or more....

It is just that I wondering do these efforts need to be reasonably constant?.

That's why Centennial Park is so good for interval training on the loop. While that small sprinter hill can be completed within 2mins.

toolonglegs wrote:It is just that I wondering do these efforts need to be reasonably constant?.

It is preferable, although not absolutely necessary.

sogood wrote:That's why Centennial Park is so good for interval training on the loop. While that small sprinter hill can be completed within 2mins.

yes but doing loops around centennial park wouldn't be classed as commuting.That is going out to train...but agree CP would be a good place in Syd to do efforts.

Alex Simmons/RST wrote:

toolonglegs wrote:It is just that I wondering do these efforts need to be reasonably constant?.

It is preferable, although not absolutely necessary.

good to know...

toolonglegs wrote:yes but doing loops around centennial park wouldn't be classed as commuting.That is going out to train...but agree CP would be a good place in Syd to do efforts.

Just have to watch your speed when rangers are in sight and is kept safe for the prevailing traffic condition.

sogood wrote:

toolonglegs wrote:yes but doing loops around centennial park wouldn't be classed as commuting.That is going out to train...but agree CP would be a good place in Syd to do efforts.

Just have to watch your speed when rangers are in sight and is kept safe for the prevailing traffic condition.

Yes I am sure that doing hard efforts at CP would have your speed way over the limit there on some days....has anyone ever been fined thou?.