«Great book»
This and Friel's book together are a great combination. Friel is very good, especially about strength training and how to adjust your program for age. But because he so finely divides every point he's making, by the end I felt so overwhelmed and in a panic that I couldn't apply much of what I had read to actual training. He draws all these elaborate charts and diagrams about every imaginable aspect that I really couldn't absorb it all. Reading his book alone, I didn't get any faster, I just felt frustrated. Adding Carmichael's, I really honestly have. I'm 51 this year and rode my first ever 5 hr century (which is a big deal to ME anyway...)
Carmichael cuts to the chase. It's about riding a bike after all, not piloting a submarine. He very plainly lays out a very simple overriding philosophy - build your base aerobic system and then gradually add intensity - and then gives you lots of practical tools to work with. The whole book really has a tone and energy about that makes you want to go out and ride FAST.
It has some holes though. Its organization is a little patchy, hard to find something again when you know you've read it somewhere. The sample training schedules seem to be mismatched to the text by about one chapter - I found out the first season I that I should have already been doing tempo rides at whatever point it was... But you figure that out, and you fill the holes with Friel.
[Friday, October 30, 2009]
|
«Very good, but a bit scattered»
An excellent introduction to periodized training, with some good examples. I have to think there was supposed to be some sort of greater organization to the content than there seems to be, but it is still a pretty good read and reference for those who want to take their bike-specific training to the next level.
[Friday, October 31, 2008]
|
«Better than "Lance Armstrong Performance Program"»
Chris Carmichael did a better job in this book than "Lance Armstrong Performance Program". I think that "The Ultimate Ride" has more details, and does not use the "maximum heart rate" padron of training, but "lactate threshold", as found in Joe Friel's "The Cyclist Training Bible".
However, its much easier to create an anual program with "The Cyclist Training Bible", since the "The Ultimate Ride" is a little bit haphazard in this issue.
The best book of bike training still is "The Cyclist Training Bible"; "The Ultimate Ride" is the second best.
[Thursday, January 04, 2007]
|
m