Joe Friel on “Peaking”
Here are some excerpts from Joe Friels Mountain Bikers Training Bible. You can find more information on this book in the right sidebar of my blog.
When true peaking comes about, you experience several changes that combine to create a nearly astonishing race performance. These changes include improved leg power, reduced lactic acid production at any given power output, increased blood volume, greater red blood cell concentration and expanded fuel stores.
A period of peaking is marked by both reduced training volume, to allow for rest and adaption, and regular, race specific workouts that accustom the body to the stresses expected in the goal race.
[during the peak period] workouts are spaced widely to allow for nearly complete recovery and the intensity is similar to what is expected in the upcoming race.
Peaking is about tapering your workouts, how much you taper is subjective.
Taper Length: The length of the taper depends on two elements: how fit you are coming into the Peak period and the nature of the race for which you’re peaking….The more unfit you are the more important it is to continuing training and creating higher levels of fitness until perhaps as little as seven to ten days before the big race.
Here is something important to remember:
Since it takes several days to realize the full benefits of a given workout, training with a high workload beyond about a week prior to the event will produce no additional fitness.
The longer the race for which you tapering, the longer the taper should be.
Taper Volume: With a three week taper, reduce volume by 20 percent of the previous week. A two week taper should be a 30 percent reduction form previous week. For a 7-10 day taper, cut volume by 50 percent for the entire period.
In reducing volume, you’re better off cutting back on the number of hours you train each day rather than the number of weekly workouts. Some studies have shown that reducing how often you ride could result in loss of fitness….It’s probable best to decrease the number of workouts by no more than one or two in the week during the peak and race periods.
High-intensity training is the most importnat stimulus for both improving and maintaining fitness. A race-intensity workout every 72 hours is all the stimulus needed at this point in the season. One of these could be a tune-up race on the weekend. The other [workouts] should focus on your greatest weakness for the race…All other workouts are easy enough to all for recovery….By taking it easy you’ll come into the race-effort workouts every 72 hours full rested.
Here is the most important thing I took from this section:
Such a peaking process should only be done two or three times in a season. The shorter the race season, the fewer peaks are possible without losing too much fitness.
