Pro cyclist have shown to have larger than normal hearts at rates of 20 to 40%. Scientist studied several Pro cyclist in a long term test and showed that they usually have larger hearts even after they stop competing. The larger heart is developed in response to the intense training. This is not completely surprising since the heart muscle is one of the key components to cycling. Just as most cyclist have overdeveloped legs especially in the quads. What is most interesting is that point made at the end of the article where they reference doping. Seems that since cyclist train their systems to function so well, doping would be detrimental and could possibly cause major problems.
… in athletes with bigger hearts, doping could prove potentially more dangerous than for normal people.
Athletes with bigger hearts have more red blood cells, which deliver oxygen around the body. These cells are thicker than normal cells. So if athletes decide to use an illegal agent like the blood-booster EPO, they run the risk of making their blood too thick. That puts them in danger of a clot, stroke, or heart attack.
“These athletes already have hearts that have increased in volume to adapt to their training workload,” Bove said. “If they then go and use drugs, that could potentially erase the natural advantage they already have.”
The EPO deaths were seen early on in the 1990s and late 80s when several Dutch cyclist died in their sleep. I seems that later on in the 1990s cyclist were savvier in their use of EPO as mysterious deaths were rare.
CNN Health
(this is not velochimp editor Marcello Prattico… I will give a weightloss update on my training soon)
The Nintendo Wii is a revolution in gaming in that you actually have to move your body, not just your thumbs. So what kind of difference can playing the Nintendo Wii have on your daily routine? A big difference.
For most people this is their most anticipated category. To be honest, I was genuinely surprised by my end results, so I’ll just get right to it. I lost 9lbs! Obviously this doesn’t compare to Jared and the Subway diet, but I started out at a weight that I’ve been at for the past 2 years.
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New Year’s Day is a time to get the first miles in for 2007. While Syracuse, NY weather is usually cold and snowy on New Year’s Day the El Nino or Global Warming or whatever has made for one gorgeous day.
The ride was solo unfortunately since I did not really expect it to be so nice and I did not call up any of the usual folks to ride. I was not too sad since I have been sick for a few days since Christmas. Working out was not an option as I did not feel good enough to even move for a few days. There must be a virus going around. Here are some shots of the ride.
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eDiets.com has a good writeup by Raphael Calzadilla who can pass for a younger looking Jack Lalane. The hair and puffed up chest make the resemblance seem uncanny. Anyway, Raphael Calzadilla has some very good points about getting fitness and losing weight. Most of these tips jibe with the Abs Diet program I have been following this year. Point number 4 seems to get to the core of the Abs Diet theory:
4. Calories are the only thing that counts when trying to lose body fat or gain lean muscle. FALSE!
Ratios of protein, carbohydrates and fats are also important. The key in losing body fat and getting lean is controlling and manipulating insulin levels. In simple terms, when we consume excessive calories or excessive amounts of high glycemic carbohydrates at one meal, the body’s blood sugar rises. When this happens, the pancreas secretes the hormone insulin to lower the blood sugar levels.
7. The best way to lose fat is to eat very few calories. FALSE!
Always consider your body from the inside out. Your body’s main objective is to survive. It doesn’t care if you want to lose body fat. In fact, it would prefer to increase fat in case of famine. Internally, the body has no idea that it’s the year 2003. It could still be 10,000 years ago for all it cares. Survival is its number one objective.
If you eat very little (less than 1,200 calories), the body perceives an emergency and will accommodate you by holding onto stored body fat. As well it should, because it has no idea when it will be fed again…
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(not my knee, this belongs to Colavita-Spokepost.com teammate Jason Haight)
First race of the season, first getting dropped of the season, hopefully the last. When Phil and Paul refer to pro cyclist as “turn their legs in anger” it is not much of an exaggeration. You have to have a little extra spark when racing. I was anxious to get that feeling back in my system very soon which is why I ventured out to the Rochester Giros.
Doing your first race is a jolt to the system, and it is even more of a jolt when you join in a six race series on the last race. Oh well, no more excuses. I did get to throw my body into “race pace” for the first time this year and it felt painful, but I am glad to get that experience out of the way so I can get ready for the next race.
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This Saturday I underwent the Conconi test to determine my aerobic threshold and my anaerobic threshold. This was the first time I actually was tested for my cycling ability. This year I am actually on a racing team and want to see where I am in terms of fitness. I was in great shape going into 2005, but then the baby arrived and I gained back weight, and lost fitness. By September I was riding poorly. Hills I never knew existed now seems like tough climbs.
Gradually I worked to regain my fitness. Most of the motivation for being on the team is to get time to ride. Plus, I can learn training methods and racing tactics from other riders. All of this will help me improve my cycling and have much more fun racing.
The Conconi test can be done by anyone. All you need is a heart rate monitor, a stop watch, preferrably a trainer and a freind to observe you. The test is basically raises your heart rate as you pedaling faster to the point where you can longer increase your speed. During this process you can determine where specific thresholds are such as your anaerobic and aerobic thresholds.
My test started off at Syracuse Bicycle where Matt Howey (of spokepost.com) a Cat 3 on the Colavita Spokepost.com Team was conducting the test for interested team members. He owns a computrainer which was used to run the test. Once your bike is hooked up to the trainer you warm up for 10 minutes or so. Once wamred up, the test begins as you pedal to maintain a speed of 16 mph fr 30 seconds. Every 30 seconds thereafter you increase the speed .5 mph and report back your perceived level of extertion which is from a chart from 11 to 20.
Once the test was done (sorry, I won’t give any details on where I am. I don’t want this information falling into the wrong hands 
) I received a chart with my heart rate, level of exertion and speed. From these numbers Matt was able to locate my lactate threshold which was just below my max heart rate. I never really trained with a heart rate monitor or used things like lactate threshold to gauge my performance. This test helped me to realize what I should be doing for my training going into the season. Plus, this wil help me to determine when I should rest which is just as important as any training session.
Conconi Test
