[BHV] cylingnews.com

[William Lodico]

As a rider and beer drinker who's been around a few years, I have  
this caveat to offer:  beware of overtraining.

Just as it's necessary to back off from the bike training now and  
then to let your mitochondria recover and recoup, so is it necessary  
to ease off on the beer component of training.   As one who tends to  
hit the beer work rather heavily in the late summer, when the abused  
mitochondria are begging for the goodness of Guinness, I know all  
about beer burnout.  It's a hell of a thing to feel yourself going  
all fuzzy around the edges and sloshy on the inside just as the dark  
of evening starts coming earlier and earlier each day,  presaging  
that long, gloomy season when you want your mind sharp and your  
throat dry.

So, applying  macro and micro cycle training methods to the beer  
arena, I went on the wagon for a brief period in September, and am  
still sort of hanging on with one hand, more or less.   Beer  
consumption is down, and what I'm drinking I'm enjoying more.  I feel  
like I'm in good shape for the imbibitory challenges of winter,  
having recovered from the excesses of August.

Bill Lodico

On Oct 24, 2006, at 12:10 AM, Steve Burdette wrote:

Well sometimes there is something relevant there.  Here are some  
winter training tips from http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?id=2006/ 
letters10-23

Steve Burdette


Beer intervals
Dear Dr Kelby,

Earlier this summer, you provided sage advice for me, an aging racer  
seeking to "hold his own" on a cross-state ride held in late July. I  
carefully followed your plan and, modesty aside, I think I did  
alright vis-à-vis my younger companions. So valid were your  
suggestions that my success spilled onto my late-season race venues,  
culminating [sound of my own trumpet] in a solo victory in my state's  
criterium championship.

Unfortunately, you've opened Pandora's Box for me, and the pressure  
is building for next season. I've just completed an end-of-season  
wind down, and am preparing my winter and early spring schedule of  
weights, riding, and cyclo-cross, all of which have potential  
'rehydration' components. Do you have any tips for me? [Please note:  
I do suffer, from time to time, temporary vision issues and wobbly  
knees. What am I doing wrong? Was I over-training, or not working  
hard enough?]

Grandpa Kim
USA

Kelby Bethards replies:

You pose a question valid to all cyclists: maintenance of fitness  
through the winter. It is a problem for those of us that live in  
areas that have seasons…..

However, beer fitness poses a new challenge. It is entirely possibly  
to become too beer fit in the winter. Yes, I know, this seems  
impossible. But, just as extreme, cycling fitness brings a trim, lean  
and powerful physique. Beer fitness tends to have its own physiologic  
attributes. Those are somewhat opposite of a racing physique.

Strong drinkers will grow larger abdominal regions. Sometimes the  
courage center of the brain becomes hyper-developed. And, if the  
beerclist isn't coordinated enough, he/she may end up with an  
enlarged bicep muscle on the favored side. A beercep, of sorts.

"So what", you beer affectionados may say. Well, the big beer belly  
muscle may impede pedaling and cause you to ride bow legged. I know  
you can use the belly to 'bounce' your legs off of, but this will  
only work a while before it causes you to puke on your shoes. The  
overdeveloped courage may make you attempt things that you cannot do,  
such as wheelies (as I attempted to get Lance Armstrong to do on the  
said "tour", which he was not brave enough to attempt - not enough  
beer I guess). And, if you have an enlarged beercep muscle, you may  
find yourself sprinting in circles next spring. That'd be a bummer in  
a final sprint.

Thusly, a cyclist must keep a balance. Yin and yang or whatever the  
hell it is. You must keep your lean, mean physique, yet enjoy beer  
season. After all, that's what winter if for. A few simple tips may  
help:

First of all, avoid the urge to do beer intervals in the winter. That  
isn't necessary. Just keep your fitness, keep your base beer miles  
and enjoy it. You don't want to overtrain.

B) Drink with both hands. At the same time if you wish… This will  
keep you from sprinting in circles and looking ridiculous.

3) Ride your bike to the bar or to the beer. Even in the winter. This  
allows you to 'earn' the beer. Even in the snow and so on. It also  
keeps the urge to do beer intervals, and beer sprints to a minimum,  
since you need to be sober enough to get home safely.

7) You mentioned opening Pandora's Box. Open that baby up, fill it  
with beer and hop in. I have a Mr T. rubber ducky you can borrow. I  
pity the fool.


Kelby Bethards, MD (Ft Collins orphan)

P.S. Yes Kim, you did very well on the said "tour" and held your own.  
Wobbly knees, eh? Low beer to blood ratio, I reckon.



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