Fitness
Training makeover
Helen Biggerstaff ’s
Jonny Bellis takes on a time-crunched sportive enthusiast
- Train with greater
time efficiency - Become a better climber
for Stelvio sportive - Develop endurance for
multi-day riding
ports massage therapist
Helen Biggerstaff, 52, has
been a passionate cyclist all
her life, regularly clocking up century
rides. But now juggling her very
physical job with cycling means she
has limited training hours and often
turns up to events exhausted.
Biggerstaff completed the Ventoux
Cinglés challenge in under 10 hours in
2017 but struggled with recovery. With
the Stelvio in her sights for 2018,
she is striving to be smarter in how
she trains.MAIN
GOALS
Whatdo you mostwantto
improvein your cycling?
Recovery is key and I’d like
to go a bit quicker, so I’m
not so exhausted. I feel as if
I need to put in more effort
than some people.Whatare your
motivations?
Cycling is good for my spirit, stress
levels, and I like the challenge. I’m a bit
of a lone wolf; I ride on my own, and get
my spiritual nourishment from riding
in the countryside.Whatare the biggestbarriers
preventingyou from trainingas
muchas you’dlike?
Time. I diarise riding time on a
Tuesday and Thursday, and the
weekend is mine, but if I don’t do
that, work gets in the way and
training goes out the window.
I’m up and doing a fasted
ride — in summer — or on
the turbo — in winter —
before breakfast.Words: Rebecca Charlton / Photos: Daniel Gould
Time-effi ciency is of utmost
importance to Helen as she gets
her new business established.
First and foremost, all cyclists
should ensure the goals they set
are realistic, otherwise it is very
diffi cult to maintain motivation.
It comes down to cycling/
life-balance, and we have to
work with the time Helen is able
to allocate to riding. This will
ramp up towards the season,
so it’s important that Helen
doesn’t start to ‘panic train’ to
make up for any missed hours.
Do a specifi c amount of workin the time you have, and then
truly rest. Cramming in volume
just before an event doesn’t
work, as Helen has learned. It’s
important to listen to your own
body’s needs and constraints
rather than worrying about
what everyone else is doing.
So that Helen is able to
maintain her strength and pace
farther into long rides, I have
slightly increased her total
riding time. This will allow her
to benefi t a little more from
dedicated endurance rides as
well as increasing her weekday
turbo sessions by 10 minutesto allow a little more time
working on quality power and
strength intervals.
Everything is compacted into
six hours on the bike, ensuring
Helen works on every area
of fi tness, making her a more
rounded cyclist and giving
her confi dence. Accepting
that Helen tends to be a lone
wolf, I’m recommending she
take part in group rides, which
develop additional skills and
help to motivate. With regard
to nutrition, Helen must ensure
she fuels fully for long or high-
intensity rides.Haveyou had
anysetbacks?
I was doing a sportive every
weekend over the summer,
which was probably too
much. And I was increasing
my mileage by 10 per cent
every week. I arrived to
Ventoux knackered, and I
did it in about 10 hours — it’s 85 miles
and 15,000ft of climbing. I felt absolutely
awful afterwards, the most ill I’ve ever
been after a bike ride. Also, I’d given up
sugar and probably didn’t eat enough on
the ride.Whatare your strengthsand
w k sesin training?
I’m very disciplined: if someone
tells me I need to do something,
I’ll follow instructions to the letter.
I’m very structured in following
a programme. My weakness is
worrying that I’m not doing
enough, then arriving at the
event shattered. It’s having
that confi dence to know
’ve done enough.THE
COACHHIS COMMENT
Rider bio:
JAge: 52
JHeight: 5ft 6in
JWeight: 58kg
JBest results:
Ventoux Cinglés
challenge in 10hr;
sub-25min 10m TTJonny Bellis
Former British and
European champion
Jonny retired from pro
cycling in 2015. He is
now a full-time coach,
working with riders of
all ability levels.
Contact: info@
belliscoaching.co.uk48 | January 11, 2018 | Cycling Weekly