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PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING Vol. 11, No. 7

Cyclist Guide to Warm-up

General to Specific
'Ellis program is designed to augment the clinics and seminars
offered by USA Cycling and other organizations such as
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) or National
Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Each test in
Performance Conditioning for Cycling is eligible for 0.1 CEU
in category. A maximum of 0.5 CEU from PCC self-tests can
be accumulated in a calendar year toward re-certification.
Instructions: Read the article and choose the answer that
km( answers the question. In order to pass you must
answer 6 of 8 questions correctly. A candidate will be
allowed one "retry" submitting answers a second time.
Complete the CEU answer sheet and application form and
return with a check for $15.00, made payable to USA
Cycling, to cover the cost of processing.
CEU Value=.1 unit

As intensity levels gradually rise, blood flow increases dramatically to and within the muscle(s). This is in
response to the need to bring in oxygen and to remove carbon
dioxide and metabolic waste at a faster rate. The increase in
blood flow and temperature allows for greater transfer of oxygen to the cell, which improves work ability.
The same warmth that lowers viscosity in the muscle
will help to reduce muscle soreness and risk of injury. A muscle that has been warmed-up is relaxed, pliable and thus more
resilient. The muscle can now be pushed harder with less fear
of injury as a result. This is particularly important for exercise
at colder temperatures, such as early season riding.
The psychological portion of warm-up really occurs
during the physical warm-up. As the rider is warming-up he or
she should focus his or her attention on the training or competition at hand. This will become clearer in the section on "specific warm-up".

USA Cycling Continuing Education Unit (CEU) #16

Gal') Bradford
he warm-up has long been the pretraining/pre-competition routine of knowledgeable cyclists. Why? To prepare the athlete both mentally arid physically, and to
reduce the risk of injury.
Specifically, warm-up is used for the following reasons: 1) to gradually increase heart rate, 2) to raise muscle
temperature, 3) to speed up metabolism in the muscle(s), 4) to
increase blood flow to and within the muscle, 5) to reduce
muscle soreness and risk of injury and 6) to assist the cyclist in
focusing on the task at hand (training or racing). The changes
in heart rate, temperature, metabolism and blood flow will all
occur with any increase in activity level. The point of warming-up is to pace the body through these changes at a slower
rate, thus allowing a smoother transition between pre-activity
level and maximal effort.
A sudden increase in activity can leave the heart
momentarily low on oxygen (called ischemia). Warm-up
allows the heart rate to keep up with the rising intensity level.
This lowers the chance for damage to the heart due to
ischemia. For maximum training or competition purposes,
heart rate should be at or close to competition levels.
Muscle temperatures rise as their contractions produce heat (due to friction). As temperatures increase, resistance towards muscular contraction decreases and the contractions become quicker and more forceful. This brings the
cyclist one step closer to reaching or surpassing his or her best
effort.
The enzymes (proteins that speed up reactions) that
control metabolism are in part driven by temperature changes.
This means that as body temperature slowly rises, the necessary increase in energy production can be more readily met.
These enzymes also respond to demand, based on work load.
Warm-up provides some middle ground between low and high
energy demand activities. This gives the energy systems time
to adapt to increasing work loads.

General Warm-up
Warm-up can be divided into two stages: general and
specific. The general portion is first. It involves the large
muscle groups, starts out at a low intensity and gradually
builds up to a moderate level.
To properly warm-up, use the following protocol:
Choose an activity that uses the larger muscle groups. Some
examples include jogging, skipping rope or spinning easily.
This does not have to be event or sport specific, and it can be
something different each time. Again, these are done at a gradually increasing pace. The object here is to raise the body temperature enough to start sweating, without causing fatigue.
After the general warm-up is completed, the rider
should perform some light stretching exercises to ensure limberness. (See Table 1 for protocol ideas.)
Specific Warm-up
For the specific warm-up, incorporate activities that
duplicate the form and technique involved in the upcoming
event or competition. This will bring the appropriate muscles
and neural pathways into play, and muscle reaction and coordination will be in synch.
While preparing with exercises that mimic the training or event being prepared, the rider should concentrate on the
event at hand. This will allow his or her to become mentally
"focused" on the task.
Beginning riders should concentrate on one or two
basic cycling skills during the specific warm-up. (For specific warm-up tasks, refer to Table 2.) Intermediate riders should
begin to tie together several skills at a time and to use them to
perform specific maneuvers. Expert riders will perform various maneuvers during warm-up, and develop race tactics using
those maneuvers.
As riders' skills become more advanced, the warm-up
focuses on increasingly complex tasks, and the mental component becomes more important. Most expert riders will have
developed personal warm-up routines and mental techniques
which should be maintained for competitions. New routines
should always be tried out in practice.
See CEU #16, page 11

..

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PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING Vol. 11, No. 7

CEU #16
continued from page 4

Putting it Together
Duration and intensity are the keys. Warm-up too
long and you become fatigues; stop too soon and the desired
effect is minimized. If intensity is not high enough, again, the
effects will be minimal; but too high an intensity level would
no longer be considered "warm-up", it becomes "workout".
Duration is up to the rider, to avoid fatigue, but a general guideline might be 30 to 45 minutes. Intensity should
gradually increase until it is nearly training or competition
level. Also, a recovery time is necessary prior to starting the
event or training routine. O
Table 1
One method of general warm-up is the "stair step"
format effective, particularly for tempo riders. To do this, the
athlete would ride at an initial low intensity for three to five
minutes, then increase to a new workload. A steady state
would be achieved at each progressive workload, allowing the
rider to know how they feel at each level of intensity on that
particular day.
workload 4
workload 3
workload 2

b. Raise muscle temperature.

c. Speed up metabolism in the muscles.
d. Target blood flow to the muscles that will do the work and
reduce blood flow to non-essential muscles.
2. After a good warm-up athletes should be able to:

a. Have a smoother transition between pre-activity levels and

maximal effort.
b. Select the right time to transition between pre-activity levels and maximal effort.
c. Make cool-down unnecessary.
d. Immediately transition into all-out maximal efforts.
3. The purpose of a specific warm-up is to:

a. Bring the appropriate muscles and neural pathways into play

so that muscle reaction and coordination are in synch.
b. Heighten the mental focus of the athletes and recreate a
mental picture of the course to be ridden.
c. Gradually increase heart rate; raise muscle temperature;
speed up metabolism in the muscles; increase blood flow to
and within the muscles; and reduce muscle soreness and risk of
injury.
d. Target blood flow to the muscles that will do the work and
reduce blood flow to non-essential muscles.
4. Duration of the warm-up is an individual mattertoo short

workload 1
Stair step format
A variation on this basic theme would be to ride at a
steadily increasing intensity, peaking when the workload
begins to feel moderately hard (mild burning in leg muscles,
labored breathing, no longer able to "float" on the pedals) and
then backing off to recover. Once the body has adapted to the
new workload and the athlete feels comfortable, increase to a
higher peak and again back off to a slightly higher load than
previously. This allows the body to adapt to the increasing
metabolic demands of the activity.
peak 4
peak 3
workload 4
peak 2
workload 3
peak 1
workload 2
workload I
Adapted format
Table 2
Specific Warm-up Tasks
Beginner: one or two motor tasks.
Intermediate: combine several motor tasks into maneuvers.
Advanced: focus on maneuvers and how they would be used
in tactics; any personal mental techniques which have been
developed.
Motor Tasks
spinning smoothly
climbing out of the saddle
"jumps" or sprints
maintaining a straight line
cornering
timely shifting
event specific tasks

PAGE 11

Maneuvers
riding a paceline
initiating an attack
blocking
exchanging pulls
event specific maneuvers

1. Which of the following is not a reason to warm-up?

a. Gradually increase heart rate.

and the athlete is not ready to perform the activity effectively;

too long might result with the athlete starting the activity in a
state of fatigue. To avoid these situations, a general guideline
for a good warm-up might be:
a. 30 to 45 minutes.
b. 10 to 15 minutes.
c. 45 to 60 minutes.
d. 15 to 20 minutes.
5. The purpose in doing the adapted format of a general warmup is to:
a. Allow athletes to more quickly gain the ability to transition
from pre-activity to maximal effort output.
b. Allow the body to adapt to the increasing metabolic
demands of the activity.
c. Allow the athletes to know immediately where their lactate
threshold is at on that particular day.
d. Allow the athletes to know how they feel at each level of
intensity on that particular day.
6. The purpose in doing the "stair step" format for a general
warm-up is to:
a. Allow the athletes to more quickly gain the ability to transition from pre-activity to maximal effort output.
b. Provide the athletes the ability to increase the workload of
the activity at any time during the warm-up.
c. Allow the athletes to know immediately where their lactate
threshold is at on that particular day.
d. Allow the athletes to know how they feel at each level of
intensity on that particular day.

7. What should be the specific warm-up focus of intermediate

level cyclists?
a. Perform one or two motor tasks.
b. Engage any personal mental techniques that have been
developed.
c. Focus on maneuvers and how they could be used in tactics.
See CEU #16, page 12

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PERFORMANCE CONDITIONING CYCLING Vol. 11, No. 7

PAGE 12

CEU #16
continued from page 11

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d. Combine several motor tasks into maneuvers.

8. Essay Question: Detail a beginning level warm-up for a
beginning level rider involving one or two motor tasks.
Instructions: Read the article and choose the answer that best
answers the question.
In order to receive .1 CEU you must answer 6 of 8 questions
correctly. A candidate will be allowed one "retry" submitting
answers a second time.
TO RECEIVE CREDIT, MAIL (OR FAX) THE SELF-TEST
ANSWER SIIEET, THE COMPLETED FORM AND PAYI.

Answer Sheet and CHU A lication Form

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