Ask The Trainer....

Cheesy photo of Rob stolen from his website :)

So, turns out being married to a personal trainer actually has its perks, I don't often ask Rob for his advice as I don't like the answer. It usually goes something like this:

Sadie - 'Rob, I want to loose some weight, what shall I do?'

Rob - 'Stop eating shit and exercise more'

Sadie - 'Ok sounds simple, I can do that.....'

Next day, someone offers me cake (because let's face it that's all you do on maternity leave right? attend baby groups and eat cake) and who can say no to cake?! or wine, or crisps.... Mmmmm crisps.

Anyway, I genuinely needed his help with training for The Big Spin and thought other people may benefit from reading these tips too.

(My guidance to Rob for writing these answers was try and to be funny and not to be too serious.... clearly I am the hilarious one in this marriage)

1. Can you give me an overview of what I should be doing training wise at the moment? (we have 2 months till the event)

The key to training for any endurance event is to build the time you spend on your legs doing what you’ve got to do in the event. That’s certainly not to say smashing out a workout in the gym or killing yourself in a Body Pump class won’t help but building a solid foundation of endurance strength on a bike is going to help more than anything.

2. How many hours should I train up to before the event? (i.e. should I be doing the full 8 hours in training?)

It’s rare when training for an endurance event to complete the full distance or time of the actual event, thank god! We tend to work on the principle that you’ve improved your endurance with your training and on the day your adrenaline and motivation from others will help you with the last bit!

Like marathon training, I’d build up the time you spend training on your bike to around 5-6 hours with a few short breaks. There’s no need to be smashing it in that time – a steady pace is perfect, especially on a static spin bike where you won’t get very far anyway!

3. What foods / meals should I be eating in the lead up to the event?

Depending on what sort of nutritionist you talk to, you could get a million different responses, but I’ll tell you what works for me and my clients before smashing a serious endurance event.

Increase your carbohydrates (things like pasta, rice and potatoes) in the week running up to your event.

I would strongly suggest a very light meal the evening before, with very little carbs. This goes against what most people believe but having a massive carb-based meal the night before can leave you feeling bloated and sluggish the next day which isn’t what you want when you’re going to be sat on an uncomfortable saddle for 8hrs.

Just as importantly, get drinking! Staying well hydrated in the build up to an event is as important as the food you consume – but before you reach for the beers or Prosecco, stop and stick to the water!

4. Is there any other exercise apart from spinning that would help with my training? (i.e. yoga for stretching)

Endurance on your legs is going to be key, so anything that requires your legs to be working continuously. High rep sets of squats, jump lunges or step ups e.g. 5mins constantly would be fantastic.

Stretching will also help a great deal so don’t underestimate the importance of taking 10mins out after each session – jump on YouTube, bypass the videos of hamsters waterskiing, and find a 10min stretch video to follow.

5. What type of food / drink would you advise eating during the event?

The key to eating during an endurance is to eat little and often as your digestive system won’t be working at its full capacity. Try to stick to proper foods rather than gels and energy bars to start with and use these in the latter stages. Too often I’ve done events where people have been smashing energy gels on the start line only to suffer from serious stomach cramps halfway round.

The key is to bring a selection of foods. The most surprising foods I took onboard and happened to be craving during a 300mile cycle race was ham sandwiches and a can of coke. I didn’t think I’d ever be eating and drinking that in the mountains of Mallorca!

6. What would be your top tip for training for an endurance event such as this?

Train.

It sounds so simple, yet many people think that they’ll just be able to do it and underestimate the challenge. Some people may well get away with it, but the majority won’t!