Lockdown training tips with Team CP

Training during lockdown in New Zealand has added a new set of challenges for many training for the Whaka100. To get some tips on how to train effectively in lockdown, we caught up with Richard Greer (Founder & Performance Coach) from Team CP.

How do you suggest training during the look down? 

Strava - One of the things I've been talking about recently with people is the number of activities we are doing per month. When we look on the Strava app, the first thing that comes up is how many activities you have done per month and then relates it back to how you got on last month. At the moment it's not really about doing lots of long stuff or doing vertical metres and distance on the bike etc. which are things we usually talk about. I think one of the key metrics now is how many times you have been on the bike, so it doesn’t need to be huge. 

The 15 minute rule - I've got an important rule that I use a lot with people called the 15 minute rule and basically what that means is 15 minutes is the smallest amount of time for a session to make it count and to call it an actual session. The reason why that's important is because you should be able to fit 15 minutes anywhere into your day. If you're feeling good you can jump on your bike and whizz down the road or if it's on the trainer you can jump on and just go crazy. Sometimes it's a time thing and you think you can’t fit it in but you can always squash 15 minutes in. Then sometimes 15 minutes turns into 35 minutes because actually, you might feel good and be pleased you're out there and that gives us the consistency of riding our bike often.

Online training tools - There are some great online training tools as well, so it's worth training road if you can use those and they are pretty honest, especially if you have a smart trainer, it makes it even better. Having a power number can be really useful. I'm not just going to sit there and dawdle, or see how motivated I am, it actually comes down to this is my number and what I'm doing right now. You can then compete against others and training is kind of gamified a bit which is pretty cool. 
 
Skill focused activities - I have a few people out doing a wheelie challenge in the back yard which is quite fun. There's some good online resources on how to do a wheelie so do some googling. Practice some balance stuff as it is quite important for the Whaka100. If you don’t have a trainer, staying close to home can be fun. Every Saturday we have had a Team CP challenge and last weekend it was a drawing challenge to colour in as many streets in your local neighbourhood as you can using Strava. Go down every cul-de-sac, turn around, do some cornering and come back out. We had guys who did four hours on their bike, covered around 80kms and didn't go much further than 5km from home which was pretty cool. Next weekend we have a criterium 20km on your road bike or mountain bike. Set a course, 2km laps and see how fast you can get it done. You don't have to go far, but you can mix it up a bit in terms of your training.

Team CP's Richard Greer, attempting to walk on water at the 2018 Whaka100

How to stay focused on the Whaka100 training during the lockdown?
The key thing to remember is the Whaka100 will be back. We don't know what it is going to look life or what NZ is going to look like but it's really important we have that goal. The Whaka100 is nicely placed after winter so we can use that as our goal to get out of bed. Set that long term goal and focus on consistency and strength conditioning. You could get a coach to be held accountable so you are pushed. Do the short term things well so you know that long term goal will happen. 

What should I do if I cannot ride during the lockdown? 
Think about what you can do, whether you can go for a 15 minute ride or if the kids are home go around the back yard or jump on a trainer if you have one. 

Strength and mobility is key so use this time to do some core strength stuff -  do squats, lunges and press ups. Do those key movements that are really good for our body. Focus on mobility. Moving well is often neglected and there are some really good online resources around strength conditioning and mobility at the moment too. 

You could also get out and do some running. Mountain biking does ask us to get off our bike sometimes and there's some pretty steep climbs in the Whaka100 so that's not a bad thing and means you are moving better - it's a good thing to do at this time of year, as you build up to it.
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Support one another, set small goals and keep the training as fun as you can.

Need training help? 
Our team at the Whaka100 use Team CP for our personal coaching. If you want to improve your event results, get in touch with them below:
WEB - www.teamcp.co.nz
SOCIAL - facebook.com/teamcpnz