Physical Tuning | Skills & Drills | Thought Design | Team Work

Mental Exercise

Mental exercise is a key part of success in any sport. Below are exercises that
Tom Bruen uses to help him find success on a fast training ride:

I work on risk taking like cornering and feeding in the pack.
I work on tactics, like sitting in on the flats and giving it my all on the hills.

I work on team stuff like pulling the skinny guys when the pace was falling and then sitting in enough to recover.

I push myself to certain aerobic and power levels to see what I can do in those situations.

I give myself credit for climbing slightly behind the skinny climber dudes. When Adam was passing me on Arrowhead I stayed with him as long as I could without blowing up. That helped me to gain some ground on the others who already had a gap on me before the climb. I think that if I wasn't gapped before the hill I would have been much closer to them. Just the fact that I worked hard and still felt good near the end of the ride, and after the ride, makes me feel good about where I am in my training. It was a good day physically and mentally.

I'm trying to find areas where I can improve my tactics and conserve energy. For instance I work on bike fit and body position on the trainer, where I can easily make adjustments, during the week. I can tell the difference on a ride. I ask my coach to notice anything I can do better.

It's all the little learning things that add up to improved performance.

Jonathan Siegel, Director of Coaching
JDS Sportcoaching, LLC

Jonathan Siegel, CSCS, is an RRCA-certified running coach and certified cycling coach. If you have training questions or comments or are interested in a lactate test, contact JDS Sportcoaching,LLC.