Warning: You might want to jump on your bike after reading
this article. Please take appropriate measurements if required.
Can you imagine waking up at 4:45am in the morning,
excitedly jumping out of the bed, almost taking your ceiling lamp out, singing
with your radio and rocking up to the ride location ready for a tough ride?
No?
Well, I wasn’t either until I met Dave, Harry and Lisa, the
coaching gang from The Hurt Box (THB). And yes, they chose their company name
with intention.
On my first ride with THB five weeks ago, I had a true fitness
reality check. I knew I was not in shape. But I was not only “not in shape”, I
was even beyond the “out of shape” classification.
I wasn’t sure what had a
deeper dent, my legs or my ego. But I immediately knew, I arrived at the right
address. Lisa, our female coach and National Track Champion, reassured me, if I
follow the program, I will become fit and conditioned. There is no other way.
A promise too good to be true?
Well, I would know soon enough.
The training program is based on power and heartrate. As a
sworn-in “no-number” cyclist, I was hesitant at first. So I chatted with Harry,
the mastermind of Ridermetrics, a free available training software he
programmed himself. Just to spell this out, there is a coach at THB, who
thought all the current popular training software programs are not good enough
so he built his own! I call this 100% dedication going all the way. And just
for good measure, he improved the algorithms as there are error calculations in
the most popular training software.
So, it didn’t take long and the power meter and a heart rate
monitor was ordered. However, it’s one thing to collect data, but a totally
different thing to analyse them and even more importantly to train accordingly.
Dave aka Steggles, THB coach, elite racer and an icon in Melbourne’s cycling
scene, is the key to transform the data into a training plan. Plus, not only
does he write the program, he does the training with you. Three times a week,
he personally ensures we are in the hurt box (sorry, couldn’t help it).
But by
no means does this mean we are digging deep the entire time, quite the
opposite. Surprisingly, we are riding a lot of steady pace. As of rather
sociable nature, it is a fantastic time to meet my fellow Hurt Boxers. They are
quite a bunch, I tell’ya!
Although every THB rider has a different goal why they train
– World Champs or for the local crit - there is one thing everyone has in common - they know
how to have a good time on the bike – especially when a German tries to use
American slang in Australia! This multicultural combination was asking for
awkward misunderstandings. Let’s say this, not all American cycling terms are
appropriate to use in Australian lingo, especially when juniors are around. I
learned that the “did-she-really-just-say-that?” way! J
But back to the “you will get fit, there is no other way” promise,
my initial data aversion and off-the-map-out-of-shapeness:
Like in a cheesy
movie, everything is having an amazing turn to the better. There is this
indescribable connection with my bike returning– it is hard to describe but
those who got back into shape from a miserable unfit state know this awesome
feeling.
I know this might sound over the top, but I couldn’t ask for
a better Christmas present than being part of The Hurt Box. If you ever have
been in that deep hole of unfitness, weight gain and lack of motivation, it is
tough to get yourself out of there. THB was the key to get me back on track. Being
motivated in the darkest hour to get up and excited to ride my bike while
getting truly fit again is an awesome feeling. For those who have been there,
they know exactly what I mean.
And the journey is just starting…
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| View to the ocean on the way up Arthur's Seat |
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| That was steep! Pictures never really show it. |
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| Yep. Me. |
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| Slowly but surely riding up Arthur's Seat. |
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| Riding through a gorgeous countryside. |
