« A Return to the Track | Main | Long Tempo »
July 20, 2006
ILT
Isolated Leg Training that is. Yeah, I didn't know what it was either until about 3 days ago. :)
Apparently ILT is something cyclists use to strengthen their pedal stroke or make their legs stronger or something like that. Either way it involves pedaling with just one leg while your other leg is propped up on a chair or something of that nature. It's kind of interesting. I tried it for the first time this morning.
Obviously I had my bike set up on the trainer for this one. I put it down in the basement because I think that's the coolest spot in the house. I was still dripping in sweat but I'm sure it would have felt worse outside.
I warmed up easy for 15 minutes and then started this so-called ILT by alternating legs - 30 seconds then 60 seconds then 30 then 60, back and forth between legs until each leg had a total of 10 minutes of pedaling by itself. I cooled down for 10 minutes for a total of 45 minutes. Short and sweet - but VERY tough! My heart rate never got up above 150 but my legs were working hard. At first it seemed easy and I wondered if I was doing it correctly, but it became hard very quickly and the top of my quad back where it joins my hip was getting very, very tired. The goal or focus was to eliminate the "dead spot" at the top of the pedal stroke where you should be pulling up. I suppose that's a way to get much more power - instead of just pushing down on the pedals you pull up too resulting in a quicker cadence = faster pace!
So anyway, that was my fun for the morning and this afternoon I had off! I also only have one workout tomorrow - a tempo type run that I'm going to do after work. I can't believe tomorrow is already Friday. Time sure does fly!
I'm off to fold laundry now and watch Le Tour. I've never really watched the Tour de France before. I've followed it and kept track of who was winning, etc... (and of course it seems like in MY lifetime Lance was the only winner) but this year I have a much more vested interest in actually watching it on tv, especially because the commentators really talk a lot about strategy. I'm in awe of these guys too. I just can't believe how easy they make it look. Up those mountains averaging crazy fast speeds and all in 100+ degree heat, day after day! Simply amazing!
Posted by beth at July 20, 2006 9:08 PM