Gym workouts start Mon, Richmond school, with Bonnie Browett

[Lister Farrar]

The youth program is starting gym workouts tomorrow night 5:30-7 at Richmond school, with exercise rehab specialist, and former world cup cyclist, Bonnie Browett of Focus Sport Rehab. And other Tripleshot members are welcome.

Bonnie was recommended to me by Barb Bialokoz, helping patients complete the exercises Barb prescribes.

Wear gym clothes, clothes for warm up jog outdoors, clean non-marking shoes for the gym floor.

We will join other top level clubs like Houshang Amiri's Pacific Cycling Centre, Russ Hays Team, Escape Velocity Devo team, in addressing this important part of fitness. We all know cycling is one of the best forms of exercise, but most people still need core and flexibility exercise to avoid injury and get the most from their cycling.

Bonnie has assessed the youth riders and their parents, and designed a group program to cover most of what we need. Expect a guided warm-up, joint mobility prep, strengthening exercises in a fun, game format, handball, and stretching. The workouts will vary each week.

Specific injuries or weaknesses should be addressed individually, with a physiotherapist assessment and a personal trainer, such as Bonnie.

Fees
To cover the gym rental, insurance, and an honorarium to Bonnie, for eight sessions.
Youth:$40. Second youth rider in a family, $30
Parents of riders in the youth program: $60
Other Tripleshot members: $80
This is a pretty good deal: $5 per session for youth, $7.50 for parents, $10 for others. Compare at $15 a session for spin classes and boot camp. And you get a highly qualified instructor, a program designed for cyclists, doing important prep work you can't do on the bike.

[Lister Farrar]

The workout last Monday went well; Boonen, Cavendish and Pettachi came.

Ok, maybe they didn't come, but they were copying us.

We had some fun relays too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A87ysJwDd1s

Space still available. Monday, 5:30 to 7:00 Quadra school at Richmond elementary. It's the old Richmond Elementary, but the sign says Quadra while they are there during their school's seismic upgrade.

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit? ... _3jWTnENXQ

Enter gym door on west side of school opposite outdoor basketball court. Lots of parking. Space indoors for bikes. Be on time. We have to finish on time because the mayor coaches his daughter's night league basketball team at 7.

[Lister Farrar]

Map fixed
https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit? ... _3jWTnENXQ

[katew]

I joined this session last night and despite the unsporting things I called Bonnie as I crab-walked past her on my third lap of a sadistic game that included an agility ladder, duck-walking, squat jumps, cartwheels (haw), more squat jumps, and the aforementioned crabwalk...

...I had a lot of fun.

Rob Hasegawa scolded me a while back, saying I have this great endurance engine, but am a lousy athlete. He meant that I'm missing all kinds of stabilizers and overall strength that are necessary if our bodies are to take the pounding we give them without breaking down.

He went on to say that we'd all be better off if, instead of hammering around Beacon Hill Park, we repaired to the playground and tried to outdo each other doing pullups. In which case, I'd be stuck buying coffee for the rest of my life.

Now, I look at core training sort of the way I look at vegetables. Skeptically and guiltily. But I must say that this session Bonnie and Lister have put together lasered in on *exactly* my weak spots. The sources of my chronic running injuries and long-ride backache were painfully obvious before the warmup was over. But I had a great time doing a little bit to make them better. So, I think of this as rather like taking all the vegetables and putting them in a blender with spaghetti sauce so the kids won't find them before they've hoovered them down. (Or maybe I'm the only parent who did that).

Lister and the kids are looking at maybe doing another two sessions before they move to the track. They're considering adding an outdoor version in April. I cannot recommend this session too strongly for any TS-er, especially if your sporting diet lacks other core training and/or lateral movement, such as soccer or hockey.

In short: I think we have a genuine opportunity to put Rob out of business and have fun doing it, and I'd strongly suggest you consider setting aside some cross-training time. Your back will thank you in the long run, even if your internal obliques sing misery in the short run.