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DRUGS |
DEHYDRATION |
FOOD & EATING |
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SKELETON |
HEART & BLOOD |
MUSCLES |
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Make
cycling apart
of your lifestyle
it could bring
many healthier
benefits !
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What you get from this information is
entirely up to you, Just use it as a basic
guide. After all even if you don't find it
handy for your cycling, it'll be very handy
for pub quizzes.
THE BIG IDEA :
Any maximum intensity training only works
effectively and safely if the body is warmed
up beforehand, and given enough rest
afterwards.
However shinny and ultra - low weight &
expensive your bike is, you are the sole
means of propelling it along. You may know
everything there is to know about
compression damping and progressive spring
rates, but you'll still be going no where
fast if you're over-trained or racked with
cold. |
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Drugs |
The dubious bits they put in the legitimate
stuff from the chemist are scary enough, but
who knows what goes into the local street
dealer's melting pot?. Drugs cause
disorientation and psychological and
physiological chaos, of varying proportions.
Mixing these symptoms with any kind of
intense exercise just makes the risks higher
as the `products` crash around your system
faster. Given the length of time some drugs
stay in your system, think very carefully
before mixing mountain biking or for that
matter, any cycling with pharmaceutical
habits.
DRINKING:
Alcohol makes you feel like shit on Sunday
mornings when you should be riding.
Re-hydrate with water or a weak sports drink
as soon as possible and hope you feel better
when you hit the trail. Next time, eat first
to line your stomach, limit the amount you
drink and have the odd glass of water or a
couple of soft drinks. Before you crash into
bed, drink at least a pint of water, that
way you should feel like riding the next
morning. We are not telling you not to
drink, but drink it in moderation.
SMOKING:
Fags will fill your lungs with sticky tar,
reducing performance, increasing irritation
and massively increasing the risk of lung
cancer. None of these are recommended.
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Dehydration
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WATER:
Seventy-five per cent of the energy given
out by your muscles is heat, and the body's
cooling system is water-based. A litre of
sweat gets rid of 600 calories of heat.
Exercising intensively in the heat, you can
lose up to two litres of sweat an hour.
Dehydration affects the circulation, placing
increased strain on the heart and lungs, and
other systems become impaired with only
minute rises in body temperature. Remember
two per-cent body weight fluid loss = 10 -
20 per-cent performance loss. Five per-cent
body weight fluid loss = a performance drop
of 30 per-cent, with nausea, vomiting and
diarrhoea. Below this level, and things get
really serious. [lights out!]
WHEN
TO WORK:
Keep hydrated throughout the day. NEVER
wait until you get thirsty as that's to
late. Watch out for hot work places or air
conditioning which may have an artificially
dry atmosphere. As soon as you are on your
mountain bike drink as much as you
comfortably can without having to stop every
twenty feet for a piddle!. About 100ml every
quarter of an hour or more if its hot. Don't
ration a bottle so that it lasts a hole
ride, take enough bottles to allow for the
expected time. Keep drinks to a frequent
sips, and don't stop after riding.
WHICH DRINK:
Pure water is a great re-hydrator, but over
long periods you need to mix it with other
fuels and minerals to maintain operating
levels. Hypertonic and isotonic drinks are
absorbed faster than just pure water.
Concentrations of carob's in isotonic drinks
will be around 4-8g per-100ml, keeping a
balance so that you can refuel without
affecting hydration. Hypertonic drinks
contain more sugars and should be used with
another, thinner drink to avoid dehydration.
Use hypersonic and isotonic drinks in all
high-intensity situations, add a
carbohydrate drink as the activity increases
beyond an hour but increase other intakes to
compensate. Countless sport drinks and gels
are now on the market some unflavoured
starch carbohydrate powders, some
carefully-balanced fuelling mixes, and
others little more than fizzy sugar/syrup
drinks. >Always read the labels.
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Food & Eating |
BITE AND
SWALLOW:
As soon as food and drink are taken on
board, the processing starts. The teeth chop
and grind it all up into little bits while
the tongue tells you what it tastes like and
starts stirring in saliva enzymes to break
down cooked starches. The dissolving mush is
massaged down to the stomach in wave like
actions for yet more serious stirring. The
stomach is basically a muscular bag that can
stretch or shrink depending on its load,
with muscular valves at either end to stop
any overflow. Acids and enzymes, which break
down proteins and dairy products, are also
added to the mix at this point. The average
meal will be emptied from the stomach after
about 3-5 hours, but liquids go through much
faster.
PIPE
WORK:
Once out of your stomach it begins the eight
meter-long "Yes 8 Meters !" journey
through your intestines, where actual
absorption of nutrients takes place. Minute
fronds on the intestinal walls absorb fats,
sugars and proteins, and further down the
piping there are lymph glands to fight any
infections that kick up. Each type of food
is broken down into its most basic form
before absorption. Carbohydrates are broken
down into monosaccharides, fats are split
into fatty acids and glycerol, and proteins
are broken down into peptones, polypeptides
and amino acids.
BILE:
As well as the basic plumbing, there are
other organs vital to processing. The liver
is a huge gland that creates up to a litre a
day of the acidic `bile` that breaks down
fats. It manufactures enzymes, vitamins,
cholesterol, protein and blood components.
Not content with this work load, it is also
responsible for breaking down bodily toxins
and storing blood and processed glycogen
sugars ready for use. The pancreas is
another essential gland which controls the
carbohydrate metabolism of the body through
the production of insulin.
CARBOHYDRATES AND SOURCES:
Carbohydrate complexity is all to do with
molecule size. Your body doesn't care, it
processes them all in the same way. The key
to choosing the best carbohydrate for the
job is in the extras you get with the food.
Complex carbohydrates tend to be those
starchy, good-for-you foods with roughage,
vitamins, minerals, proteins etc, that fill
you up. Bread, pasta, rice, oats,
unsweetened cereals, pulses, beans, spuds
and parsnips are all complex-rich. Common
sense tells you to stick to these as your
staple carob's source, as opposed to a
massive pile of sugary cream buns and choc
bars fat lard Just eat sensibly and
read the labels and don't go overboard by
trying to eat a bowl of pasta halfway around
the course. " Muppet "
HOW MUCH AND WHEN ?:
When you are out riding, aim to eat and
drink one gram of carbohydrate for each kg
of body weight for each hour you are
exercising, with the same amount before and
after a ride to preload and reload
respectively.
MIXING THE FAT:
A lot of high-protein foodstuffs, such as
eggs, cheese and red meats, also contain
lots of fat. The way to avoid this becoming
a problem is by rationing how much you eat
of each, and choosing a leaner or low-fat
alternative wherever possible. Swap your
frying for boiling, poaching or grilling to
minimize fats added through cooking. Beans,
Soya, cereal and bread are all alternative
low-fat sources of protein. Mix your diet
and use as many food groups as possible, and
your protein needs shouldn't ever be a
problem.
'One
serving of pasta with mushy peas & honey &
rice pudding please'
FRUIT & VEG:
It's quite simple, eat fresh fruit and veg
every day.
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Muscles |
PULLING
POWER:
Muscles are the motors that power the
skeleton, muscles always pull, through
contraction of muscle fibre, they are not
capable of pushing. This means that for
every muscle there has to be another capable
of pulling in the opposite direction to get
you back to the original position. For
example, the biceps oppose the triceps.
Where maximum power is required, muscles are
layered on top of each other, with different
attachment points but the same basic
function. Muscles are linked to the skeleton
by tendons, and enclosed in lubricated
sheaths to keep operation smooth. Muscles
contract when they receive a nerve impulse
from the brain -so how can yours
work?. They come in two varieties.
Involuntary muscles are the automatic ones
that control the heart, breathing,
digestion, circulation etc. These keep you
alive without you having to worry about it.
Voluntary muscles are the ones you get the
remote control for..
POWER:
Once the nerve impulse is received by
the muscle, molecules within it produce heat
and movement which is energy.
'There are 640
named muscles, accounting for an average 50%
of your body weight, 100's have no name,
including the ones which are at the base of
every hair strand'
CRASH AND BURNS:
Under normal use the circulation is able
to supply enough oxygen, and carry away
enough of the waste products, for pain-free
operation. Fatigue occurs when fuel
available in the muscles and liver is spent
or being processed too slowly. Under extreme
workloads the demand for oxygen outstrips
supply, and the muscles work `anaerodically`.
A build up of excess waste occurs, and this
is what causes the [burning sensation] in
the muscles that bring you to a halt.
Flushing the muscles through with oxygen and
fuel-rich blood is the order of the day,
which is why we're always banging on about
warming down.
MUSCLES AND THE TWITCH:
Muscles are bundles of elastic fibres
laced with blood vessels that supply fuel
and oxygen. Two basic types of fibres exist:
powerful but fuel-hungry `fast twitch`
fibres and more efficient-but less powerful
-`slow twitch fibres`. Natural weight and
composition of muscle is determined
genetically; certain people will always be
stocky and add muscle easily, others will
always be light and `wiry`. Specific
training ,however, can increase muscle power
and nervous efficiency.
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Heart & Blood |
The
average heart weighs about 255g.
Pumps about 36,000 litres of blood.
Pumps through about 20,000 km's of blood
vessels.!
8000 white blood cells that fight infection
& 250,000 platelets that cause clotting.
Each cubic mm of blood plasma contains 5
million red blood cells that carry oxygen.
PUMPING:
The heart is the pump for the whole system.
It pushes blood through the lungs, where it
picks up oxygen, then pumps it out through
the organs of the body. The more it gets
used the stronger it will grow, pushing more
blood with each beat. When resting, it
doesn't need to beat as often. Hey presto: a
slower resting rate.
PLUMBING:
Plumbing for the heart comprises of two
types of pipes Veins and arteries. The
arteries carry oxygenated blood fresh from
the lungs, while the veins carry the blood
back for re-supply. Both are ,elasticised
tubes which decrease in diameter at the
extremities. As they are operating under
heart pressure, the arteries are smooth but
the veins operating under lower pressure are
equipped with valves to prevent back-flow of
blood.
BLOOD:
The blood is basically the transport system
[Bike] for the body. Plasma carries
sugar, amino acids, mineral salts, enzymes
and other nutrients. Red blood cells carry
oxygen out and bring carbon dioxide and
other waste back. White blood cells fight
infection by ingesting bacteria [yummy !]
If the infection is serious the cells divide
and multiply extremely rapidly. Blood
platelets are large cells responsible for
maintaining blood thickness and clotting in
wounds.
LYMPH:
The lymph system is a secondary circulation
that is based on the plasma that flows from
the capillaries. It flushes through the
body's tissues, nourishing them and carrying
away waste products. Tiny lymph vessels,
like veins, join together at larger lymph
nodes and glands where the lymph fluid is
filtered to prevent infection passing into
the blood stream. This is why your glands
feel hot and swollen when you are fighting
an infection. The lymph fluid is then passed
back into the circulation system.
ABOUT YOUR HEART RATE:
Your heart is the most important muscle in
your body. It pumps blood to your lungs and
other bits by contracting and relaxing
rhythmically. The number of times your heart
contracts and relaxes per minute is called
your heart rate. A healthy person with
average fitness typically has a resting
heart rate of 60-80 beats per minute. During
exercise, your heart rate rises as more
blood has to be pumped into the system. The
harder you exercise, the further it rises.
RESTING AND MAXIMUM HEART RATES:
When you exercise with a heart rate monitor,
its important to know about heart rate
limits, because your heart and your body
gets its best workout when your heart rate
rises. Your resting heart rate is your
heart's rate when you're at rest, while your
maximum heart rate is your limit to how hard
you can safely push yourself.
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The
maximum heart rate can be roughly
calculated
using the age adjusted formula.
Maximum heart rate = 220 - your age.
So, a 40 year old persons maximum
heart rate is approximately 180 beats
per min.
Maximum heart rate = 220 - your age
40 = 180 b.p.m |
http://www.polarusa.com/consumer/cycling/getstarted.asp
Models
of heart-rate watches
http://www.polarusa.com/consumer/productfinder/productfinder.asp
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Bones |
THE HARD
BITS:
The bones in your body provide protection
for the soft bits, 'the skull ....
that dense bit'
protects the brain and your eyes, the ribs
protect the lungs and heart, the spine
protects the spinal nervous column and the
pelvis creates a basket for your giblets to
sit in. The bones themselves are fully
capable of self-repair when we damage
ourselves. Even a simple hard knock will
cause extra bone to grow in the bruised area
ready for the next time. However, care must
be taken to ensure proper realignment, hence
all that fun with plaster and pulleys.
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THEM
BONES:
< Picture is Thumbnailed |
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Pelvic
4 |
Skull
22 |
Ribs
24 |
Spinal
33 |
Upper
back
60 |
Lower
back
60 |
FLEXING:
Different sections of the body are linked to
different types of joint, according to the
range of movement required. Hips and
shoulders have ball-and-socket joints
allowing big circular movements, and rely on
muscle and ligament strapping to keep them
in place. Knees and elbows are hinge joints,
kept fore and aft by heavy ligaments and
ridges on the bearings. The kneecap forms a
stop at the knee to prevent it all going
flamingo. The spine is a stack of vertebral
bones, each one moving slightly on cartilage
bushings allowing larger movement of the
whole spine. Stability comes from muscles in
the back and stomach, which act like the
lines on a tent.
JOINTS:
Cartilage provides smooth bearing surfaces
and shock absorption for the joints. Like
all good sealed bearings the joints need to
be kept lubricated and maintained, so each
one has a sensorial capsule with a store of
fluid secreted inside. Skeletal damage comes
mainly from impact or just old age but it
can easily be damaged by careless use or
posture.
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