Book Description

I remember somewhere around 1998 I got a phone call, I can't remem- ber if I was at work or at home, from a certain José Ma Arguedas. Due to my job at the time, although more as a hobby, I was very involved in cycling. José Ma wanted a chat and to ask me some questions about health and training. Right from the start I could see he was a precise and organi- sed person, his medical history, test results were all in perfect order. Not long after this I met José Ma again on a radio programme about cycling, where he was in charge of a section on cycling tourism. From that point on he stopped being José Ma and became Chema. Years have gone by and although our paths haven't crossed much on weekend bike rides or cycling holidays, I've seen how much his cycling has improved. Chema has always been greatly interested in physiology when applied to exercise, training, nutrition, etc.; so much so that it didn't surpri- se me to hear recently that he was writing a book about cycling. To give you an idea of the focus the author wanted this book to have, imagine a situation any of us might find ourselves in; one afternoon you'- ve gone out training or for a ride and you bump into a friend (Chema for instance), you start to chat about experiences of training, things you've always wondered about physical performance, nutrition.....and this friend (Chema) tells you about his experiences, explains things (but without a blackboard because you're out riding) like what happens to muscular glu- cose when you train long and hard, what happens to your heart rate at the start of the training season or what rhythm you need to have to cycle up a demanding mountain pass. The explanations that Chema gives are clear and concise and perfect for any cyclist and anyone who is interested in learning more about training, the physiology of exercise, nutrition and physical preparation. In this book you'll find explanations of medicine when applied to exer- cise and training which will help you to understand many of those ideas we talk about at cycling meets or on rides without really understanding. The style of the book is chatty and open and easy to understand and above all a great read. The main and most detailed sections are: Season plan- ning and structuring, the principles of training, physical attributes and how to train them and improve fitness, the anaerobic threshold, maximum oxy- gen uptake, the recovery process, nutrition and a yearly training plan for cyclists. Professional cycling, which is all most people know about cycling, is not in a good place currently for different reasons. But the world of event cycling, from hobby cyclists to competitive events and races, is becoming more popular by the day. The author's experience in helping cyclists with training and physical preparation means that this book is perfect for toda- y's cyclist. I congratulate Chema Arguedas on writing such an excellent book on training for cycling and hope he will continue to regale us with new expe- riences in future books.