Mamba Mentality

1) Gosh, it’s three years this month since Kobe Bryant (the banner is from a mural just outside the Laker’s arena) passed. I dedicate this post to him.
Quick Kobe story:
I went to undergrad in Binghamton, NY. About a five-hour drive from Toronto. They have a big Caribbean festival each year and maybe 1998 or 1999, we saw Kobe walking toward us on Yonge Street— the main strip in Toronto. He had two ‘bad’ girls on each arm, just walking up the block. We (probably me) shouted his name and Kobe gave the classic ‘chin-up’ nod known to us Hip-Hop heads as a non-verbal ‘whaddup’. We were too interested in talking to girls to be stressing Kobe, but it was a cool moment.

This was before he was a star. Remember, he didn’t even start his first two years in the league. And didn’t win a championship until 2000. But Kobe was always the people’s champ — If you haven’t seen the video of when he visited Rucker Park in Harlem . . . see below. RIP KOBE and GiGi.

2) This week’s profile is all about acceleration … or as we call them surges. We often talk of the top right number on your Stages console . . . average power. Keeping average power steady, or increasing, during an interval is key to endurance training. It demonstrates your ability to keep pace and then increase intensity when asked (i.e. a surge). The profile includes four, 8+-minute surges.

3) While maximum efforts are cool, targeting your intensity — say zone 2 or 3 — over a prolonged period builds endurance in a way all-out sprints cannot. We’ve previously discussed heart rate reserve (or range) — your max heart rate minus your resting heart rate. This is your “effort range,” how many heartbeats per minute you have to offer. The goal of aerobic training is to lower your resting heart rate, thus increasing your heart rate (effort) range. Very few of us are going to increase our MAX HR. At least not without a performance coach. You start training when you ask your body specific questions . . . as the Nike campaign (below) espouses.

4) In an award acceptance speech, Kobe Bryant told the crowd, "We are here because of 4AM."  The two-a-day practices, the early morning workouts, the nutrition . . . all of that goes into performance.  The mantras "You are stronger than you think." | "You can do anything for a minute."  |  "Don't let your fears get the best of you."  blah blah blah . . . at some point, one must train.  One must sacrifice.  In the process, you develop MENTAL FITNESS!

5) The mental part of cycling is what got me back riding after an ugly divorce. An article from the Grio quoted some of my journey. I wasn’t even teaching spin in 2013. Indoor cycling provides an opportunity to spread the good gospel of cycling. Develop your Bike Mamba Mentality in 2023. Need some tips? Check out this article I wrote for Echelon which discusses the mental part of cycling.