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Outside Magazine September 2003

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BODYWORK: Meshing Mind and Muscle
Head Strong (Cont.)

IN ONE STUDY, Noakes, 54, put athletes on stationary bicycles in a climate-controlled room to test the brain's response to temperature. If the room was hot, within five minutes cyclists dropped to a pace slower than they could maintain if the room was cold, even though their muscles hadn't registered any change in temperature. It wasn't muscle fatigue, dehydration, or any other physiological factor slowing them down. It was their brains thinking they couldn't pedal fast because of the heat. In other words, if you train your brain to allow your body to go faster, farther, or both, it will.

Not surprisingly, neuromuscular training as a shortcut to race-ready fitness faces a skeptical audience of pro athletes and coaches who thrive on a base-training regimen. Cycling coach Rick Crawford, 44, instructs his riders, including Tour de France contender Levi Leipheimer, to spend up to three months each winter riding as many as 30 hours per week, while maintaining sweat-free heart rates that fall below 70 percent of their capacity.

"It's absolutely essential," says Crawford, who, like other base-training advocates, believes low-intensity miles are essential to increase the delivery of blood to your muscles. And the more oxygen-rich blood your body delivers to a muscle, the harder it can work.

Crawford doesn't think neuromuscular training is wrong; he just doesn't think it's right for pros or serious amateurs who compete every week for six to nine months a year, instead of once or twice. "I could use neuromuscular training to bring my athletes to form in six weeks," he says, "but what am I doing to 'em the rest of the year? They're toast."

Crawford's concern is legitimate. Intense neuromuscular training at race distances can't be sustained for weeks at a time. It needs to be completed in six- to eight-week cycles that start with low mileage and build up to specific competitions (see "Race-Ready in 41 Days," next page). Otherwise you risk overtaxing your body.

Neuromuscular training takes time and practice—your body still needs several weeks to develop the strength and endurance to last—but for the off-and-on competitor, it's a valid method for becoming race-fit faster. "Training time is so precious," says Owen Anderson. "Knowing that, why would you waste it on workouts that aren't going to make you more competitive?"

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