Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #109873 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Synopsis
Explains how to be an effective self-coach, offers instruction for developing a training program based on a sound scientific approach, and discusses the importance of strength work, stretching, and diet.

Customer Reviews

Not what I expected
It's a pity the Amazon synopsis for this book is so vague, as it is not what I was expecting or even wanted.

It is supposed to be aimed at novices through to pro's. Well, the novice mentioned must be a novice racer and not just a novice rider, as this book went way over my head. All I wanted was to be more efficient (in technique such as pedalling and diet). This book mainly covers how to be a mountain bike racer with guides on how many hundreds of hours training are required, weight workouts, etc.

I'm sure someone who is a racer will find this book very useful and give it 5 stars, but for the majority of weekend warriors then this book is not for you.

Seriously Informative
I was wary about buying this book. I had already read another of Joe Friels books - 'The Cyclists Training Bible' and I thought this might just be a minor re-hash of the same information.

I need not have worried. Friel has used his earlier work as a starting point and vastly improved it. This book is mountain bike specific (the other one is really for road cyclists) and it has been totally reorganised, updated and most of all - clarified, to the point where it reads like a completely different book.

Even though it is a relatively long book (300 pages) it is densely written. There is a lot of information to take in and you will need to read it several times and possibly even take notes! This is not a criticism. All the information you need to improve your competitive cycling is here, but Friel does not repeat himself unnecessarily. There is no padding, just plenty of hard information and detailed explanation.

If you are new to cycling or mountain biking and are looking for equipment advice or tips on how to corner or descend faster then look elsewhere, but if you are serious about your cycling and want to develop a properly structured goal driven training plan then this is the book for you.

Although it is firmly aimed at competitive cyclists and coaches don't let this put you off. Whether you have two hours a week, or twenty hours a week to train, this book will show you how to use that precious time most effectively to consistently cycle further and faster.