NEXT STOP: 153 MPH

Denise Mueller, a multi-time national champion being coached by John Howard, is undergoing advanced MAXIMUM OVERLOAD TRAINING as part of her overall training plan  for her bicycle land-speed world-record attempt, planned for September on the Bonneville Salt Flats. (The record of 167 mph was set by Howard-trained Dutchman Fred Rompelberg 20 years ago; he beat Howard's record of 152.2 mph, which Denise will try to beat to establish a female record.) Here she is at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday Feb 21, at the Sirens and Titans Fitness gym in West L.A., using one of owner/trainer Jacques DeVore's secret weapons to ramp up her sustainable power: The little-known but brutally effective VersaPulley. 

(Maximum Overload is unique among cycling training rplans in that it uses a variety of heavily-weighted strength exercises such as Walking Lunges, Deadlifts, Squats, Thrusters and others as well as the VersaPulleuy to literally "overload" the mover muscles of cycling better than cycling can itself. The results: This overload builds more fatigue-resistant muscles that don't slow down in the second-half of the race. M.O. is used in conjunction with on-the-road training, replaces two training rides a week in the off-season and one during the season, reducing overall training time and speeding up recovery. Denise's increase in overload correlates to her recent increases in power /wattage.)

>>For more on Denise's quest, go to www.TheProjectSpeed.com
and www.Facebook.com/TeamFireCycle
>> For information on Maximum Overload, check out www.bikeforlifebook.com and go to the "News" column on pg 1 and more on the Maximum Overload page
>> Look for the book, Rodale Press's "Maximum Overload for Cyclists," by Jacques Devore and me, in 2017.  Mueller,  Howard, Tour de France pro Dave Zabriskie and others who have trained in Maximum Overload will be profiled in it.

Mountain biking Irvine Open Space/Laguna Wilderness

LAST SATURDAY, OUT MY BACK DOOR......

13.3 miles and 2005 feet of climbing in 2 hrs of utter bliss in the Irvine Open Space Preserve and Laguna Coast Wilderness.
My partners: Ed Korb and Krampin' Kennedy.
Route: Ridge Route > East Fork > Bommer Canyon > Lizard > Upper Laurel > Hogback > Ridge Route

NEW STUDY: 

SWIMMING RATS DON'T GET SICK

The question is, how much are we like rats? Right away, a few people come to mind ...although they don't seem particularly healthy. Anyhow, here's more proof that exercise is good for you, in this case improving your immunity and helping you fight off diseases....

https://www.roadbikerider.com/latest-rbr-newsletter-2016/213-issue-no-701/1885-vigorous-exercise-can-strengthen-your-immunity

Posture = Performance

FROM THIS ... TO THIS ..... IN 20 MINUTES 

(Key takeaway: Posture = Performance)

"You don't build a Ferrari on a bent frame," once said famed postural therapist Patrick Mummy. So before Bicle Hall of Famer JOHN HOWARD plunges whole-hog into the Maximum Overload strength protocol, which will send his horsepower into overdrive, M.O. inventor Jacques DeVore must literally straighten Howard out. (See photo top left).

It's not an easy task. Cycling and aging, both of which the 68-year-old three-time Olympian, Ironman world champion, and 152.2 mph land speed record holder has experienced in abundance, tend to degrade the human body into KYPHOSIS, a slumped-forward, rounded-shouldered, neck-distended posture. If you sit most of the day at a desk on a computer (like 99% of us) and are over 35, you most likely are kyphotic to some degree -- unless you actively fight it with regular stretching/yoga and strength training. Let it go on too long and your bones actually restructure into a corrupted state that is so embedded that it does not respond to "normal" flexibility drills very well. So Jacques has Howard spend almost half of his Maximum Overload workout on special drills and exercises that draw back his rounded shoulders and spread-out shoulder blades. The result? Chest out, head up, standing tall and proud, he not only looks way better and gains over an inch in height by eliminating his slump, but is able to safely lift heavier weight. That's the key to the Maximum Overload program, which will rapidly and safely build fatigue-proof strength on a body that has good posture.

As Howard's posture improves in the coming weeks, he will be able to lift weight levels similar to that of his protégé DENISE MUELLER, who he is training to break his own bicycle land speed record -- goal: 153mph in the vortex of a LandRover supercar! -- in September. Denise, a multi-time national champion as a junior and an adult in many disciplines of cycling, did not ride a bike for 20 years while she had three kids, and has emerged at age 42 with a strikingly beautiful picture-perfect posture that allows her to lift very heavy weight. The photo of the woman in the red top is her doing a lat pull-down, which works the back and pulls the shoulders rear-ward into their proper, natural, non-kyphotic position. (By the way, after a month of dedicated Maximum Overload workouts, Denise is experiencing rapid gains in power output and speed on the bike. More on this later. She posts at www.teamfirecycle.com and http://theprojectspeed.com/)

The bottom line: Posture ain't just pretty. It's also performance.

>>>> Don't wait for the Maximum Overload book, which will be out in a year. Fix your posture and build your strength now. For more info on MAXIMUM OVERLOAD, go to www.bikeforlifebook.com and click on the Maximum Overload page <<<<<<

Here's some of the exercises John and Denise used on Sunday to restore and re-emphasize good posture.

DO YOU REALLY NEED THIS STUFF?

My Consumer Electronics Show report, which ran on Jan 30 in the L.A Times, was all about smart apps and smart spoons that train you not to eat so much, an electric shock watch that stops you from biting your nails, a do-it-yourself EKG monitor, a personal trainer who'll work you out in your bedroom at a moment's notice (on your cell phone, that is) and lot more. Some experts say most us of will get tired of this stuff after three months, stick it in a drawer and never use it again, while others say it can be life-changing. I think these are exciting developments, with huge performance and health benefits to be had, particularly allowing you to be your own doctor. 
Decide for yourself.  Here are my picks for some of the most standout inventions, a photo of the full-page story in the Times as it ran in print, and the on-line link to it: 

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-0130-consumer-trends-for-2016-20160130-column.html