Your Health
"Train inside, then get outside"
By Vivid writer: Michelle Dietrich
Michelle Dietrich explains how World Class is bringing new meaning to fitness training through its mountain biking events
Posted: 10/09/2009
There are few better feelings than when you’re healthy and fit, and for both professional and amateur athletes and sports people, that involves spending time in the gym. During the winter months indoor work is pretty well unavoidable but summer offers a wealth of alternatives, the latest of which - weekend mountain biking - is attracting an increasing number of enthusiasts.
Vlad Mihalache, who devised and leads the mountain biking expeditions, is an experienced endurance event participant.
This summer World Class has supported a number of weekend mountain biking events. I had the good fortune to be present at a weekend spent in the Sohodol region between Rasnov and Bran, led by Vlad Mihalache, a World Class cycling instructor and keen athlete. Vlad had organised several similar trips in the past with friends and followers who know him as a very experienced rider as well as a reliable and top notch cycling coach. He set the 40km medium level route that was challenging, yet very achievable for a group of 30 riders.
These events are aimed at mobilising World Class members beyond the indoor cycling classes, and giving them a chance to challenge themselves to the real sport of outdoor cycling in an authentic environment. They bring that added purpose behind the classes to the participating team, and pave the way for a fresh, new experience. Many began their preparation by increasing their weekly cycling class workload and cycling intensity and performance. Later, in the great outdoors, Vlad is there to help with every little thing ranging from repairs to bikes, advice on the importance of rehydration or just a quiet word of encouragement whenever it was needed.
Earlier, a warm-up led by Michelle Dietrich helped riders get supple and avoid pulled or twinging muscles during the ride.
Further, Vlad is well qualified to advise on preparation of not only the body, but also the mind, and his motivating words are effective. For him, motivation - regardless of the level of the athlete - is one of the most important things in sport, and without it success is difficult to achieve. Over time you reach a comfort level in a sport, at which it can be difficult to strive for better results because motivation is lacking. But sport is about pushing harder and achieving more, and not resting on your laurels. Vlad says that this is why he likes to try new challenges - not for the bragging rights that completing an endurance event may provide, but because it pushes him to a higher level. "It is not unusual for someone to lose their motivation for sport when other challenges arise in life," he says. Besides leading the mountain biking weekends he is also a regular at endurance events such as marathons and triathlons and is in training for an Iron Man event.
Regulars at Vlad’s World Class cycling classes know the passion he brings to them. A cycling instructor for the past three years, he often tells cyclists in his classes to "train inside, then get outside". Such a mantra makes perfect sense, because there’s no better way to measure the cumulative effects of time spent in the gym than by successfully completing an endurance event such as an eight-hour cross country bike ride. "Events such as these help to define personal goals and motivate people to do sport constantly. I have gathered a lot of experience and I love promoting the benefits of sport and sharing my knowledge," he says. He plans to organise these rides once a month, and to do more advanced rides in the future.
Although the event was not a professional competition, as organisers, World Class brings a "pro" feeling to it, by partnering with Hypersport, a bicycle shop in Bucharest, which provides cyclists with bikes, safety equipment and supplements. At the event I attended, Vlad gave a morning talk on the use of supplements as nutrition needs for mountain biking that helped to raise the level of awareness on maintaining energy and feeling good during the ride, as well as during general exercise. A warm-up session before we set off helped everyone reduce the risk of muscle and joint injuries, and it really worked perfectly. Of course there were a few sore muscles, but this was not a problem after a Recovery and Revitalising Massage at Spa by World Class!
The mountain bike event generated very positive feedback from all participants: you could feel the surging endorphins set off by riding in the great outdoors and finally a ripple effect in an increased wave of cyclists in our regular classes. We are already oversubscribed for the next World Class Weekend Mountain Biking Event, but we continue to bring members cycling marathons, which have also proven to be a very popular, signature event in Romanian fitness. World Class recognises that these events are such a success due to the dedication of instructors, and the dedication and enthusiasm of members as well.
Remember that fitness training at World Class, whether it be in the gym, pool, squash or group fitness class, is just the means to an end, which can be seen as improved health, better body condition or, in this case, a wonderful experience of embracing the benefits of nature while exercising for your health.
The Talk From The Ground...
I’ve been attending World Class indoor cycling classes for the last four years. For a while I was thinking I had found the perfect way to combine sports, fun and time management. But in time I realised that no matter how good you feel doing an activity, your body and mind will eventually drop their performance to quitting threshold if you don’t provide the opportunity to get ahead of your day to day routine. The person who helped and inspired to understand this is Vlad Mihalache, my cycling instructor at World Class. I learned from him that every individual can reach way beyond personal limits and the limits I was aiming for could be achieved in outdoor activities. I joined his outdoor cycling movement and I participated in all three events he initiated. I had not been an intensive outdoor rider before. I thought riding a bike on a mountain was more than I had trained for. Each time, however, I found a new and genuine adventure. Each time I learned something new: how to prepare the gear, how to eat, how to overcome the obstacles that nature throws in our way and how to support our riding mates. We realised cycling is truly a team sport. You don’t have to be a riding expert because your teammates will help you and you can actually learn something from any of them.
Each time I returned I found indoor cycling to be more and more competitive by comparing each part of it with a hill climb, a flat road or a downhill sprint. Indoor activity is an excellent means of training for new outdoor challenges.
More than anything it is an excellent way to relax and have fun, which increases with each weekend. The very superficial injuries I sustained last time were the smallest price I’ve ever paid for so much fun.
It is my belief that more and more people can, and will, join outdoor cycling activity. I have found the perfect way of reaching beyond personal limits, enjoying nature, making friends and creating a team spirit, while enriching a healthy body and mind and always having fun.
Stefan Rabontu
World Class Member
Senior Business Application Analyst, Rompetrol
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I’ve always heard people talking about how great the Carpathians are when it comes to outdoor experiences: the stunning sceneries, low-to-high range biking and hiking tracks, for example. I must admit I was never particularly interested in outdoor biking, but the competitive spirit that drives me pushed me into accepting the challenge and joining the "World Class Mountain Bike Ride."
I had to train harder for two weeks and initially I worried that I couldn’t keep up with the other riders, but those worries were soon dispelled and it turned out to be an excellent outdoor group event, packed with episodes both seriously challenging (difficult uphill tracks, fast downhill trails, small bruising accidents) and amusing (including a late night ad-hoc disco, and an early Sunday morning "wakeup procedure").
Before it had finished, I was asking when we would returning and whether it would become a regular event. I know I wasn’t alone in being captivated by this experience. Meanwhile I’m training harder, in preparation.
Silviu Nicolaescu
World Class Member
Executive Director, Conadi Real Estate
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