FitTV :: Chasing Lance :: Chris Carmichael Q&A

Chris Carmichael Q&A

Chris Carmichael is the founder, CEO, and President of Carmichael Training Systems and personal coach to cancer survivor and six-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong. Chris formed CTS in 1999 after spending more than two decades in the sport of cycling.

Q:		How does Lance look to you in the weeks leading up to his attempt to win his seventh Tour de France? What shape is he in this year compared to previous years?

A:		Lance is in very great shape going into the final weeks of training, and the next step is for him to compete in the Dauphine Libere stage race in France. Many riders use either this race or the Tour of Switzerland as a final tune-up for the Tour de France. They have the right balance of hard mountain stages, including some of the same mountains used in the Tour de France, and the timing it pretty perfect. The stress from the Dauphine Libere is just the stimulus Lance needs to boost his fitness and power to Tour de France level. We've used the Dauphine for this purpose before, and in the two weeks between the end of the Dauphine and the start of the Tour, I typically see a small but significant increase in Lance's power. He got a later start to Tour preparation this year than in previous years, but he's made up a lot of ground through some hard and focused training this spring. We had a few training camps in the mountains outside of Los Angeles, and he benefited greatly from the Tour of Georgia in April.

Q:		You've been Lance Armstrong's personal trainer for 15 years. How has your training plan developed over the years?

A:		The big shift in my methodology happened during Lance's recovery from cancer. The old-school methods of pushing an athlete to his physical and mental limits just didn't work with Lance while he was recovering from cancer. Instead, I focused on finding ways to get positive adaptations with less stress on the body and mind. After Lance returned to the professional peloton, I found he could actually handle more training than he could before because individual sessions were less stressful on his system. In the end, those changes in coaching methods led to great performance, in Lance and many other athletes. I've applied those new methods to amateur and novice athletes, and elite athletes, in a variety of sports and seen the same type of improvements in performance. In terms of Lance's Tour de France training plan, the core fundamentals have remained consistent from year to year. The day-to-day training schedule has certainly changed a great deal, depending on his travel schedule, the changing international racing calendar, and the specific demands of each individual Tour de France route. For instance, there are more mountains and fewer time trials in this year's Tour, so Lance has spent more time in the mountains and a little less time on his time trial bike.

Q:		Lance has mentioned age as a factor in his pending retirement. Is it a factor in your training program?

A:		Perhaps indirectly, but I haven't made any specific changes because he passed a birthday. The training data I have to work with is so precise that it doesn't necessarily matter how old the athlete is. With a powermeter, Nike heart rate monitor, and other training tools, I get a daily picture of his fitness and state of fatigue. I use that information to determine the course of his training. As athletes get older, you have to be a little more careful with the balance of training and recovery, and it takes a little more time to recover from hard efforts. On the one hand it takes years to gain the experience, power, and stamina to win the hardest bike race in the world. On the other hand, the race is so hard that it favors young men with the ability to suffer and recover. When you balance these factors, you end up with the average age of a Tour de France winner being 29 years old.

Q:		You often train with Lance from afar. Can you describe the process?

A:		The distance-coaching methods I use with Lance Armstrong are the same I use with a host of other elite and amateur athletes, and the same all CTS coaches use with their athletes. With the internet, downloadable heart rate monitors, nutrition tracking software, and cycling power meters, you can exchange a great deal of information. Lance and I exchange files and talk on the telephone almost daily throughout the year, and even more frequently in the months prior to the Tour de France. I prescribe training for him, he performs the training, emails and sends me the data from his power meter, we talk on the phone about how he's feeling, how much rest he's getting, how the training is going, etc. At CTS, we also utilize an online communication tool to prescribe and record training data. There are many benefits to coaching from a distance. The athlete, for one, gets to stay in his or her own environment. You're not bringing an athlete to a central location, and out of his or her comfortable space, in order to train or test. This leads to a more normal existence for the athlete, which in turn reduces the stress they feel as they prepare for major goals. In addition, if the athlete has a busy travel schedule, as Lance does, it's easy to use the Internet and phones to keep in touch and get him all the information and guidance he needs at any time, no matter where he is.

Q:		Do you work with Lance to devise his racing schedule for the races leading up to the tour, or does he make that decision independent of you?

A:		Lance's life has so many facets right now that it takes a team effort to determine his schedule. The group is small and includes Lance, Discovery Channel Team Director Johan Bruyneel, me, and a few people from Lance's management team. Johan, Lance and I determine which races best suit Lance's training and preparation for the Tour de France. Of course, Lance has a huge say in the matter since he's the one who's doing the riding. Lance and his management team also work with us to make sure Lance's training and racing are balanced with his other aspirations, including the Lance Armstrong Foundation, cancer awareness events, sponsor obligations, etc.

Q:		Do you see any one stage of the Tour as being more critical that the others? How did you train Lance for it?

A:		Probably not one stage in particular, but rather the series of stages in the Pyrenees Mountains. You have to have a big picture view of the Tour de France in order to optimally prepare for it. It's one thing to recognize that a particular mountain stage will be difficult, perhaps decisive, but it's another thing to realize the impact the previous stages, mountains, hours, and miles will have on the riders before they even reach that stage. By the time the riders reach Stages 14 and 15 in the Pyrenees, they will have gone through the Alps and been racing for two weeks. Stages 14 and 15 are important because they are long, over 200 kilometers, and culminate with summit finishes atop brutal climbs. At the same time, those stages have to be considered in the context of the entire race, and prepared for in that way.

Q:		What kinds of foods does Lance eat in preparation for such a race as the Tour de France? How much and often does he need to eat?

A:		Lance follows a nutrition plan based on the ideas I presented in Chris Carmichael's Food for Fitness in 2004. Basically, we change the amount and balance of foods in his diet according to his progression through different activity levels and training intensities. As his training hours and intensity increase during the spring months, we add calories by increasing his carbohydrate intake. This is important because increased intensity means he's burning more carbohydrate per minute on the bike. The idea is to match his nutrition program to the demands of his training, thereby ensuring he has the fuel he needs for optimal performance, while avoiding excess calories from nutrients he isn't utilizing as heavily. Using this program, we've been able to avoid significant weight gain in the winter, which means weight loss goals don't interfere with his performance training in the spring. As the Tour de France approaches, his nutrition program moves from about 65 percent carbohydrate to 70 percent carbohydrate, and he'll consume about 13-14 percent of his calories from protein, and 16-17 percent from fat. In terms of foods, he loves pasta and also seeks whole grains like brown rice and oats, multigrain breads, and lots of vegetables. Protein sources include primarily eggs, fish, poultry, and low-fat dairy products like yogurt. Fat plays important roles in endurance athletics and health, so we don't massively cut his fat intake. Rather, Lance tries to stick with unsaturated fats from olive and canola oils, seeds, nuts, and fish. Several of recipes Lance likes are featured in my new book, Chris Carmichael's Fitness Cookbook, which hits shelves in July.

Q:		What types of measurements do you use to determine Lance's condition at a particular time? What are some of Lance's vital statistics as he gets closer to the Tour – such as heart rate, weight, etc.?

A:		I mostly use field tests to determine Lance's condition, as opposed to tests in labs. By sending him out on the road or up a mountain, I get real-world performance data, and can compare new data to numbers he generated on the same road or climb in a previous month or year. Field tests also give Lance and I more of an opportunity to examine the subjective (as opposed to literal) aspect of his performance. It's useful to understand how he felt during the efforts, his perception of speed, whether he felt like he was floating on the pedals or pushing through wet concrete, etc. In terms of exact performance markers, I keep those between Lance and me.

Now, a few questions for the novice riders:

What recommendations do you have for someone thinking about taking up cycling for recreation? How should they start?

I believe cycling is one of the best exercises available, and I want beginners to be able to stick with it long term. That means taking some time to:

* Find safe and suitable places to ride near your home. (Contact your local park commission and bike shop for information and maps.)

* Find people you can ride with. (Local cycling clubs and bike shops can help with this.)

* Equip yourself. Visit your local bike shop and talk to the shopkeeper about the equipment you have and what you need. You may not need to spend a lot of money, but investing in a new helmet, new cycling shorts (maybe a new saddle too), and clipless pedals would be a good idea. If your bicycle was made when either Ronald Reagan or George H. W. Bush (the elder) was President, you should seriously consider a new ride. New bike designs are more comfortable, lighter, stronger, and more adjustable than the clunker you last rode in college.

* Most of all, have fun, start gradually, and remember to eat and drink. Most bikes have space for two water bottles, and you should always start your ride with two full bottles. How fast you empty them depends on how hard you ride and the temperature, but at the bare minimum, you should go through one or two bottles each hour on the bike (more if it's hot and/or humid). You should also carry food, like PowerBars or PowerGels, because you have to replenish the fuel you're burning. If you don't eat carbohydrate during exercise, you'll deplete your body's stores and may end up feeling weak, nauseas, and light-headed.

Q:		What about someone who's a little more advanced, but wants to increase fitness and cycling performance?

A:		It's important to add some structure to training in order to continue making progress. That doesn't mean turning cycling into a regimented, boring, constrictive task, but it does mean thinking ahead a bit as to what kind of rides you're doing each week. You have to balance work and recovery, interval workouts and rest days, hard climbs with relaxing cruises. Overall, cyclists looking to improve performance and fitness should really consider working with a coach. There's more to improving than having a good training program, and a coach can guide you through the process of reaching your goals.

Q:		What are some nutritional tips for the non-professional bike rider?

A:		Eat more while you're riding. When I go to training camps and big rides like the Ride for the Cure or Ride for the Roses, I see people eating just a few mouthfuls of food during a 3-5 hour ride. You need to be consuming 30-60 grams of carbohydrate each hour your on the bike, and that means a full PowerBar Performance bar or 1-2 PowerBar Powergels. Sports drinks can also supply part of this carbohydrate. Besides energy, food and sports drinks are also sources of electrolytes you lose through sweating and must replenish. Even if your training rides are only 60-90 minutes, you still need to eat on the bike if you want to perform at your best.