Long term adaptions

Long term adaptions

Paul Arden | Sunday, 11 February 2024

Sunday is my recovery day. About a year ago I discovered a very long Zwift ride. For those who don’t know, Zwift is an indoor bike training platform. You can race, you can do workouts on your own, and the part that I really enjoy, is group workouts. In group rides you are “banded” together, with the trainer resistance being set by the training workout program relative to your FTP. Your FTP is what you can hold all-out for an hour. (That’s the short story).

Most Zwift rides are 45 minutes to an hour long, and usually quite intense. The long ride I found is published and run by EndureIQ and is usually between 4 and 5 hours long. On an indoor bike, that’s pretty serious. When I first started doing them I discovered pain in places I didn’t know I could feel pain. I had a professional bike fit last year, which helped immensely. But something I have noticed now, is that I can do 5 hours and I’m fine the next day. At the beginning my next day was a total wipeout. Our bodies adapt, and these physical adaptions take time.

And now to flycasting…

If you want to be an outstanding flycaster – and you can be – then it’s going to take time. You are going to need to structure your training. In my lessons I notice a big change about ten lessons in. Here we are talking flycasting students who are long term anglers. Ten lessons usually means about 100 hours of training.

Many instructors will tell you that the secret to being a good flycaster is to practise. I disagree. I think the secret to being a good flycaster is to love flycasting. If you enjoy flycasting then you are going to practise. Because it’s fun!!

Of course you need to have some structure around what you are doing. You want drills and exercises to develop your cast. You want a programme that encourages you to learn and train all manner of different casts. And ideally you want someone looking over your shoulder from time to time, who’s plotting out your journey, challenging you as you go and by just the right amount.

Long term adaptions take time. But the journey is the destination. Once you have learned this, then there is no “top of the mountain.”

Cheers, Paul

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