Tom Ovens, a cyclist on the rise

Background –

Tom is currently working as a Personal Trainer in Geelong as well as studying Exercise and Nutrition Science at Deakin University

Key Race Results-

11th Elite National XCO championships 2015, 1st Surf Coast 3hr 2014, 3rd You Yangs Yowie 99km 2014, 1st place Rd1 National XCO and Criterium Open men December 2014

Sponsors-

Cannondale-ENVE MTB team.  SRAM, Bell Helmets, Louis Garneau, Pro4mance, Premax, Rocktape and Swiss Eye sunglasses also support Tom.

 

Tom Ovens in full flight on single track is a a sight to behold!

Thanks for Chatting with us Tom.  What’s your background prior to cycling and what has drawn you to mountain bike racing?

No worries!  I started off racing motocross, which I did for nearly 15 years.  I started when I was 12 and ended up winning one National championship in 2006 in the under 19 category.  From there I moved into the Pro class and had some ok results.  It’s very hard to stay competitive in motocross, especially when you have lots of injuries like I did.  In fact, injuries are what got me started into cycling!  After one of my 3 knee reconstruction’s (the second one I think!)  I began doing some road riding for rehab, after a while I began to enjoy it and so I thought I would give mountain biking a go.  From there it was a natural progression and I finished up racing motocross at the end of 2012, so I’ve been focusing on MTB (mountain biking) for a bit over 2 1/2 years.

 

You’ve had a meteoric rise in success for both mountain biking and more recently road cycling.  What do you put this success down to?

Because of the motocross background I always found the skills side of things pretty easy.  I have never been someone with a naturally large aerobic capacity, but I am good at sticking to a training plan and I enjoy the process of improving my fitness.  I would say I am definitely still a work in progress though when it comes to outright fitness but I am getting there!

 

What are your thoughts on genetics vs training relating to performance?

I’ve thought about this a few times, especially in regards to my study in the field of exercise science.  I think there are plenty of people who have huge natural talent, but if you aren’t willing to put in the hard work it won’t be enough to produce results.  Sure you will have the odd good race, but over the long term I think someone a little less gifted who is willing to work hard will ultimately succeed.  Of course, if you are gifted AND put the time in you will really excel!

 

In terms of training, what has been the key types of training/ sessions that has resulted in gains in fitness?  

My training changes depending on the time of year and when the targeted races are.  I am continually working on my weaknesses but as a general rule long base km’s and strength work on the bike is done in the off season or during a break in racing.  As the races draw closer the sessions generally shorten up slightly and some intervals are brought in whether it be on hills or flat speed work.  I think for me a combination of all these sessions are what improve anyones fitness.  For me at the moment I am getting ready for quite a few Cyclocross races which are 60mins long and full gas the whole time.  In preparation for that macca has me doing lots of short max and sub max sprint/TT efforts to build up my tolerance to lactate and explosiveness.  I recently did another lactate test with Donna Ray and its great to see progression from these types of sessions.

 

Do you have a favourite interval session? Please give example…

Expanding on the sprint/TT efforts, it might be something like a 5-10 second all out sprint followed by 2 minutes rest x 10 reps, then 10 x 10sec sprint and straight into a  20-60 second TT effort.  It varies session to session but they are all aimed at improving that explosive power and repeated efforts.  I also quite enjoy doing some motor pacing.  I haven’t done heaps of sessions behind the bike but my coach macca has taken me out a few times and done some 5 mins “on” 5 mins “off type sessions.  The idea is to sit behind the bike and recover for 5 mins, then pull out to the side and maintain that speed for another 5 mins.  Keep in mind that the “recovery” phase is still well over 40-45km/h so its a hard session, but I like the feeling of going fast on the road bike!

 

What has been the influence of your coach, Craig McCartney? Have other athletes like your team-mate, James Downing,  been instrumental in moulding you as an athlete?

Macca has been great for my development as a rider.  He has a wealth of knowledge from his riding days as well as working closely with Donna Ray (who is a cycling coach and the VIS and Dan McConnels coach) and its been great to learn form him and have him write my programs each month.  I have only known James a relatively short time but I have learnt a great deal from him.  He has pretty much been there and done that in every discipline of cycling so its awesome to have him and the Cannondale team in my corner.  I would say on the local front Scott Nicholas is someone I really admire as an athlete and just as a great bloke.  His achievements in his running career blow my mind and to see him doing so well on the MTB is awesome.  I see him and I as opposite ends of the spectrum.  He has an amazing engine and came into MTB later in life which required him to lear the skills really quickly (which he has I might add!).  I on the other hand, have always had the skill but need to build an engine, the fact that we can cross the finish line at the Otway Odyssey this year with less than a minute between us after nearly 5 hours of racing goes to show just how cool and diverse MTB really is.

 

How important is technology such as GPS, heart rate and power meters to both training and racing?

I really enjoy all the data when it comes to training, and I think its a necessary tool especially to monitor training load and fatigue/freshness.  I use HR all the time and have had a power meter on my road bike for a bit over a year.  All my efforts are based off power in terms of training and I alway try to match that to my HR.  If my HR is ever low/high compared to power that can be an indicator of many things, good or bad!

 

Have you tried additional training techniques such as cold thermogenesis, heat training or altitude training?

Not a great deal.  I go up to the Victorian alps each year with a bunch of mates to do a training camp, although I wouldn’t say that there are any benefits in terms altitude adaptations in Victoria.  I have been involved in a couple of clinical trials on cyclist in hypoxic conditions however, and the results were significant so I am keen to try some more  altitude training if the opportunity ever arose.

 

Thanks for chatting with us Tom.  Good luck with your future endeavours.  

Not a problem, thanks for giving me the opportunity!

Improving your breath holds for surfing

So as the summer (yeah I hear you, what summer??) draws on and thoughts turn to the hope of bigger swells and off shore winds for you surfers I thought I’d post a quick article on some basic and easy techniques to improve your breath holds. As an avid spearfisherman and free diver I have often been asked by my surfing friends how I can hold my breath for so long and is there some magic trick I use? In short no – it’s all about training unfortunately!

To start with these are only my thoughts and experiences having spearfished for many years and done a basic freediving course when I was living in the UK….yes we do get in the water over there, and yes it is bloody cold!!

Important!!

Freediving / breath holding training are inherently dangerous and so if you are keen to learn more about improving your breath holds there are some great courses out there that will teach you the skills to do so safely. Remember – NEVER dive or train in the water alone and KNOW YOUR LIMITS!!!

One thing that is brilliant for surfers is training to improve your carbon dioxide tolerance, aka CO2 Training. One of the main things that makes you want to breathe is the build-up of CO2 within your body. If you can train to tolerate CO2 better, you can stay down for longer. The body is designed to have a whole bunch of survival mechanisms and they kick in very early. For example on a static breath hold (just lying there not moving) I get the urge to breathe after about 1:30 minutes, but I can actually hold my breath for over 4 minutes – it’s all about learning to tolerate CO2.

Classic CO2 table

Do this one at home on the bed or lounge in front of the TV – you should not be moving around, just staying still. The idea is to do a few breath holds and to gradually reduce your recovery time. What this does is it gradually builds up your CO2 levels which is your trigger to breathe. In between breath holds you have time to recover and to re-oxygenate, but you’ll still have a build-up of CO2 as this takes longer to breathe off. As you go along, the breath holds should get harder and harder as your CO2 levels build up. Important: The idea of the CO2 table is not to hold your breath for the longest time, but to hold it at about 60% of your max effort and gradually reduce your recovery time. So if you’re capable of a 3 or 3 and a half minute breath hold, I would use 2 minutes as a rough starting point.

A Basic Table:

Breathe for 2 minutes; Hold breath for 2 minutes

Breathe for 1:45; Hold breath for 2 minutes

Breathe for 1:30; Hold breath for 2 minutes

Breathe for 1:15; Hold breath for 2 minutes

Breathe for 1:00; Hold breath for 2 minutes

Breathe for 0:45; Hold breath for 2 minutes

Breathe for 0:30; Hold breath for 2 minutes

Breathe for 0:15; Hold breath for 2 minutes

Apnea Walking 

There’s a bunch of different ways of doing this, the way I usually do it is based on counting number of steps rather than time. Start walking at a normal pace. Take a deep breath in and hold it for a certain amount of steps (try around 30 and adjust up or down.) Once completed, breathe for the same amount of steps (e.g. 30) Take another breath and walk again for a set amount of steps (e.g. 30) Breath for 30 steps etc. etc. Do this for a while (10-20 breath holds, or approx. 20 minutes), but make sure you don’t breath hold for too long because if you black out you’ll hurt yourself when you fall……. plus you want to be training high CO2 levels, not low oxygen levels.

CO2 Tables and Apnea walking are pretty good staples for training for a lot of freedivers but there are lots of other training ideas that will help you too; O2 tables – these allow you to cope with low oxygen levels. Anything that teaches you to relax – yoga, Tai Chi and meditation are all good at allowing you to hold your breath longer. Having a good old fashion base fitness is also a must – cycling, rowing, running etc. can all help you achieve this.

Nick Williams

About the Author:

Nick is a passionate physiotherapist with a background in elite Rugby.  His focus is evidence based practice for optimal injury recovery and performance.