Get Fast!: A Complete Guide to Gaining Speed Wherever You Ride

by Selene Yeager

Overview

Every cyclist wants to get faster. Whether they're a weekend warrior, a crit specialist, or a charity cruiser, speed is the X factor that lets a rider ride strong, feel fresh, and thoroughly enjoy each ride.

Get Fast! is the cyclist's go-to guide for gaining speed. In it, author Selene Yeager addresses speed from every possible angle, including not only the standard chapters on riding techniques and bike maintenance tricks specific to getting fast but also stand-alone chapters on fitness and weight loss, stretching, nutrition and supplementation, motivation, and mental attitude. Together they present a complete and comprehensive guide to achieving one's top speed.

Bolstered by a foundation in science and road-tested by Yeager and the editors of Bicycling magazine, the wisdom presented in Get Fast! will have riders and readers flying on the road, dirt, dirt roads, cross course, track—anywhere and everywhere they love to ride most—in no time at all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781609618322
Publisher:	Harmony/Rodale
Publication date:	04/23/2013
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Selene Yeager is a bestselling professional health and fitness author who is also a certified personal trainer, triathlete, and professional mountain bike racer. She has written, co-written, and contributed to more than two dozen books such as ROAR, Bike Your Butt Off!, and Get Fast! She is a frequent contributor to Runner’s World, Women’s Health, and Shape magazines, and has a regular advice column for Bicycling magazine called “Fit Chick.” She lives in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments viii

Introduction: The Need for Speed ix

Part 1 Fast Technique 1

1 Fast Riding Tips 5

2 Up and Over 16

3 Aero Speed 28

4 10 Get Fast! Tricks 36

Part 2 Fast Body 49

5 Fast Foundation 53

6 Fast-Firing Muscles 78

7 Fast Frame (Yours!) 90

Part 3 Fast Nutrition 103

8 Fast Fuel 107

9 Fast-Fuel Timing 130

10 Countdown to Fast 142

11 Supplemental Speed 151

Part 4 Think Fast 161

12 Mind over Muscles 165

13 Get Fast! Motivation 177

14 Brain Care 187

Part 5 Fast Bike 195

15 What Makes a Bike Fast? 198

16 Maintenance That Makes a Difference 204

17 5 Fast Upgrades 212

Part 6 Fast Training 221

18 Fast Training Primer 224

19 Fast Plans and Interval Mania 240

20 Beyond Fast 259

Index 261

Editorial Reviews

Full of helpful and easy-to-use information, this book is also an enjoyable read. Yeager blends personal anecdotes with tips from the pros. The book covers technique, from cadence to breathing, as well as the importance of diet and strength training — and I love the sound advice to eat healthy fats found in avocados for long-lasting fuel and to do jump squats to help build explosive speeds. I find that the more I read about biking, the more I wanted to ride. So this books offers double the inspiration.” —Fit Sugar

From the Publisher