On the way to winning the Shay Elliott Memorial this year; Damien Shaw is hoping this training routine will bring more big wins (Photo: Stephen McMahon – Sportsfile)


For the racing cyclists amongst you, or those who follow the racing scene closely, Damien Shaw will need no introduction.

A relative latecomer to cycling, the Mullingar man has become one of the very best competitors on the domestic scene in recent years. He has won many of Ireland’s biggest races including the Shay Elliott Memorial this year and Kerry Group Rás na Mumhan last year.

He would be regarded very much as a hard man and a power rider who is impossible to live with on his day. And he tends to have plenty of top days.


Name: Damien Shaw
Team: Team Asea for 2015, from Aquablue
Weight: 78kg
Height: 180cm


Goals for 2015


I’m aiming to replicate the form I had earlier this year and to be in peak condition around May and June. As a domestic rider, the An Post Rás and the national championships are the big goals.


Current training goals


Up until Christmas it’s mostly low intensity on the bike, high intensity in the gym and lots of strength and conditioning work, concentrating on core stability. I’m a big believer in short, focused sessions whether it’s on the bike or in the gym.

My job as a fire fighter dictates a lot of my training habits. For example, I have lots of free time during the day but I’m restricted to staying within a certain radius of Mullingar. That means lots of indoor training but I actually enjoy it, especially in the winter. I use a Wattbike and find it brilliant.


Typical training week in December


In the yellow jersey at Kerry Group Rás Mumhan last year; a race he would clinch outright (Photo: Pat Doherty)


Sunday


Intervals; I use Sunday as a day to do some long, steady intervals on the Wattbike. I typically do four or five 15 to 20 minutes at sub-threshold and some short high-intensity bursts.


Monday


Recovery and rub (massage – Ed). I do a lot of low volume and high intensity work and it’s important to be able to switch off. I have a lie-in as I’m up early the rest of the week. I try to get a rub on Monday because the majority of my training is done at the end of the week so this starts the repair process.


Tuesday


In the morning I train outside and in the afternoon it’s a turbo class. I do most of my training in the morning. I think it’s great to get it done early. I try to get outside once or twice a week and usually midweek. In the evening I give turbo classes in a local bike shop. Most of the time I do the class too.


Wednesday


In the morning when I get outside I try to keep it old school. I use a heavy bike with big wide comfortable tyres or a fixed wheel bike in the winter. I love riding the fixie, it’s great for improving pedalling technique and form on the bike. I put the Garmin in my pocket and try to get three or four hours in.


Trying to bridge to the winning breakaway at the National Road Championships in June with Dan Martin (Photo: George Doyle)


Thursday


In the morning I’m in the gym. I’ve always done some strength and conditioning work and I find it really works for me. Last winter I did a lot of TRX training. It’s a type of body-weight resistance training, focused on the core muscles. This year I’m doing more typical gym work such as squats and plyometrics (jumped based exercises to increase explosiveness – Ed). I’ve also been introduced to a contraption called The Prowler. It’s horrible! In the afternoon I do a turbo class.


Friday


I do intervals in the morning. One session I really look forward to is the early Friday morning group sessions on the Wattbikes. This is mostly because it’s in a group indoors and we spend 90 minutes sneering each other on the bikes and then another hour sneering when we go for breakfast. We usually do a few competitions and the loser pays.


Saturday


In the mornings I do intervals and the gym. Up early again Saturday and it’s usually short sharp efforts anywhere from sprints to five-minute pursuit efforts. Not a long session but tough. I bring some food with me and eat enough to get through an hour of a gym workout. This session consists of mostly squats, cleans, deadlifts and box jumps for explosive power. I also use cryotherapy or ice baths, especially after this morning’s work. This is often the hardest 10 minutes of the week.