training for dummies.

[Admiral Ackbar]

ok well I'm fairly new to road bikes, only been riding 3 or so years (on and off) have raced xc in my late teenage years and ridden bmx for a decade or so. but I've really come to enjoy road biking. i can knock out 100k rides without much trouble at a fairly moderate pace, 15 or so mph id say - maybe less, but i don't run a computer so i can't say for sure.

i ride almost every day, schedule and weather allowing, between 30-120k. i ride alone, almost always have except during races when i did that and the occasionally xc group ride before my old lbs went south.

what I'm getting at is that i want to be faster, on the flats, uphill, on rolling terrain etc. i know the atypical advice is to go on group rides, find riding buddies and play off them but I'm mostly into riding by myself to be honest.

so to cut to the chase, are there any simple training methods or routines i could get my self started on to built up my fitness/pace?

lately I've been doing sub 50k rides followed by 50k+ rides the following day (or the next day I'm able to) then back to a sub 50, 50+, sub 50, etc. been on that only about 2 weeks but I've felt like its been working. core and leg strength seems up, did a moderately paced 120k+ today without much hassle at all. but as i said id ilke to up that pace and just be faster overall.

anyone got some input for me?

[stien]

I"m jealous of how much time you have, and how far you can ride.

Try exchanging distance for speed a bit a day here, a day there.

[Uncle Jam's Army]

Intervals. The fastest way to get speed into your legs. You should have a very good base before doing intervals, though (IMO). It sounds like you do.

There are so many different types of intervals, I don't know which to recommend for you. I've done different types. My favorites, though, are 2.5 minutes, 2 minutes, 2 minutes, 1.5 minutes, 1.5 minutes, 1 minute, all on flat ground. Each interval is done as fast as you can crank out (usually touching or approaching your max HR), and each interval is followed by an equal amount of rest. [i.e., if you go 2 minutes for an interval, you rest for 2 minutes before starting your next If your HR doesn't get down to a very low HR by the end of your rest period (for me, it's around 120 bpm), then you're really not ready to continue the interval set.

I also do a 3-4% little hill, about .6 of a mile long, as hard as I can. Once done, I turn around and rest on the downhill, and then give it another go when I reach the bottom. I'll do 4 or 5 of these hill repeats/intervals.

Sometimes I'll also do intervals of short bursts, to replicate the surges in a crit. 20 seconds on, 20 seconds off. etc., etc., etc.

However, as effective as intervals can be, they take a toll on you. So work them into your training program carefully and ease off when you need to. This is important if you train by yourself, because intervals can be hard to get up for.

Perhaps the best thing to do is read Friel's book, The Cyclist's Training Bible. He covers intervals to a good degree, but does not recommend any specific interval plan. Most importantly, Friel gives you a good idea how to approach a cycling season. You'll have to figure out what specific interval training regimen is best for you, however. There are literally hundreds (thousands?) available to you.

Good luck!!

[#campyuserftw]

How quickly can you go from 0 mph to 28 mph on a flat road?
Do it.
Recover for two minutes while soft pedaling.
Do that nine more times.
Do it once a week.

Do a 20 minute time trial in the flats at 90% effort level.
Soft pedal for two minutes.
Do the same 20 minute TT at 90% effort level.
Do this once a week.

See you in the Spring!

Get a HR monitor, always want to know what your ticker is doing, and see if you're stretching the rubber band to the maximum.

:beer:

[shovelhd]

If you want to get fast, you're going to have to learn to rest. Intensity and rest go hand in hand. So at least two days/wk off the bike or no more than 1 hr. at recovery pace.

[ceolwulf]

Do a 20 minute time trial in the flats at 90% effort level.
Soft pedal for two minutes.
Do the same 20 minute TT at 90% effort level.
Do this once a week.

This did absolute wonders for me, the 2 x 20. Learned about it on a British time trialists forum. At the beginning of that spring I could do a 30km TT at probably 32, 33 km/h, not a lot more (yeah I was slow). I did 2 x 20s twice a week along with one longer ride and a run or two. By July when the event rolled around (30km bike leg of a tri relay) I did it at 39 km/h (yes, still slow :p ). And you hardly need equipment for it at all beyond a way to time the intervals. Planning to do a lot of these this summer, about equal quantity as the 1-3 minute interval workouts, to get ready for 'cross season.

[#campyuserftw]

If you want to get fast, you're going to have to learn to rest. Intensity and rest go hand in hand. So at least two days/wk off the bike or no more than 1 hr. at recovery pace.

+1

It was true for Roy Batty:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRxHYHPzs7s

OP, burn your wax and wick doing sprints, intervals and time trial test. Then rest, recover and avoid the bike. Consider leg work in the gym, as well.

[#campyuserftw]

This did absolute wonders for me, the 2 x 20. Learned about it on a British time trialists forum. At the beginning of that spring I could do a 30km TT at probably 32, 33 km/h, not a lot more (yeah I was slow). I did 2 x 20s twice a week along with one longer ride and a run or two. By July when the event rolled around (30km bike leg of a tri relay) I did it at 39 km/h (yes, still slow :p ). And you hardly need equipment for it at all beyond a way to time the intervals. Planning to do a lot of these this summer, about equal quantity as the 1-3 minute interval workouts, to get ready for 'cross season.

It's painful madness, and I love it once a week, the 2 x 20 test. You finish the first one about to pop. The red line is in front of your wheel the whole time. Same feelings after the second one. Then, a few minutes later, some sips of water and you think, did I do anything? I feel fresh. I feel like I need to do more. So you stop, feeling like you should do more, ride home...and at some point that early evening you fall asleep in your chair.

:beer:

[Jason E]

IT'S A TRAP!!!

Ok, back to your normal programming.

[Admiral Ackbar]

thanks for the replies dudes!

kind of figured intervals would be the way to go, nice to hear your feedback. over the next few weeks - month or so ill give your recommendations a try and see what works out/feels best for me

i do actually get a fair bit of rest, easily 2-3 days off each week this time of year but its honestly hard for me too keep of my bike for more than a day or two!

looks like ill have to track down a computer/HRM to make the most of this - any recommendations? (budget minded)

as i said most of my shorter rides are under 50k and to add to that i usually alternate more intense/mild efforts between the long and short rides. i.e. fast short ride, easy long ride, easy short ride, fast long ride. since I've been employing this over the past few weeks its felt like I've definitely been able to crank it up on the flats.

and once again, thanks for the feedback. looking forward to trying this stuff out.

[parco]

+1 on using a heart rate monitor. It's a really great way to gauge your fitness.

[mike p]

A simple polar HRM is all you really need. Sixty bucks and less all over eBay. If you got a little extra cash laying around a Garmin 500 is great.....HRM, computer, gps, and gets you into the whole strava deal if your into all that :-).

Mike

[stien]

Just out of curiosity what do you do for work?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G730A using Tapatalk

[AgilisMerlin]

training for dummies.

ride your bicycle(s)

as much as you can ...

[Gummee]

I'll add to the 'do intervals' line of thought. Amazing how fast they can make you and how quickly it happens.

HOWEVER

You really should only be doing 10% or so of your weekly time/mileage over AT. The rest of the week should be riding easy to moderate. IOW not breathing hard. If you're young, 2 days/week of hard efforts with a race on Sun is probably OK. If you're old like me (and not doping!) there probaly need to be more rest days before your next effort.

For example: If I raced CX on Sun I really didn't go well again till at least Wed and sometimes not even then. Some weeks it took till Thurs to feel better. Your legs WILL tell you.

HTH

M

[oldpotatoe]

ok well I'm fairly new to road bikes, only been riding 3 or so years (on and off) have raced xc in my late teenage years and ridden bmx for a decade or so. but I've really come to enjoy road biking. i can knock out 100k rides without much trouble at a fairly moderate pace, 15 or so mph id say - maybe less, but i don't run a computer so i can't say for sure.

i ride almost every day, schedule and weather allowing, between 30-120k. i ride alone, almost always have except during races when i did that and the occasionally xc group ride before my old lbs went south.

what I'm getting at is that i want to be faster, on the flats, uphill, on rolling terrain etc. i know the atypical advice is to go on group rides, find riding buddies and play off them but I'm mostly into riding by myself to be honest.

so to cut to the chase, are there any simple training methods or routines i could get my self started on to built up my fitness/pace?

lately I've been doing sub 50k rides followed by 50k+ rides the following day (or the next day I'm able to) then back to a sub 50, 50+, sub 50, etc. been on that only about 2 weeks but I've felt like its been working. core and leg strength seems up, did a moderately paced 120k+ today without much hassle at all. but as i said id ilke to up that pace and just be faster overall.

anyone got some input for me?

Go get a good local coach...

[Admiral Ackbar]

Just out of curiosity what do you do for work?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G730A using Tapatalk

unemployed as of november, worked retail... have been picking up odd jobs on CL and making some supplementary income while i look for a new job, hence having the time to ride so much

i also act as the lead commander of the rebel alliance

training for dummies.

ride your bicycle(s)

as much as you can ...

way ahead of you on that

Go get a good local coach...

don't have the money for that, don't really want a coach either

[mike p]

Ok you've perked my interest, I gotta know. What's?

"i also act as the lead commander of the rebel alliance"

Mike

[Admiral Ackbar]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6e/AckbarStanding.jpg

[KonaSS]

Ok you've perked my interest, I gotta know. What's?

"i also act as the lead commander of the rebel alliance"

Mike

For shame Mike P. You better be really young, really old, or lived off of the grid for the last 30 years.

[mike p]

The last two ;-)

Mike

For shame Mike P. You better be really young, really old, or lived off of the grid for the last 30 years.