Undulating Fitness Curve

[laupsi]

From personal experience, past and present, one thing is for certain, the "road" to higher fitness is not linear. anyone care to comment?

[crownjewelwl]

to stay super fit all year long. just asking for trouble. my weight, diet, and general fitness all fluctuate during the year

when i was younger i would try to maintain all year long. drove me batty and quite frankly i plateaued. i'm probably in the best shape of my life right now precisely cuz i don't try to maintain all year.

even pro athletes take it "easier" in the off-season!

[laupsi]

yea trying to stay "fit" year long is virtually impossible and dangerous for the mind, body and soul. the thread was meant to address the issue of becoming more fit at appropriate times throughout the year.

it is always a step forward, half step backward process, no? and then when you do you know you're peaking?

[jaykosta]

The Centurion Cycling website -
http://centurioncycling.com/training/

has some good info about training.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

[rugbysecondrow]

I try to maintain a base level of fitness, that base for me is sprint triathlon shape. I can improve on that or relax to that standard, but that is my base standard. I heard a marathon runner say that the best way to train for a marathon is to stay in marathon shape. It is not competitive shape, but completion shape, the aerobic base.

Mentally I enjoy the breaks more than physically.

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by laupsi

From personal experience, past and present, one thing is for certain, the "road" to higher fitness is not linear. anyone care to comment?

I'm fairly certain that outside of the classroom nothing is linear.

[benb]

Originally Posted by laupsi

yea trying to stay "fit" year long is virtually impossible and dangerous for the mind, body and soul. the thread was meant to address the issue of becoming more fit at appropriate times throughout the year.

it is always a step forward, half step backward process, no? and then when you do you know you're peaking?

I am of the opinion managing these cycles is actually the critical quality that makes someone a successful racer. It seems to come almost naturally to truly successful athletes. (At least for endurance athletes.. these fluctuations might not matter nearly as much for a sport like baseball or golf where motor skills are more important then peak fitness.)

Me? I haven't figured it out. There were and are days where I know I've got the the fitness to compete at a higher level then I ever actually did.. but figuring out how to have that happen on a day when you were actually entered in a race is the hard part.

[laupsi]

Originally Posted by benb

Me? I haven't figured it out. There were and are days where I know I've got the the fitness to compete at a higher level then I ever actually did.. but figuring out how to have that happen on a day when you were actually entered in a race is the hard part.

I always laugh when reading training manuals that set up macro cycles timed for peaking at specific times. reality is, there is always a wrench in the works; illness, work/family priorities, mental state, etc...,

using a power meter I am discovering gradual but minimal strength gain but it must be viewed from a far, perhaps 6-8 months, from week to week it comes and goes.

[laupsi]

Originally Posted by rugbysecondrow

I try to maintain a base level of fitness, that base for me is sprint triathlon shape. I can improve on that or relax to that standard, but that is my base standard. I heard a marathon runner say that the best way to train for a marathon is to stay in marathon shape. It is not competitive shape, but completion shape, the aerobic base.

Mentally I enjoy the breaks more than physically.

I would love to be able to maintain the same type/level of fitness. it is definately work, dedicated work and kudos for pulling it off.

[laupsi]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

I'm fairly certain that outside of the classroom nothing is linear.

depends how far away one is when measuring

[laupsi]

Originally Posted by jaykosta

The Centurion Cycling website -
http://centurioncycling.com/training/

has some good info about training.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

thanks for the lead!

[FlashUNC]

I think that's true in both the micro and macro sense when training.

Some weeks the legs will be dead, or you'll bonk, and then rebound to riding stronger than ever. And in the macro, you can see that in August, you're riding faster than you ever in March.

That reality really set in for me this year after a couple years of lower-than-I'd-like time on the bike. Early part of the year, there's this one hill on the usual training loop that I'd need the small ring for. Heck, if I were feeling particularly feeble that day, I'd be granny gearing it.

Now, at season's end? Hammering up it in the big ring. In between, there have been my fair share of good days and then not so good days.

I think anyone who tries to stay in top shape all the time is just going to burn themselves out and, in the end, never reach what could be their peak fitness.

[avalonracing]

Originally Posted by laupsi

From personal experience, past and present, one thing is for certain, the "road" to higher fitness is not linear. anyone care to comment?

Nope, it isn't any more linear than the dollar to weight ratio when upgrading your bike parts. At first you can drop ounces for just hundreds of dollars. In the end as it gets super-light you be spending that on grams.

Once you are fit, it is harder to get very fit but it can be done with a lot of work and some lifestyle changes. Very fit to Super-fit often requires a commitment that is more like a full-time pro athlete.

[BigDaddySmooth]

Some days you feel good, some days you don't.

I like to think that the most out-of-shape I've ever been was yesterday. Reality is I'm no spring chicken anymore and training to train beats lying on a couch getting fat.

Laurent Jalabert use to claim he was 90% in shape 90% of the year. That is pretty good if you ask me.

[laupsi]

Originally Posted by avalonracing

Very fit to Super-fit often requires a commitment that is more like a full-time pro athlete.

I think VF to SF often requires a commitment not to over train, once you're there it's a pretty simple formula