johnybutts

What's your volume limit?

Right now I'm riding the most I've ever ridden which is roughly 15 hrs/week. I sleep 10 hrs every night, eat and drink well, stay off my legs all the rest of the day, and I'm still groggy and sluggish every day.

So I think I'm at the limit of volume I can maintain, which kinda disappoints me since everyone I talk to who upgraded out of the 3s seems like at some point they were doing 20+ weekly hours (exception being WR).

hammy56

This why i will probably always suck (and stay a 4). I was able to get some 10-12 hr weeks. But more than that just isnt possible, not because of physical limitations (i feel great), but because of work, home, the girl, etc.

But my $.02- dont dismiss the importance of rest. Its just as important as the work itself.

carpediemracing 

Take easy days along with hard ones. Eat well. I eat what I crave because I trust my body to tell me when it needs, say, red meat or something. Take a multi to fill in any gaps.

If I don't work I can do 25-30 hours a week, with as much as 33 hours (I think that's my record). This is my SoCal training camp schedule. I'll do 4-6 hour rides, 3-4 hour rides, and either a day off or an hour here or there (usually with one of the hosts). Since I'm not working I have from about 8 AM to 5:30 PM to do whatever, so riding for 5 hours is pretty easy.

With a job it's closer to 8-12 hours. I have no idea how people do 20 hours while working and with a family and all that. I get most/all of my riding in after 6 PM for most of the year, don't ride until after 5:30 PM on Sat, and usually race (1-2 hours total time on saddle) on Sunday.

carpediemracing 

As hammy says, rest is when you gain. The training breaks you down. Although I'll race at the end of my mega week in SoCal, I normally do much less before a normal race, like 5-8 hours, with Fri off, Sat 30-60 min, Sun race.

esammuli

It depends on training composition. If you're doing 15 hours with several days of threshold, SST and climbing, it's entirely different than 15 hours of ZI/ZII.

hammy56

Honest question.
Is it really necessary to do 15, 20+ hrs?
I mean i guess a lot of it comes down to genetics...but im sure if people are taking proper advantage of their hrs they could be a 1 or 2, no?

Brian Ratliff

It depends a lot on the intensity of those 20 hours. You aren't going to do 20 hours of tempo every week. Too hard. The guys doing that sort of volume are doing true endurance base riding (low intensity on very long rides of 4-5 hours). They are probably mixing in some tempo and interval training in there too, as well as a couple rest days where they are still riding for a couple hours, but moving slower than slow.

It's a very good plan to get very fast and hold the fitness for a long time... if you have the time. For the rest of us blokes who have 40+hr jobs that take up all the daylight hours of the day (during winter anyway), we have to make do with trainers and rollers at higher intensities and shorter time periods. We might get to be as fast, but we won't be able to hold onto the fitness for as long as the guys doing a true base.

Grumpy McTrumpy

no it's not.

I only know a few people who do. I know more than a few really good racers.

Grumpy McTrumpy

I can't pour on the volume at the same time as losing weight either. I've gone back down about 2-3 pounds in the past month from not eating as much (and far less protein than during race season).

I can feel the difference especially after a hard training day. I don't even feel like touching the bike today. (I may do an hour on the rollers before I have to go to work tonight)

esammuli

Again, it depends. If you're focused on stage races or long road races the volume is (more) necessary. If you're a pure crit rider or in a lower category you can get away with high intensity/low volume. It's hard to cheat your way through a 4 hour road race on low training volume.

MDcatV

no, i'm a 2 and avg approx 12 hrs/week, which iirc is currently equating to around 750 - 800 TSS/wk.

johnybutts

Yeah, I'm not really working right now, so my time is devoted to riding. I'll start taking multivitamins though - that's a good idea. Also, all my rides are solo and I'm not a terribly good self-motivator for long rides (mainly when my routes are **** - houston has **** routes). Even with that though, Im like walking dead it seems. 4 cups of coffee and I'm barely functioning.

I'm kinda thinking of couchsurfing somewhere for a week to get new scenery. Not sure what the best place would be cause it seems like most places are cold.

Creakyknees

I see a problem with these two statements - are you doing periodization at all? It's ok to wear yourself down for 2-3 maybe 4 weeks, but you gotta have a recovery week in there before long.

johnybutts

Did you at one point ride more? I'm not saying that you have to ride that much to stay a 1/2, but that my impression is that these guys have all spent a season(s) at one point riding a LOT, then they can kinda work off that base forever after.

johnybutts

Last few weeks have been:
7 hrs so far this week
15 hrs (last week)
8 hrs
7 hrs
13 hrs

So I think I'm not chronically wearing myself down, 7 and 8 hr weeks aren't a lot of training stress when it's all Z1/2/3

I'm planning a loosely periodized schedule. Right now, base, I'm keeping it pretty freeform (and low intensity). just chasing CTL with zone1/2 and alittle bit of 3. Also doing these like cadence and single leg stuff along with core and some walking/jogging.

carpediemracing 

The best way for me to get in a long ride is to ride out and back. I'm committed once I'm out there. One of my long rides in SoCal is to ride to Palomar and back - it's almost 50 miles to get to the top and therefore almost 100 miles round trip. Pending darkness and coldness are great motivators for riding back quickly, and the long climbs let me work on ftp kind of automatically (30 min climbs here and there, 2 hours for Palomar).

Don't be afraid to take a day close to totally off. I typically won't ride the day after a big ride (5-6 hours), or, if I do, it's like an hour because I want to check out the bike for whatever reason. It's the 3-4 hour rides that get me because I can go out and do them again and again.

gsteinb

I posted

agoodale

Let Crash & I know when/if you're riding Palomar when you're out here. I can probably muster up a few guys to tag along if you're interested.

mattm

Haven't hit my limit yet, currently at 15-16 hours/week (max), but that's mostly endurance, no SST or higher. Actually that's probably the limit of time I can squeeze into the bike, not my physical limit.

As far as is 15-20 hours really necessary, the way I see it it can't really hurt... (of course depends on goals/cat/etc)

The only people I know of that train on tiny amounts of hours are either weak and/or limited to crits. Not a model I'd like to follow.

Short cuts will only cut short your peak..

El Diablo Rojo

There are so many factors. Age and genetics are two big ones as are goals. If you want to progress past being a solid 3 you'll have to put more than 12h a week in. However if you 50 and are trying to compete in the P1/2 most 50 y/o can't put in 20+ hours without tearing down their bodys. I know guys who on 10 hours can be competitive in the 1/2's (WR). Ex puts in about 15h's and he's can hold his own in 1/2 races that suit him.

I'm limited to about 12h max due to 'life' issues, job, kids, wife etc. My coach has structured a workout program that gets the most out of my limited hours on the bike. Next season (about 8weeks from now) I will start the hardest 4 months I've ever done on a bike. We'll see how this program really holds up with me racing nearly every weekend from Feb-April including 4 stage races.

GirlAnachronism

I did 18 hours last week and felt fine. Most weeks are closer to 14-15 though. That's bike time--I also do 4-6 hours of weights/yoga.

My job is pretty mellow though and I don't have a lot of other commitments (i.e. kids) so I can sleep and eat well and put my feet up when I'm sitting at my desk. I'm also young, which helps.

I always want to do more, which is a big reason why I have a coach--she forces me to rest even when I don't want to.

ericm979

I'm 50 and I can do 17-18 hour weeks for three or four months. I need an easy week (12-14 hours, less intensity) every 2-3 weeks. Those 17-18 hours are largely SST, tempo and endurance pace. No HIT. One recovery ride a week. Lots of climbing which means a lot of resting on descents- for example 1.5 hours out of a 5 hour ride.

I do that for Everest Challenge training. 5 hour rides are not needed for my normal races. Also, I like riding. Resting is sometimes a problem for me.

rkwaki

When I was getting ready to go to Europe and go pro I was 20+ hours a week.
Now? Maybe 12 but none of those are not easy 4-5 hour endurance rides. Much is interval training (non scientific), hill repeats or tempo riding. I need to learn to 'take it easy'

wfrogge

About those 20+ hour weeks riders are doing.. Either they are lying to you or are just riding around all day. If you have a full time job, kids, etc 12-15 is the max most guys can do. You dont need any more time on the bike than that unless you plan to do some bad ass 5-7 day stage racing.

Most guys that are in the elite ranks are only training 10-15 hours a week trust me.

Grumpy McTrumpy

I let WKO calculate my training hours so they are only saddle time where there is a powermeter file. I suspect not everyone does this.