Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - anybody really seriously train for cycling?

??

i'll be the first to admit i don't (i just ride for fun) so please don't think i'm bein' an asshloe to ask. there've been some talk about droppin' roadies so i thought i'd ask about training.

personally i watch fanatically what i eat (though i've 'fessed up to overconsumption of cheap red wine and am tryin' to cut down :eek: ), religiously run at least 40 mi a week, and ride as much as i can--mostly to work this time of year--about 20 miles r/t). no weightliftin' or anything like that. just runnin' and ridin' for fun.

so there ain't no way in hell i'm gonna hang with serious (or even semi-serious) roadies on a "training regime" like that. :)

anybody else?

yeah i train. every ride to work and weekend mtb ride is training. i never really watch what i eat but lately have been shying away from the late night snack attacks that used to happen dailey. beer is one of my recovery drinks and i use herb as my secret doping agent to put me over the freakin top!!!!

for you, 40 miles of running a week will put you in some sick shape wether you want to call it training or not...

i bet your faster than me.

for you, 40 miles of running a week will put you in some sick shape wether you want to call it training or not...

i bet your faster than me.

i'm not sure runnin' really helps bikin' other than aerobically. if i ride right after a good run, my legs are killin' me. i actually think runnin' ain't so good for cycling. from what i've read roadies avoid runnin' like the plague.

really, i have noticed it really helps me in the short time i have been trying to get into it...

but i run maybe 5 miles a week tops.

i bet if you took like 3 days off from running & riding, then rode; you'd be amazed!!!! but who the hell can do nothing for three whole days??? ;)

Nothing serious, I just try and pay attention to how I'm riding every time I'm (sober) on the bike (actually, even WAY more so stoned, did you know that leather saddles & grips retain heat?!! Sweet Christ!!).

I'm more of the Merckx style: "Ride lots!"

Always seemed he was doing something right.

yes.

I have been running for years, currently not b/c of injury , and find that both cycling and running help each other out no matter which is your primary focus. I have been told for track racing running is a good cross training method.

I have found for me that a short ride 3-5 miles after a run helps with recovery, but this was usually done during marathon training.

I train.

As much as I'm all about riding my fixed-gear around and barhopping late at night, or screwing around trying to do trackstands with other hooligans in an empty parking lot, I'm also equally into wearing a complete lycra getup, getting on my roadbike and racing as a Cat. 4 (with hopeful upgrade to 3 by year's end), or going for a 4 hour training ride with specific goals, such as hill intervals, sprints, et. al. I don't take myself so seriously that I'm going to go on an extreme diet/exercise regimen to accomplish whatever goals I have. I'm just out to have fun on a bike, be it out late at night causing trouble, or chasing down a breakaway in a hilly road race.

I guess to me, cycling is a means of competition and fitness as it is a lifestyle and culture. It's rare when such incongruous concepts as those are able to mix without problem.

And there's nothing wrong with getting wasted on green once in a while.

train? not a chance, I ride for fun and I ride for transport (which is almost always fun riding anyways). The whole competitive aspect is lost on me completely...

I ride for fun with a focus to improve. I have goals, faster, longer. I can't say I "train" though, I generally do try to ride to improve.

Heck yeah! Gym 2-3 times a week. Squats (olympic), deadlifts, good-mornings, calf stuff and assorted upperbody stuff (mainly cross-training for surfing/swimming).

I'm doing a general strength cycle, but soon it'll be more specialized. That means one-legged squats, box jump plyometrics, box squats, and pulling a wieghted sled for sprints. Other than that, I try to hit the bike as often as possible (streets/track) for some interval training.

I'm starting to incorporate some longer rides for aerobic fitness.

theres a whole forum here called: training and nutrition

I want to start training, only if I'm mainly being competitive with myself. May as well get healthy while I'm having fun.

I don't train methodically, but I have a training mindset every time I ride. I think about my heart-rate, intervals, my spin when I'm riding around the city, commuting to and from work, etc. I also make sure to ride, on the bike or on the trainer, on a seriously regular basis, in the interest of keeping fit.

Funny how this is turning into a thread about sticky icky icky. Yeah, I do that too.

I train, but it's a really simple plan. I always watch what I eat (up the protein after and carbs before). I push myself while I ride (I try to show up to everything as worn out as I can afford to be). I ride more when there's a race coming up.

I hope to race cat 3 this summer. [gears, **** yes] Currently I am training for my other sport that I am much more serious about.

I don't watch what I eat.

Until last summer I was seriously hardcore about running. 60-mile weeks, marathon, college track and cross... I weighed about 145lbs. Last summer I basically switched over to primarily biking with running as crosstraining. Bike to work and back every day, MTB on the weekends. Running when there is light and I have time. I'm still in decent shape, but I weigh about 160 right now.

I only watch what I eat in that I try not to eat bits or dirt, glass, or metal.

I'm doing my first double century this summer, so yes I plan to do some training. It will not be "serious" training, but I don't want to die out there either.

Until last summer I was seriously hardcore about running. 60-mile weeks, marathon, college track and cross... I weighed about 145lbs. Last summer I basically switched over to primarily biking with running as crosstraining. Bike to work and back every day, MTB on the weekends. Running when there is light and I have time. I'm still in decent shape, but I weigh about 160 right now.

I only watch what I eat in that I try not to eat bits or dirt, glass, or metal.

dude! ridin' a bike has me weighin' more too! i went from 128 to 133. i think it's more muscle in the legs though. i least i hope!!

dude! ridin' a bike has me weighin' more too! i went from 128 to 133. i think it's more muscle in the legs though. i least i hope!!

Since I've been riding I'm up to 130 from 125 (last time I checked anyway). Since I don't have a gut or anything I can only assume it's the massive leg muscles.

I used to get paid to ride. I weighed 165 back then. I don't anymore, and I weigh 150 now. =(

I used to get paid to ride. I weighed 165 back then. I don't anymore, and I weigh 150 now. =(

Me too when I was a kid. Then I discovered beer. And girls. And then both in combination.

Oh, but I weighed 150 back then, and now weigh 165.

dude! ridin' a bike has me weighin' more too! i went from 128 to 133. i think it's more muscle in the legs though. i least i hope!!
I'm fairly certain that's where mine is. All my pants fit tighter, and my lady says I have a LOT more junk in the trunk (good junk, mind you).

I'm fairly certain that's where mine is. All my pants fit tighter, and my lady says I have a LOT more junk in the trunk (good junk, mind you).

same here. my upper body is pretty pathetic but my legs are in good shape. my pants definitely fit tighter now and my ass got bigger. i've been thinking about doing some stuff just to work on my upper body though.

**** training, just ride fast and far

I'm doing my first double century this summer, so yes I plan to do some training. It will not be "serious" training, but I don't want to die out there either.

I right there with you on training to survive. I'll be doing the Houston to Auston MS150 (189 Miles in two days) next month. My wife insisted I get a geared road bike for the ride. I've been riding the geared bike during the weekends some to get used to gears again. Still riding the fixie and the SS for most of my riding.

Trying to get back down to 180 at least. But stuck at 210, beer is just tooooo good.

I wouldn't say that I "train" perse. The daylight savings time seriously cuts into my ability to hit long rides in the winter. I do go to the gym (I have been slacking recently) and hit the rollers at home.

As for running, one local cycling team recommends it in the beginning "base" stage of training for a race season. However, it quickly gets replaced by interval training and the like.

As for keeping up with road racers. I have heard that if you put in 150 or so decent miles a week you can do fairly well as a Cat 4/5 racer. Decent of course meaning that they are structured such that you are riding at the appropriate HR and the whatnot. Cat 1 racers will often times put in a lot more than that. However, who has time for that kind of commitment?

I train but i dont train for anything specific. Not entirely true, i am hoping to do my first tri this summer. But i do run, i do ride, i also do some cycling oriented strength training and stretching.

I commute. Thats the most serious training there is.
Guys who ride 30 miles or so a day, year 'round on 32lb bikes
through thick and thin, rain and snow, hot and cold etc, etc will
drop most roadies on any given day.

I don't train for bike racing, but I lift weights pretty hardcore. I don't compete in bodybuilding competitions or anything, but given my nutrition and training schedule, I'd probably classify myself as a casual bodybuilder. I use the bike to help me achieve my gym goals although its primarily for fun/ transportation. This spring I might do some track racing since the velodrome is only a couple miles away from my house.

i train. I race XC and Road. Winter sucks.... theres a severe lack of motivation to ride the trainer, as much fun as hour long interval session alone in you room are...through the summer i do two of three distance/ tempo rides per week plus 20km a day commute with races most weeekends.

I find that after I ride the bike for 8-12 hours a day 5 days a week, I'm a little too tired to do much of anything serious. But that's just me, I am kind of lame anyhow.

I do alot of weightless workouts in my apartment, I also curl weights.
If I'm going to devote 30miles a week for commuting and 30+ a week for recreational bike rides, I better make sure I am in shape to do it. I used to ride my bike and that's it. But I have a desire to add muscle mass and my bike hasn't made me sore in months. So, I gotta try something else anyway. all of this working out that I do is strictly for performance on my bike though. I workout so I won't aggravate my knees and so I have more stamina and endurance. No I don't compete. but I also push myself harder and harder every time I'm riding.
I try to stretch before/after rides too but I generally don't plan my stretching time well.

10-12 hours/week of riding (either on the trainer or outside) and kind of watching what I eat. I am racing with a team this year.

unfortunately my commute to work is only about 2 minutes, so i cant count that as training. i raced cyclocross this winter as training for the upcoming MTB season, and now on my weekend MTB rides i run up any hills i dont make, thank you cyclocross. i try to get out and do a road ride at least once a week, but due to lack of motivation (pot) it doesnt always happen.

I am a new convert to cycling (ex smoker) but I keep telling myself I will start some training soon. some minor upperbody stuff, and mabye being more carefull what I eat. I'm fairly tall so weighing 200 is not terrible. but I could certainly afford to drop a few pounds.