Training & Nutrition - Building a Base

I want to commend everyone that actively participates in this forum. Cycling is such an immense activity. Someone could easily get lost, frustrated, and ultimately quit without fully getting into the sport that has such great benefits. Thanks to you vets from all of us rookies trying to find our way in this great activity. Okay now to my training question!

I am 27 and so new to the sport but I don’t want to waste time by missing out on valuable training time. I have been riding for only a week. I am a former college middle distance track runner and I am a firm believer in building a strong base to handle the speed/interval training of the racing season. I see that many of you have the same philosophy for cycling. I figure will train through the fall and winter to build a strong base. I will then use the Spring to get ready to compete as Cat 5 racer.

Please give me your input on my “idea” of training and what worked and what didn’t work for you as a rookie rider. I have done 10-15 mile rides averaging 15mph on a 1978 Puch (aka big ol’ tank) during my first week. So for my most near future training please, give me weekly mileage increases and what I should concentrate on during my rides(ie. Pushing throughout or just getting in the mileage).

Please list a book or website that you would recommend for road training with lots of drills for smooth spinning that you believe in. Thanks in advance to all of my “Coaches” out there!!!

Well-

Everyone knows my battle cry- ;)

"Get a heart rate monitor!"

"Get some books!"

"Build a periodization program!"

"Watch your nutrition!"

Ok, having said that, breaking it down:

!) Get a heart rate monitor- you will need to get tested to find at the very least- anaerobic threshold and VO2 max. Additionally, if you go to a professional lab, they can test for your max heart rate, evaluate your training goals, find out at what point you are burning fat as a fuel source, and when you convert to carbohydrate burning as a fuel source. They can sit down with you and help you to figure out your periodization program- what heart rates to train at during which part of your training program.

2) Get some books- Well, I always recommend the Sally Edwards books. If you are not familiar with heart rate monitors and putting together a periodization program, start with "The Heart Rate Monitor Book", by Sally Edwards. From there, you can get her other book, which talks about the heart zones training- "Heart Zone Training". If you want to get more in depth with your monitor, I would also suggest the Sally book- "The Heart Rate Monitor Guidebook To Heart Zone Training". Finally, a must-read book is the Sally Edwards/Sally Reed collaboration- "The Heart Rate Monitor Book for Outdoor and Indoor Cyclists". The last book puts all the other books together and gives you a better idea about periodization programs, then gives you routines you can train with according to what part of the periodization program you're training in. Other good reads- Joel Friel- "The Cyclists Training Bible" (co-authored by Tudor Bompa), Ed Burke- "Serious Cycling", and Ed Burke- "Science of Cycling", Dr. Phil Maffetone- "In Fitness and In Health", Dr. Phil Maffetone- " The High Performance Heart: Effective Training for Health, Fitness and Competition with the Heart Rate Monitor", Dr. Tudor Bompa- "Periodization Training for Sports", and Chris Carmichael- "Fitness Cycling" (also collaborated with Ed Burke). These are some good reads to start off with now before the fall sets in and your periodization program starts with the base training.

3) Build a periodization program- see #1 and #2. Also, the same program you use for cardio should also encompass weight training also. As your cardio decreases from the summer, and the intensity declines when you slide back into the base training, the weight training goes WAY up and you can push the weights and get the muscle built up over the winter. Then as winter comes to an end, the weights decrease and the intensity of the cardio starts increasing... but you learn all this when you go through periodization. Read the books.

4) Watch your nutrition- Eat appropriately. Once you've set up your training program, you'll want to see a nutritionist and they can see how many calories you're burning and evaluate your calories in so you can maximize your training sessions and keep the pounds off.

This should get you started up.

Oh, if you can't get to a lab, do a check for the 2 X 20 Anaerobic Threshold Test I posted about how you can self test for anaerobic threshold. It can get you a pretty accurate read on the rest of your heart rate numbers, and you can still train smart with your monitor using the numbers obtained from this test.

One last thing- just keep on posting and ask the questions when you need to. There are a lot of good folks on the forum that can help you out if you plateau or stall, or just don't know where to go next.

Good luck.

Koffee

You're really asking for a boatload of information. I'll give my $0.02 on some basics.

I think you're right on with the base vs. intensity. Start building base now. Have fun. If you want to ride fast, ride fast... just be sure to take time to recover. Which brings me to my favorite "what doesn't work" topic (soap box, please). Training, or any hard rides, without recovery are wasted. You can work your @ss off for months at a time with little or nothing to show, other than sore muscles, depression, and a bad attitude if you over-do it. You probably already know this from your track experience.
When you start ramping up next January, focus literally on base... just start building easy miles. Later, add in intervals and other intensity conditioning. Try to develop a sense of your perceived levels of effort. A good heart rate monitor and some books on training would be major assets. Search the T&N forum, there's lots here.

T&N= Training and Nutrition forum....

Sorry, roadbuzz- I just had to say something. It looks too much like T&A...

:lol:

Thanks, You come through like Champs, Again!!!
It's great having like 6000 coaches on this forum!!!