Training & Nutrition - how much to train for cat 5

just curious, how many hours per week would you guys recommend for someone who's gonna race cat 5. i can't ride everyday, and am currently riding like 2 weekdays on the trainer(like 1 hour spinerval workouts) and two longer rides(1.5+ hours) on the weekends. in the spring, i'll add a day where i will do a 1 to 2.5 hour group ride. is this enough conditioning to race? i'm just asking in general, i know that it is dependent on the individual, but does it sound like i am on the right track?

IM training 6 days a week 2 hours a day.. where ya gonna race :)
Jar

mostly north and south carolina, i'll porbablly stick mostly to crits and road races. i raced a junior crit this fall, and even though i sucked it up big time, i was hooked

IM training 6 days a week 2 hours a day.. where ya gonna race :)
Jar

Haha. We're in the same boat. I've got as 4.5hr ride tomorrow. 750 hours a year is my schedule. My major race at the beginning of next year is the Tour d'Pain at Lejeune. You gonna be there?

Cole

I like your work ethic dude :) and kudos to the guy who has to work .. I dont.. whats the date of this race .. maybe I will go..I do give credit to anyone who trains while working ... Im lucky.. i dont have to work ... So.. you got a long ride .. cool ... must have some nicee weather .. Im training in temps below 30 now and had to shorten and intensify my rides .. Im doing 500 situps a day and squats as will as upper body training .. I hope to peak in may ... good luck
peace
jar :)

just curious, how many hours per week would you guys recommend for someone who's gonna race cat 5. i can't ride everyday, and am currently riding like 2 weekdays on the trainer(like 1 hour spinerval workouts) and two longer rides(1.5+ hours) on the weekends. in the spring, i'll add a day where i will do a 1 to 2.5 hour group ride. is this enough conditioning to race? i'm just asking in general, i know that it is dependent on the individual, but does it sound like i am on the right track?

I would try to get in a few longer rides, you dont want the race distance to be the longest you've ever gone. you want to look at the race distance, and if its 30 miles or something, you can just say to yourself "oh, I can do that in my sleep". basically, you want to be able to complete the race distance without trouble.

I like your work ethic dude :) and kudos to the guy who has to work .. I dont.. whats the date of this race .. maybe I will go..I do give credit to anyone who trains while working ... Im lucky.. i dont have to work ... So.. you got a long ride .. cool ... must have some nicee weather .. Im training in temps below 30 now and had to shorten and intensify my rides .. Im doing 500 situps a day and squats as will as upper body training .. I hope to peak in may ... good luck
peace
jar :)

Nice weather? It's freaking freezing here. It was snowing today (27 degrees), raining and sleeting a couple days ago. That was miserable.

It's at Camp Lejeune in May. Were you in the Corps?

Cole

I like your work ethic dude :) and kudos to the guy who has to work .. I dont.. whats the date of this race .. maybe I will go..I do give credit to anyone who trains while working ... Im lucky.. i dont have to work ... So.. you got a long ride .. cool ... must have some nicee weather .. Im training in temps below 30 now and had to shorten and intensify my rides .. Im doing 500 situps a day and squats as will as upper body training .. I hope to peak in may ... good luck
peace
jar :)


What good is 500 situps a day doing you besides wasting your time?

Can I ask a stooopid question? Good. :p

What's higher: CAT 1 or CAT 5?

I'm pretty sure we don't "categories" here; we have 'grades'

Cat 1 = Expert/Pro
Cat 5 = Novice/Beginning Racer

Thankyou :)

camp lejuene and 29 palms CA .. wow .. your gonna freeze your butt off .. its 19 degrees here .. Thinking about getting some rollers :)

your leg muscles are connected to your abs :)

Im training 8-10 hrs week now on the road and 3-5 hrs week on the rollers for cat5.

good luck.
Jim

If you're a strong rider already, the amount of training you're already doing should be plenty. Most Cat5/beginner racers don't have great a great riding base or solid training plans so anything consistent on your part is a good start.

There are always exceptions so if you're a 5 and do 500+ hours training yearly, don't get your undies in a bunch as I'm not referring to you.

What good is 500 situps a day doing you besides wasting your time?

Core strength is extremely important for comfort and power, so it's not a waste of time to train the core.

Now, if you're questioning the efficiency of the 500 situp method, then you do have a point. Situps are hard on the back, and crunches work just great. Even better, you can go to the gym and they have plenty of machines with higher resistance. You'll get a more efficient workout that way.

Core strength is extremely important for comfort and power, so it's not a waste of time to train the core.

Now, if you're questioning the efficiency of the 500 situp method, then you do have a point. Situps are hard on the back, and crunches work just great. Even better, you can go to the gym and they have plenty of machines with higher resistance. You'll get a more efficient workout that way.


I know core strenth on the bike is a plus im a seasoned coached cyclist.but 500 situps is a waste of time and it's not making him any stronger that's my point. and yes situps are not effiecent either, he would be better off with a ab roller $2.50 @ walmart.

Joel Friel in his "The Cyclist's Training Bible", recommends somewhere between 200-350 hours (total for a year) of training for cat 5... So you guys are doing fine :)))

I plan on starting to race in March Cat5, i already registrered so im in. some of you guys sound like your training way to much for Cat5, is Cat5 that tough???? i have watched it before and it didnt look that tough.

I plan on starting to race in March Cat5, i already registrered so im in. some of you guys sound like your training way to much for Cat5, is Cat5 that tough???? i have watched it before and it didnt look that tough.

i found it pretty tough. i needed a lot more training than i had accomplished last year for the races i did.

the problem with cat V is that it can vary so much. you can have a cycling prodigy who averages close to 30, but if he has not raced much, he's in cat 5 until he places himself into 4.

do intervals. you need to jump from 20 to 24-26 mph in a snap. take a triathlete. most train in a set heart rate for even results. but get them to jump up in mph and they drop quickly. Crit's are tough. you've got to get up and jump coming out of each turn or you're toast or caught behind. there's no coming back from that.

I am currently training approximatly 10 - 12 hours + per week for CAT 5. Not going to do a full season this year, just 2 key Road Races and a handful of time trials, maybe a crit in august. I am in base right now and I spend close to 5 - 6 hours on a trainer per week doing E2, HR about 150 or so. I do at least 1 long ride by myself outside per week and another 5 or 6 group riding (mostly cat 5, 4 and 3 guys). I hope to get in more time as my enurance gets better.

Oh ya, that is 500 hours a year approximatly, hope to get in more though... I can easily pull off 90 - 120 minutes on a trainer a day. Do not forget though, time is not all of it, the intensity is also a factor... I would hate to be doing intervals for 120 minutes a day...