tuscanydj

so i need some help or advice.......i've been training my ass off and it seems like it's not paying off. im still a cat 4 and i train as much as a pro does. my results are the same as last year if not worse. recently i've been discouraged by the fact that i can't get as good as other riders becuase i have shorter femurs than other riders.....does having shorter femurs put you at a disadvantage?? the only reason i'm saying this is because im confused as to why im not progressing as well as other riders. whats the theory on this ...........Please need advice

Treefox

I suspect you're not training as hard as the pros...

Are you eating well? (generally, as well as before races)

Are you training efficiently? (rather than just hard)

Are you keeping your bike well tuned?


And how long have you been a cat 4? Plenty of people hang about there for years.

F = MA

short femurs? i dont think so... look at Robbie McEwen. He's only 1.71m (whatever that is in feet)

SpongeDad

start doping

botto 

You're over-training.

Bullseye

Or not eating enough.

-Bullseye

botto 

Any cat 4 who even claims to train like a pro (and I seriously doubt that the OP is, but he's still probably riding too much) is riding far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far too much.

mimis

a principle of physiology is that a longer muscle fiber is a stronger one. That's definitely an advantage of the long-legged cyclist. On the other hand, a longer,perhaps bulkier torso could mean a more spacious chest cage, namely more lung volume, more oxygen intake for the body mass. So, which body type is more gifted for the job? can't say...

Squint

Do muscle fibers in the legs run the length of the entire muscle?

Quijibo187

This body type.

Dubbayoo

yes

cmh

Our current world champion is another example of a decent short femured cyclist.

Seriously, there is a saying in cycling that goes something like this:

It isn't the bike, its the legs;
It isn't the legs, its the lungs.

There are many physical attributes that contribute to cycling. You can't single out one and predict if you will be a good cyclist or not.