How to improve speed? Too much endurance?
09-06-14, 09:04 PM
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How to improve speed? Too much endurance?
Hello. I'm 15 years old, 5'11.5 and weigh 120 pounds.
You see, I usually bike at 30km/h - but I can't go any faster. I go for a 20km bike ride or even 180km bike ride - and I still ride at the same speed. I feel like my endurance is very strong but I have little strength. What should I do? Focus on sprinting?
You see, I usually bike at 30km/h - but I can't go any faster. I go for a 20km bike ride or even 180km bike ride - and I still ride at the same speed. I feel like my endurance is very strong but I have little strength. What should I do? Focus on sprinting?
09-06-14, 09:32 PM
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What limits you? If you are pedaling as hard as you can but just can't break a certain speed, this indicates lack of strength. If you are trying to pedal faster, but are just gasping for air and can't quite make it, this indicates weak cardio. Endurance riding can mean either going for a long slow ride, or just pacing yourself to finish a long ride as hard as you can without bonking towards the end. Which are you doing?
Answer the above questions and you should be able to formulate a strategy. This could include riding more, riding harder, doing intervals or standing sprints, or hitting some leg workouts at the gym.
Answer the above questions and you should be able to formulate a strategy. This could include riding more, riding harder, doing intervals or standing sprints, or hitting some leg workouts at the gym.
09-06-14, 10:27 PM
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mmmmmm leg day at the gym!
Make sure to start easy if you have not been doing that and to plan leg day to happen just before a day off
Make sure to start easy if you have not been doing that and to plan leg day to happen just before a day off
09-06-14, 10:35 PM
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Intervals. Go as fast as you can for 5 minutes. Repeat x 6. 2 days later go as fast as you can for 20 min. Repeat once. You'll get faster.
09-06-14, 11:31 PM
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This would be my guess, I actually think this is to unhealthy to be at this weight for your height . I would recommend visiting a doctor about this. Im 16 and 150 and 5'8 and have less than 10% body fat. You are not to young to start hitting the gym, remember to start small and build up. I really recommend eating more calories/protein while lifting weights. You should try and be over 140 pounds at the minimum.
09-06-14, 11:33 PM
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Hello. I'm 15 years old, 5'11.5 and weigh 120 pounds.
You see, I usually bike at 30km/h - but I can't go any faster. I go for a 20km bike ride or even 180km bike ride - and I still ride at the same speed. I feel like my endurance is very strong but I have little strength. What should I do? Focus on sprinting?
You see, I usually bike at 30km/h - but I can't go any faster. I go for a 20km bike ride or even 180km bike ride - and I still ride at the same speed. I feel like my endurance is very strong but I have little strength. What should I do? Focus on sprinting?
09-06-14, 11:37 PM
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I dunno. I reckon if you can sit on 30kph for 180km you're doing everything right.
09-07-14, 06:21 AM
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+1000 on the sprint intervals.
09-07-14, 06:51 AM
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This would be my guess, I actually think this is to unhealthy to be at this weight for your height . I would recommend visiting a doctor about this. Im 16 and 150 and 5'8 and have less than 10% body fat. You are not to young to start hitting the gym, remember to start small and build up. I really recommend eating more calories/protein while lifting weights. You should try and be over 140 pounds at the minimum.
When I see pictures of myself from that time, I look very thin, but healthy.
09-07-14, 07:39 AM
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Your are insightful to ask the question you did at age 15...so well done....and its a great question.
Even long time cyclists like me can get the balance wrong. It really depends what you want to accomplish and also includes your temperament.
A lot of endurance type riders and I put myself in that camp a bit, are not much into the serious punishment of doing intervals. I need external motivation but others don't. Last year I was riding 50-60 miles many days a week. I would hammer at certain points but honestly was doing too many miles without the variety of exertion. There are good books on the subject but most believe intervals along with lower HR zone riding are the key to becoming stronger and not endurance riding. I agree. So what I do is do my intervals by catching up with fast guys when they are hammering. Then I ride solo at much lower speed on other days. Again, I don't have enough discipline to do intervals by myself. I need the motivation of others to ride real fast and hard. Otherwise, I ride your speed for many miles.
Each of us has to find our own way as we are all a bit different.
Good luck with your cycling.
Even long time cyclists like me can get the balance wrong. It really depends what you want to accomplish and also includes your temperament.
A lot of endurance type riders and I put myself in that camp a bit, are not much into the serious punishment of doing intervals. I need external motivation but others don't. Last year I was riding 50-60 miles many days a week. I would hammer at certain points but honestly was doing too many miles without the variety of exertion. There are good books on the subject but most believe intervals along with lower HR zone riding are the key to becoming stronger and not endurance riding. I agree. So what I do is do my intervals by catching up with fast guys when they are hammering. Then I ride solo at much lower speed on other days. Again, I don't have enough discipline to do intervals by myself. I need the motivation of others to ride real fast and hard. Otherwise, I ride your speed for many miles.
Each of us has to find our own way as we are all a bit different.
Good luck with your cycling.
09-07-14, 08:24 AM
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Great question and another person that will ride for life...woohoo
Riding especially "performance riding" is not just one discipline of training. It is a method quite often individually tailored for the "type" of skill the rider wants to focus on and/or the. perhaps genetic based, capabilities of the rider.
The latter does not apply to you at this point because of your age and you are entering into your primary growth period of life. Based on that I suggest focus on broad range training to maximize growth including good eating habits, quality food in appropriate amounts at appropriate times and quality rest.
Generally you increase speed by intervals...pushing your body to and beyond its' limits in order to trigger physical growth and mental adaptation to the "pain". Intervals come in a large variety of flavors and they all have their value.
At this point, especially if your not racing/race training, I suggest you have fun in your training...that does not mean there is no pain involved...it means that your training should be less structured to improve overall abilities and begin teaching your body and mind to expand its' abilities and capacities.
I recommend reading about training regimens. They are generally written by current/former pro racers and/or coaches. Most importantly in these is the stories behind their training methods, the reasons, how they were developed and why they were developed.
You can and should google search for stories, etc. on training and read...also, if you are lucky, if you live in a "cycling town/area" there are clubs, teams, weekly rides, etc. all over. Talk to people involved...ask questions...not when in the middle of a rotating paceline at threshold levels...but when the pace is not so intense. Ask how to improve what you feel is lacking and listen to what they say but don't bet the family on it because generally what we do is what works for us over the test of time...may not work perfectly for you.
Now for my two cents...I've coached junior teams, sending several riders/teams to Nationals several times, they did very well overall...one of which became a pro racer...cat 2 teams, etc. over a period of nearly 20 years so I have some experience...
You can never have enough "endurance". It is the "base" upon which all your capabilities are built. If you can't cruise at 25mph in a paceline or peloton feeling comfortable and knowing you have a deep base to call upon you will not go beyond that level, for long, when called upon.
Most racers, including me, I've known over the past 30 plus years of racing/riding work on their baseline of endurance over the course of the winter and early spring...depending on where you live...I spent most of this time in New England...
From a strong base you build with speed and strength.
Intervals come is a variety of flavors and are mixed to cause the body to build to meet the needs placed on it.
Generally intervals are time efforts of maximum effort...old coach of mine called it "ride 'til you puke", which we often would and keep going...I don't really recommend that any more...with minimal rest periods in between to allow the body to rest a tiny bit then stress it again.
Intervals also have a narrow window in which they work at their ultimate capability...Generally short intervals are 30 seconds followed by 30 seconds of light pedaling repeated for a set number of times followed by a period of complete rest...For me it became ten intervals followed by ten minutes of light pedaling for a set of three then recovery ride of thirty minutes or so of light pace riding back home.
Generally the value of intervals diminishes over the time of the interval and usually peaks out at a minute or so. The body just can't maintain 100 percent effort for much longer...it is chemistry...where value is gained.
I've used varied intervals...30, 40, 50, 60, 50, 40, 30 seconds called pyramid intervals with the same time of rest between. I followed this with ten to fifteen minutes of rest between and would do three of them.
I did this method once per week but not until I built a good base, usually mid spring as we were in the middle of "spring road race season" building to "crit season" where the intervals are of the utmost value.
Intervals force your body to build muscle and the chemical system to deal with the effects of such intense effort...lactic acid, etc...Also the training of your mind to accept the pain and the ability to ride through it...to a degree, when the body starts shutting down their is not much you can do about it except to know how to help your body work through it and restore itself to a decent condition.
Generally I preferred doing intervals on either a Tuesday or Wednesday...New England racing where I lived meant, for me, racing on Sunday, recovery ride on Monday, Tuesday intervals or training race at Wompatuck, maybe another training race at Wompatuck on Wednesday if needed or felt like it, endurance pace training on Thursday, mix of training...some longer intervals/endurance/etc...add climbing/strength training on Wednesday or Thursday depending on season's needs and upcoming events like stage races or hill races like Streaked Mtn, Smuggler's Notch, etc. to name a couple of famous ones in my day. Friday is rest/recovery day and Saturday is a "test" day...a couple of intervals to test how the body feels, etc. to get an idea on how I felt in overall fitness and how ready did I feel for the weekend races.
My training regimen changed many times while I learned how my body/system worked, my capabilities...climber, etc...race season I was focusing on...stage racer, crit guy, etc. Until I found/developed a system that worked for me and that would change from season to season...good to keep a journal to track such things to review the season and what worked/didn't work, plan the next season training, etc.
Whew fingers and head hurts from typing and memories...
Good luck and keep us informed...
Most important...the only stupid question is the unasked question or the question asked during the town line sprint...hehehe
Riding especially "performance riding" is not just one discipline of training. It is a method quite often individually tailored for the "type" of skill the rider wants to focus on and/or the. perhaps genetic based, capabilities of the rider.
The latter does not apply to you at this point because of your age and you are entering into your primary growth period of life. Based on that I suggest focus on broad range training to maximize growth including good eating habits, quality food in appropriate amounts at appropriate times and quality rest.
Generally you increase speed by intervals...pushing your body to and beyond its' limits in order to trigger physical growth and mental adaptation to the "pain". Intervals come in a large variety of flavors and they all have their value.
At this point, especially if your not racing/race training, I suggest you have fun in your training...that does not mean there is no pain involved...it means that your training should be less structured to improve overall abilities and begin teaching your body and mind to expand its' abilities and capacities.
I recommend reading about training regimens. They are generally written by current/former pro racers and/or coaches. Most importantly in these is the stories behind their training methods, the reasons, how they were developed and why they were developed.
You can and should google search for stories, etc. on training and read...also, if you are lucky, if you live in a "cycling town/area" there are clubs, teams, weekly rides, etc. all over. Talk to people involved...ask questions...not when in the middle of a rotating paceline at threshold levels...but when the pace is not so intense. Ask how to improve what you feel is lacking and listen to what they say but don't bet the family on it because generally what we do is what works for us over the test of time...may not work perfectly for you.
Now for my two cents...I've coached junior teams, sending several riders/teams to Nationals several times, they did very well overall...one of which became a pro racer...cat 2 teams, etc. over a period of nearly 20 years so I have some experience...
You can never have enough "endurance". It is the "base" upon which all your capabilities are built. If you can't cruise at 25mph in a paceline or peloton feeling comfortable and knowing you have a deep base to call upon you will not go beyond that level, for long, when called upon.
Most racers, including me, I've known over the past 30 plus years of racing/riding work on their baseline of endurance over the course of the winter and early spring...depending on where you live...I spent most of this time in New England...
From a strong base you build with speed and strength.
Intervals come is a variety of flavors and are mixed to cause the body to build to meet the needs placed on it.
Generally intervals are time efforts of maximum effort...old coach of mine called it "ride 'til you puke", which we often would and keep going...I don't really recommend that any more...with minimal rest periods in between to allow the body to rest a tiny bit then stress it again.
Intervals also have a narrow window in which they work at their ultimate capability...Generally short intervals are 30 seconds followed by 30 seconds of light pedaling repeated for a set number of times followed by a period of complete rest...For me it became ten intervals followed by ten minutes of light pedaling for a set of three then recovery ride of thirty minutes or so of light pace riding back home.
Generally the value of intervals diminishes over the time of the interval and usually peaks out at a minute or so. The body just can't maintain 100 percent effort for much longer...it is chemistry...where value is gained.
I've used varied intervals...30, 40, 50, 60, 50, 40, 30 seconds called pyramid intervals with the same time of rest between. I followed this with ten to fifteen minutes of rest between and would do three of them.
I did this method once per week but not until I built a good base, usually mid spring as we were in the middle of "spring road race season" building to "crit season" where the intervals are of the utmost value.
Intervals force your body to build muscle and the chemical system to deal with the effects of such intense effort...lactic acid, etc...Also the training of your mind to accept the pain and the ability to ride through it...to a degree, when the body starts shutting down their is not much you can do about it except to know how to help your body work through it and restore itself to a decent condition.
Generally I preferred doing intervals on either a Tuesday or Wednesday...New England racing where I lived meant, for me, racing on Sunday, recovery ride on Monday, Tuesday intervals or training race at Wompatuck, maybe another training race at Wompatuck on Wednesday if needed or felt like it, endurance pace training on Thursday, mix of training...some longer intervals/endurance/etc...add climbing/strength training on Wednesday or Thursday depending on season's needs and upcoming events like stage races or hill races like Streaked Mtn, Smuggler's Notch, etc. to name a couple of famous ones in my day. Friday is rest/recovery day and Saturday is a "test" day...a couple of intervals to test how the body feels, etc. to get an idea on how I felt in overall fitness and how ready did I feel for the weekend races.
My training regimen changed many times while I learned how my body/system worked, my capabilities...climber, etc...race season I was focusing on...stage racer, crit guy, etc. Until I found/developed a system that worked for me and that would change from season to season...good to keep a journal to track such things to review the season and what worked/didn't work, plan the next season training, etc.
Whew fingers and head hurts from typing and memories...
Good luck and keep us informed...
Most important...the only stupid question is the unasked question or the question asked during the town line sprint...hehehe
09-07-14, 09:23 AM
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+1 ^^^ Intervals plus ride with fast groups. Or ride where there's fast dogs that like to chase 
09-07-14, 10:09 AM
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we be rollin'
I wanted to get back into running and found a lot of sites with training plans where there are no "in-between" plans. In other words, no plans to get you progressively from one level to the next. How can anyone assume you can just jump from beginner to intermediate or from intermediate to advanced without a progressive plan? And I haven't seen many messages here how to organize your week or a season. Messages saying "do intervals" doesn't tell me much. Anyway, good luck in your interest. I might end up reading Daniel's Running Formula but please do yourself a favor and don't do what I did when I was 16. I ran a 3 races and two interval workouts in a single week after running a half-marathon in 1:25. I started running the same times then slowed down a lot at the end of the season. I was burned out. After taking some time off, I realized I was totally obsessed on running so I quit cold turkey for 10 years. After thinking about it later, I think I would have been happier just doing between 25 and 35 miles a week (50 to 80 is done for serious competition).
After hearing stories of very good runners who broke both Achilles tendons, tore both hamstrings, etc., I decided there's a happy medium somewhere that's a lot more reasonable for your health, your life and even your mental health. Hell, one female runner was told by her coach to take a month off suspecting she was burned out. So what did she do? She didn't eat for a full month and ended up in the hospital. So, to me being "recreationally competitive" is a lot more realistic. And I've also heard on letsrun of former elite runners living in Colorado looking for a "sugar mama" at the age of 40 because the only thing they could do at that age is work in a shoe store. As a former 3000m runner, I'd like to start to prepare to run the 800m partly because I don't want to do the mileage or the workouts for longer distances.
After hearing stories of very good runners who broke both Achilles tendons, tore both hamstrings, etc., I decided there's a happy medium somewhere that's a lot more reasonable for your health, your life and even your mental health. Hell, one female runner was told by her coach to take a month off suspecting she was burned out. So what did she do? She didn't eat for a full month and ended up in the hospital. So, to me being "recreationally competitive" is a lot more realistic. And I've also heard on letsrun of former elite runners living in Colorado looking for a "sugar mama" at the age of 40 because the only thing they could do at that age is work in a shoe store. As a former 3000m runner, I'd like to start to prepare to run the 800m partly because I don't want to do the mileage or the workouts for longer distances.
09-07-14, 12:34 PM
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+1. My son, now 19, was 5'-11" and 125# last year (competitive rower; they work as hard as racing cyclists do.) Body fat was only 6%, so he couldn't miss a meal without getting weak, but was very strong. He has since added 10#, mostly muscle. it appears to be natural/aging, rather than any change to diet or workouts. OP's height and weight, while extremish, do not mean he is ill or needs medical attention.
09-07-14, 12:46 PM
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Air drag is the main environmental factor at your 30 kph speed. The power increase needed to maintain 31 kph instead of 30 is greater than the increase needed to move to 21 from 20. Your position on the bike is more important at higher speeds.
Get more aero. If you're riding mainly on the top of the handlebars you might pick up 3 kph just by moving into the drops.
Get more aero. If you're riding mainly on the top of the handlebars you might pick up 3 kph just by moving into the drops.
09-07-14, 12:53 PM
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High intensity intervals is a good suggestion, but make sure your diet is in order first. You can't gain much strength without building muscle, and you can't do that without a caloric surplus and sufficient protein. Hit IIFYM Calculator to figure out your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and recommended dietary macros.
09-07-14, 04:32 PM
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Hello. Thank you all for your responses!!!
Regarding weight: I've always been skinny my whole life, and recently I've had some growth spurts so I still need time to get adjusted to my body...my bf index is low but my doctor says I'm healthy. I bike a lot (biked 1.6 thousand kilometers in August)
I go riding with my dad (all my friends are too slow). I usually go around the low 30's when biking, and always try to go up hills at 30km/h too (5% - 11% gradient) which usually kills me but I continue anwyays.
However I wanted to do Strava segments, and most of them are sprints which I find I can barely cross 40km/h and I see people going 50km/h, for like 1 minute which I can't do
I use the Strava segments now as interval training (I do like 3 segments per ride), but I'm not sure if it's enough. On weekends I usually go to nearby towns where I live, for 120km - 180km, and I find if I eat properly I can maintain a speed for a long time.
Should I do weight training?
PS I don't do structured workouts and I'm not part of a club, I just got a road bike in August
Regarding weight: I've always been skinny my whole life, and recently I've had some growth spurts so I still need time to get adjusted to my body...my bf index is low but my doctor says I'm healthy. I bike a lot (biked 1.6 thousand kilometers in August)
I go riding with my dad (all my friends are too slow). I usually go around the low 30's when biking, and always try to go up hills at 30km/h too (5% - 11% gradient) which usually kills me but I continue anwyays.
However I wanted to do Strava segments, and most of them are sprints which I find I can barely cross 40km/h and I see people going 50km/h, for like 1 minute which I can't do
I use the Strava segments now as interval training (I do like 3 segments per ride), but I'm not sure if it's enough. On weekends I usually go to nearby towns where I live, for 120km - 180km, and I find if I eat properly I can maintain a speed for a long time.
Should I do weight training?
PS I don't do structured workouts and I'm not part of a club, I just got a road bike in August
09-07-14, 04:35 PM
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Great question and another person that will ride for life...woohoo
Riding especially "performance riding" is not just one discipline of training. It is a method quite often individually tailored for the "type" of skill the rider wants to focus on and/or the. perhaps genetic based, capabilities of the rider.
The latter does not apply to you at this point because of your age and you are entering into your primary growth period of life. Based on that I suggest focus on broad range training to maximize growth including good eating habits, quality food in appropriate amounts at appropriate times and quality rest.
Generally you increase speed by intervals...pushing your body to and beyond its' limits in order to trigger physical growth and mental adaptation to the "pain". Intervals come in a large variety of flavors and they all have their value.
At this point, especially if your not racing/race training, I suggest you have fun in your training...that does not mean there is no pain involved...it means that your training should be less structured to improve overall abilities and begin teaching your body and mind to expand its' abilities and capacities.
I recommend reading about training regimens. They are generally written by current/former pro racers and/or coaches. Most importantly in these is the stories behind their training methods, the reasons, how they were developed and why they were developed.
You can and should google search for stories, etc. on training and read...also, if you are lucky, if you live in a "cycling town/area" there are clubs, teams, weekly rides, etc. all over. Talk to people involved...ask questions...not when in the middle of a rotating paceline at threshold levels...but when the pace is not so intense. Ask how to improve what you feel is lacking and listen to what they say but don't bet the family on it because generally what we do is what works for us over the test of time...may not work perfectly for you.
Now for my two cents...I've coached junior teams, sending several riders/teams to Nationals several times, they did very well overall...one of which became a pro racer...cat 2 teams, etc. over a period of nearly 20 years so I have some experience...
You can never have enough "endurance". It is the "base" upon which all your capabilities are built. If you can't cruise at 25mph in a paceline or peloton feeling comfortable and knowing you have a deep base to call upon you will not go beyond that level, for long, when called upon.
Most racers, including me, I've known over the past 30 plus years of racing/riding work on their baseline of endurance over the course of the winter and early spring...depending on where you live...I spent most of this time in New England...
From a strong base you build with speed and strength.
Intervals come is a variety of flavors and are mixed to cause the body to build to meet the needs placed on it.
Generally intervals are time efforts of maximum effort...old coach of mine called it "ride 'til you puke", which we often would and keep going...I don't really recommend that any more...with minimal rest periods in between to allow the body to rest a tiny bit then stress it again.
Intervals also have a narrow window in which they work at their ultimate capability...Generally short intervals are 30 seconds followed by 30 seconds of light pedaling repeated for a set number of times followed by a period of complete rest...For me it became ten intervals followed by ten minutes of light pedaling for a set of three then recovery ride of thirty minutes or so of light pace riding back home.
Generally the value of intervals diminishes over the time of the interval and usually peaks out at a minute or so. The body just can't maintain 100 percent effort for much longer...it is chemistry...where value is gained.
I've used varied intervals...30, 40, 50, 60, 50, 40, 30 seconds called pyramid intervals with the same time of rest between. I followed this with ten to fifteen minutes of rest between and would do three of them.
I did this method once per week but not until I built a good base, usually mid spring as we were in the middle of "spring road race season" building to "crit season" where the intervals are of the utmost value.
Intervals force your body to build muscle and the chemical system to deal with the effects of such intense effort...lactic acid, etc...Also the training of your mind to accept the pain and the ability to ride through it...to a degree, when the body starts shutting down their is not much you can do about it except to know how to help your body work through it and restore itself to a decent condition.
Generally I preferred doing intervals on either a Tuesday or Wednesday...New England racing where I lived meant, for me, racing on Sunday, recovery ride on Monday, Tuesday intervals or training race at Wompatuck, maybe another training race at Wompatuck on Wednesday if needed or felt like it, endurance pace training on Thursday, mix of training...some longer intervals/endurance/etc...add climbing/strength training on Wednesday or Thursday depending on season's needs and upcoming events like stage races or hill races like Streaked Mtn, Smuggler's Notch, etc. to name a couple of famous ones in my day. Friday is rest/recovery day and Saturday is a "test" day...a couple of intervals to test how the body feels, etc. to get an idea on how I felt in overall fitness and how ready did I feel for the weekend races.
My training regimen changed many times while I learned how my body/system worked, my capabilities...climber, etc...race season I was focusing on...stage racer, crit guy, etc. Until I found/developed a system that worked for me and that would change from season to season...good to keep a journal to track such things to review the season and what worked/didn't work, plan the next season training, etc.
Whew fingers and head hurts from typing and memories...
Good luck and keep us informed...
Most important...the only stupid question is the unasked question or the question asked during the town line sprint...hehehe
Riding especially "performance riding" is not just one discipline of training. It is a method quite often individually tailored for the "type" of skill the rider wants to focus on and/or the. perhaps genetic based, capabilities of the rider.
The latter does not apply to you at this point because of your age and you are entering into your primary growth period of life. Based on that I suggest focus on broad range training to maximize growth including good eating habits, quality food in appropriate amounts at appropriate times and quality rest.
Generally you increase speed by intervals...pushing your body to and beyond its' limits in order to trigger physical growth and mental adaptation to the "pain". Intervals come in a large variety of flavors and they all have their value.
At this point, especially if your not racing/race training, I suggest you have fun in your training...that does not mean there is no pain involved...it means that your training should be less structured to improve overall abilities and begin teaching your body and mind to expand its' abilities and capacities.
I recommend reading about training regimens. They are generally written by current/former pro racers and/or coaches. Most importantly in these is the stories behind their training methods, the reasons, how they were developed and why they were developed.
You can and should google search for stories, etc. on training and read...also, if you are lucky, if you live in a "cycling town/area" there are clubs, teams, weekly rides, etc. all over. Talk to people involved...ask questions...not when in the middle of a rotating paceline at threshold levels...but when the pace is not so intense. Ask how to improve what you feel is lacking and listen to what they say but don't bet the family on it because generally what we do is what works for us over the test of time...may not work perfectly for you.
Now for my two cents...I've coached junior teams, sending several riders/teams to Nationals several times, they did very well overall...one of which became a pro racer...cat 2 teams, etc. over a period of nearly 20 years so I have some experience...
You can never have enough "endurance". It is the "base" upon which all your capabilities are built. If you can't cruise at 25mph in a paceline or peloton feeling comfortable and knowing you have a deep base to call upon you will not go beyond that level, for long, when called upon.
Most racers, including me, I've known over the past 30 plus years of racing/riding work on their baseline of endurance over the course of the winter and early spring...depending on where you live...I spent most of this time in New England...
From a strong base you build with speed and strength.
Intervals come is a variety of flavors and are mixed to cause the body to build to meet the needs placed on it.
Generally intervals are time efforts of maximum effort...old coach of mine called it "ride 'til you puke", which we often would and keep going...I don't really recommend that any more...with minimal rest periods in between to allow the body to rest a tiny bit then stress it again.
Intervals also have a narrow window in which they work at their ultimate capability...Generally short intervals are 30 seconds followed by 30 seconds of light pedaling repeated for a set number of times followed by a period of complete rest...For me it became ten intervals followed by ten minutes of light pedaling for a set of three then recovery ride of thirty minutes or so of light pace riding back home.
Generally the value of intervals diminishes over the time of the interval and usually peaks out at a minute or so. The body just can't maintain 100 percent effort for much longer...it is chemistry...where value is gained.
I've used varied intervals...30, 40, 50, 60, 50, 40, 30 seconds called pyramid intervals with the same time of rest between. I followed this with ten to fifteen minutes of rest between and would do three of them.
I did this method once per week but not until I built a good base, usually mid spring as we were in the middle of "spring road race season" building to "crit season" where the intervals are of the utmost value.
Intervals force your body to build muscle and the chemical system to deal with the effects of such intense effort...lactic acid, etc...Also the training of your mind to accept the pain and the ability to ride through it...to a degree, when the body starts shutting down their is not much you can do about it except to know how to help your body work through it and restore itself to a decent condition.
Generally I preferred doing intervals on either a Tuesday or Wednesday...New England racing where I lived meant, for me, racing on Sunday, recovery ride on Monday, Tuesday intervals or training race at Wompatuck, maybe another training race at Wompatuck on Wednesday if needed or felt like it, endurance pace training on Thursday, mix of training...some longer intervals/endurance/etc...add climbing/strength training on Wednesday or Thursday depending on season's needs and upcoming events like stage races or hill races like Streaked Mtn, Smuggler's Notch, etc. to name a couple of famous ones in my day. Friday is rest/recovery day and Saturday is a "test" day...a couple of intervals to test how the body feels, etc. to get an idea on how I felt in overall fitness and how ready did I feel for the weekend races.
My training regimen changed many times while I learned how my body/system worked, my capabilities...climber, etc...race season I was focusing on...stage racer, crit guy, etc. Until I found/developed a system that worked for me and that would change from season to season...good to keep a journal to track such things to review the season and what worked/didn't work, plan the next season training, etc.
Whew fingers and head hurts from typing and memories...
Good luck and keep us informed...
Most important...the only stupid question is the unasked question or the question asked during the town line sprint...hehehe
09-08-14, 10:21 AM
#20
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Hello. Thank you all for your responses!!!
Regarding weight: I've always been skinny my whole life, and recently I've had some growth spurts so I still need time to get adjusted to my body...my bf index is low but my doctor says I'm healthy. I bike a lot (biked 1.6 thousand kilometers in August)
I go riding with my dad (all my friends are too slow). I usually go around the low 30's when biking, and always try to go up hills at 30km/h too (5% - 11% gradient) which usually kills me but I continue anwyays.
However I wanted to do Strava segments, and most of them are sprints which I find I can barely cross 40km/h and I see people going 50km/h, for like 1 minute which I can't do
I use the Strava segments now as interval training (I do like 3 segments per ride), but I'm not sure if it's enough. On weekends I usually go to nearby towns where I live, for 120km - 180km, and I find if I eat properly I can maintain a speed for a long time.
Should I do weight training?
PS I don't do structured workouts and I'm not part of a club, I just got a road bike in August
Regarding weight: I've always been skinny my whole life, and recently I've had some growth spurts so I still need time to get adjusted to my body...my bf index is low but my doctor says I'm healthy. I bike a lot (biked 1.6 thousand kilometers in August)
I go riding with my dad (all my friends are too slow). I usually go around the low 30's when biking, and always try to go up hills at 30km/h too (5% - 11% gradient) which usually kills me but I continue anwyays.
However I wanted to do Strava segments, and most of them are sprints which I find I can barely cross 40km/h and I see people going 50km/h, for like 1 minute which I can't do
I use the Strava segments now as interval training (I do like 3 segments per ride), but I'm not sure if it's enough. On weekends I usually go to nearby towns where I live, for 120km - 180km, and I find if I eat properly I can maintain a speed for a long time.
Should I do weight training?
PS I don't do structured workouts and I'm not part of a club, I just got a road bike in August
lol, this is the troll master. So you just got a road bike last month and you can go up 5-11% gradients at over 18 mph as well as ride 70-100+ mile rides all at the age of 15. If this is legit then you will win many grand tours one day. Stop trolling.
09-08-14, 01:21 PM
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IMO you should not do weight training.
You may want to tell us what you want to accomplish...you now seem to be all over the place. You have received some very good advice on how to increase your speed but your latest post seems to say you are not paying much attention to what you have been told or suggested.
Doing 3 "strava" segments may or may not be of much value...how long is the segment? How long between segments?...I doubt they are intervals.
If you're not interested in doing structured workouts...not a big deal...you will see small improvements in speed...not a problem either...however you're not going to make major improvements without some sort of structured training...again not a big deal if your only hoping to increase your speed for the sake of it.
If you want to play around with unstructured speed training try "fartleks"...they are basically intervals without structure...maybe from one telephone pole to another, etc. But remember intervals are designed to be at 100% effort and intensity for no less than 30 seconds and no more than one minute give/take a few seconds with equal rest time between...They are not for the weak of heart or mind but they provide the most improvement.
If you are just a "troll" I at least had the chance to provide some input and dust off the cobwebs of my memory from my own training and coaching...nothing lost.
You may want to tell us what you want to accomplish...you now seem to be all over the place. You have received some very good advice on how to increase your speed but your latest post seems to say you are not paying much attention to what you have been told or suggested.
Doing 3 "strava" segments may or may not be of much value...how long is the segment? How long between segments?...I doubt they are intervals.
If you're not interested in doing structured workouts...not a big deal...you will see small improvements in speed...not a problem either...however you're not going to make major improvements without some sort of structured training...again not a big deal if your only hoping to increase your speed for the sake of it.
If you want to play around with unstructured speed training try "fartleks"...they are basically intervals without structure...maybe from one telephone pole to another, etc. But remember intervals are designed to be at 100% effort and intensity for no less than 30 seconds and no more than one minute give/take a few seconds with equal rest time between...They are not for the weak of heart or mind but they provide the most improvement.
If you are just a "troll" I at least had the chance to provide some input and dust off the cobwebs of my memory from my own training and coaching...nothing lost.
09-08-14, 02:12 PM
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I go riding with my dad (all my friends are too slow). I usually go around the low 30's when biking, and always try to go up hills at 30km/h too (5% - 11% gradient) which usually kills me but I continue anwyays.
However I wanted to do Strava segments, and most of them are sprints which I find I can barely cross 40km/h and I see people going 50km/h, for like 1 minute which I can't do
However I wanted to do Strava segments, and most of them are sprints which I find I can barely cross 40km/h and I see people going 50km/h, for like 1 minute which I can't do
09-08-14, 02:12 PM
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I'm not a troll
And training on a mountain bike doesn't mean I don't get better...you guys are as though I just started taking biking seriously last month. >_<
I'll work on a structured workout, thanks
And training on a mountain bike doesn't mean I don't get better...you guys are as though I just started taking biking seriously last month. >_<
I'll work on a structured workout, thanks
09-08-14, 02:13 PM
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The best I've done on a flat was 53 km/h (according to Strava) but I can only sustain 40 for a bit of time (like over 30 seconds)
09-08-14, 08:35 PM
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Sounds extreme, but I'm familiar with a similar phenomenon. There are times when climbs are among the fastest segments on a loop of the park I might do. It's mental. I delight in hammering up inclines (not 10%, though), and when hills are tough, sometimes I'm afraid to go slow and loose momentum, but hammering down a long straight is just a drag.