teach me how to train
05-08-13, 10:58 AM
#26
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Only because I had a good base going in, do I feel like it's helpful for me. And there's definitely a rest period which he recommends after the training, but I have no problem going easy for a few weeks.
He also outlines different plans based on what you're working towards. For instance, I'm working towards a two day 230km charity ride in June and the training should match up perfectly.
With any (internet) advice, you've got to evaluate how it'll work for you and if it's relevant. Just putting an option out there. You raise good points though.
He also outlines different plans based on what you're working towards. For instance, I'm working towards a two day 230km charity ride in June and the training should match up perfectly.
With any (internet) advice, you've got to evaluate how it'll work for you and if it's relevant. Just putting an option out there. You raise good points though.
I had a huge base going into it. It just doesn't work for me. ymmv
I respond best to a gradual approach.
05-08-13, 02:31 PM
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I am also just starting but this is the advice I've been given.
1. Spend a lot of time in the saddle.
2. Make sure some of your workouts include speed intervals.
3. If you're racing, make sure your training includes components of the race. ie: if there are hills, practise hills.
4. Spend a lot of time at threshold level.
1. Spend a lot of time in the saddle.
2. Make sure some of your workouts include speed intervals.
3. If you're racing, make sure your training includes components of the race. ie: if there are hills, practise hills.
4. Spend a lot of time at threshold level.
05-08-13, 02:48 PM
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I am also just starting but this is the advice I've been given.
1. Spend a lot of time in the saddle.
2. Make sure some of your workouts include speed intervals.
3. If you're racing, make sure your training includes components of the race. ie: if there are hills, practise hills.
4. Spend a lot of time at threshold level.
1. Spend a lot of time in the saddle.
2. Make sure some of your workouts include speed intervals.
3. If you're racing, make sure your training includes components of the race. ie: if there are hills, practise hills.
4. Spend a lot of time at threshold level.
05-08-13, 02:58 PM
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05-08-13, 03:02 PM
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In all sincerity though. What I would do is find routes that you like and ride them. Do not do the same route every day. Find yourself a group ride from a local shop or club. I got slaughtered after the first couple times with the crews around here, but they were very good, encouraging, and patient waiting for me on turns of the routes.
Even if the group rides may be weekly, you can learn from the routes they choose and use that information to refine disciplines between each week. It really worked for me.
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05-08-13, 03:25 PM
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05-08-13, 03:29 PM
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I like the advice "find a fast group ride, get dropped, keep going back until you don't get dropped" - my local group ride has been one of the best and fastest methods/motivators for me to get better.
05-08-13, 03:36 PM
#33
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The usual method to start with is:
1. What level of experience or fitness do you currently have?
2, what are you short term and long term goal(s) and how much time per week do you have to achieve them?
3. What training are you doing now? What have the results of this training been?
4. Do you have a HRM or power meter? If not, are these something you would consider?
You've already answered #1 and the first part of #2. Number 3 needs to be filled in next. From there you might be able to get some actionable advice beyond the various sources already mentioned.
1. What level of experience or fitness do you currently have?
2, what are you short term and long term goal(s) and how much time per week do you have to achieve them?
3. What training are you doing now? What have the results of this training been?
4. Do you have a HRM or power meter? If not, are these something you would consider?
You've already answered #1 and the first part of #2. Number 3 needs to be filled in next. From there you might be able to get some actionable advice beyond the various sources already mentioned.
Last edited by Bob Dopolina; 05-08-13 at 06:26 PM.
05-08-13, 03:44 PM
#34
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newbie question...
this is my first spring/summer on a road bike. i'm mostly in it for fun and fitness. i do want to start doing local weekly time trials (20k) and have a 25 mile benefit ride planned for the end of the summer. even though i don't see myself becoming "hard core", i do like to set goals and work toward accomplishing them.
so...how to i go about training to improve as a cyclist?
i'm enjoying rides of random distances, random paths, random speeds because it is still new, but soon i'd like my rides to be more intentional. how can i plan my approach for consistent improvement?
thanks gents!
this is my first spring/summer on a road bike. i'm mostly in it for fun and fitness. i do want to start doing local weekly time trials (20k) and have a 25 mile benefit ride planned for the end of the summer. even though i don't see myself becoming "hard core", i do like to set goals and work toward accomplishing them.
so...how to i go about training to improve as a cyclist?
i'm enjoying rides of random distances, random paths, random speeds because it is still new, but soon i'd like my rides to be more intentional. how can i plan my approach for consistent improvement?
thanks gents!
05-08-13, 04:27 PM
#35
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That's what works for me as well. I've tried a number of methods for cycling as well as running and tri's. 10% at/above threshold is the magic level for me.
05-08-13, 05:29 PM
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Ah, context.
If you have done some homework then asking specifics questions might deliver useful information. Just asking people to spew knowledge is usually a trademark of the privileged or the lazy.
Your situation makes you a time crunched cyclist. Asking mildly informed training questions within this context would be far more likely to yield useful information and meet less resistance.
Three young kids? You are already facing an uphill battle. I have one and it can be all consuming
Good luck.
If you have done some homework then asking specifics questions might deliver useful information. Just asking people to spew knowledge is usually a trademark of the privileged or the lazy.
Your situation makes you a time crunched cyclist. Asking mildly informed training questions within this context would be far more likely to yield useful information and meet less resistance.
Three young kids? You are already facing an uphill battle. I have one and it can be all consuming
Good luck.
Oh you could just not be a jerk. If you aren't going to help him then don't bother replying. I hate to see how many of your other 7000+ posts are usless and non-informative.
05-08-13, 05:48 PM
#37
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Try asking this question on beginnertriathlete.com . While they are not specifically geared to biking, there are a lot of knowledgeable bike experts there who are willing to give free advice and the forums are friendly and welcoming.
05-08-13, 06:05 PM
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I gotta come to Bob's defense here. He is one of the most knowledgeable contributors here and certainly puts you to shame in terms of knowledge about racing and training in particular. Its a complex subject and he doesn't need to prove anything to you. Bob is one of the good guys on the forum who has helped a lot of people with his insight. I honestly didn't like the tone of the OP request and was even more glib. I like computers Jfitalia. Tell me how to build one...lol.
Last edited by Campag4life; 05-08-13 at 06:09 PM.
05-08-13, 06:06 PM
#39
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Is it just me or is this thread really disjointed. Anyway, my contribution is the quote in my signature. It applies to recreational riding as well as racing.
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Cat 2 Track, Cat 3 Road.
"If you’re new enough [to racing] that you would ask such question, then i would hazard a guess that if you just made up a workout that sounded hard to do, and did it, you’d probably get faster." --the tiniest sprinter
Cat 2 Track, Cat 3 Road.
"If you’re new enough [to racing] that you would ask such question, then i would hazard a guess that if you just made up a workout that sounded hard to do, and did it, you’d probably get faster." --the tiniest sprinter
05-08-13, 06:57 PM
#41
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Friel's bible is an excellent resource for the performance athlete who is going to self coach or wants to understand the "why's" of what their coach is recommending, who is generally motivated to pursue the maximum that they are capable of and has the available time for that (>12+ hours/week).
Carmichael's Time Crunched program is aimed at experienced riders who simply don't have the available time to engage in a traditional base up approach and who only have 6-12 hours per week available for training. Scaling a traditional plan down to 6-9 hous/week, leaves one with neither adequate base nor top end speed and power.
Depending on how long you've been a cyclist and how many miles you have in your legs, traditional advice would be to simply go ride and focus on TITS (time in the saddle) until you accumulated at least 2000 miles. During this time work on developing a good, smooth, high cadence, spin. Conventional coaching would suggest that unless you can maintain roughly 110rpm+ for extended periods of time (>0:10 minutes) you will benefit from working on foot speed.
Once you've logged a few miles, you can start to look at training plans that are geared toward your goals. Read both the books already referenced. Neither is expensive. You figure out how much time you can commit to training and what sort of plan will provide you with best return on that investment.
You've already stated that you're looking at short'ish events, a 20km tt and 20mile rr. Neither of those would require massive base miles. You do however, need sufficient base to support the training for those events.
Once you've read the books a logged a few miles have a read of the training recipe thread in the racing forum: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ut-recipe-book
and the New to Racing Tips thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...s-a-tip-or-two
Have fun,
Carmichael's Time Crunched program is aimed at experienced riders who simply don't have the available time to engage in a traditional base up approach and who only have 6-12 hours per week available for training. Scaling a traditional plan down to 6-9 hous/week, leaves one with neither adequate base nor top end speed and power.
Depending on how long you've been a cyclist and how many miles you have in your legs, traditional advice would be to simply go ride and focus on TITS (time in the saddle) until you accumulated at least 2000 miles. During this time work on developing a good, smooth, high cadence, spin. Conventional coaching would suggest that unless you can maintain roughly 110rpm+ for extended periods of time (>0:10 minutes) you will benefit from working on foot speed.
Once you've logged a few miles, you can start to look at training plans that are geared toward your goals. Read both the books already referenced. Neither is expensive. You figure out how much time you can commit to training and what sort of plan will provide you with best return on that investment.
You've already stated that you're looking at short'ish events, a 20km tt and 20mile rr. Neither of those would require massive base miles. You do however, need sufficient base to support the training for those events.
Once you've read the books a logged a few miles have a read of the training recipe thread in the racing forum: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ut-recipe-book
and the New to Racing Tips thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...s-a-tip-or-two
Have fun,
__________________
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Birth Certificate, Passport, Marriage License Driver's License and Residency Permit all say I'm a Fred. I guess there's no denying it.
05-08-13, 10:05 PM
#42
It do, but it don't.
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Friel's bible is an excellent resource for the performance athlete who is going to self coach or wants to understand the "why's" of what their coach is recommending, who is generally motivated to pursue the maximum that they are capable of and has the available time for that (>12+ hours/week).
Carmichael's Time Crunched program is aimed at experienced riders who simply don't have the available time to engage in a traditional base up approach and who only have 6-12 hours per week available for training. Scaling a traditional plan down to 6-9 hous/week, leaves one with neither adequate base nor top end speed and power.
Depending on how long you've been a cyclist and how many miles you have in your legs, traditional advice would be to simply go ride and focus on TITS (time in the saddle) until you accumulated at least 2000 miles. During this time work on developing a good, smooth, high cadence, spin. Conventional coaching would suggest that unless you can maintain roughly 110rpm+ for extended periods of time (>0:10 minutes) you will benefit from working on foot speed.
Once you've logged a few miles, you can start to look at training plans that are geared toward your goals. Read both the books already referenced. Neither is expensive. You figure out how much time you can commit to training and what sort of plan will provide you with best return on that investment.
You've already stated that you're looking at short'ish events, a 20km tt and 20mile rr. Neither of those would require massive base miles. You do however, need sufficient base to support the training for those events.
Once you've read the books a logged a few miles have a read of the training recipe thread in the racing forum: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ut-recipe-book
and the New to Racing Tips thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...s-a-tip-or-two
Have fun,
Carmichael's Time Crunched program is aimed at experienced riders who simply don't have the available time to engage in a traditional base up approach and who only have 6-12 hours per week available for training. Scaling a traditional plan down to 6-9 hous/week, leaves one with neither adequate base nor top end speed and power.
Depending on how long you've been a cyclist and how many miles you have in your legs, traditional advice would be to simply go ride and focus on TITS (time in the saddle) until you accumulated at least 2000 miles. During this time work on developing a good, smooth, high cadence, spin. Conventional coaching would suggest that unless you can maintain roughly 110rpm+ for extended periods of time (>0:10 minutes) you will benefit from working on foot speed.
Once you've logged a few miles, you can start to look at training plans that are geared toward your goals. Read both the books already referenced. Neither is expensive. You figure out how much time you can commit to training and what sort of plan will provide you with best return on that investment.
You've already stated that you're looking at short'ish events, a 20km tt and 20mile rr. Neither of those would require massive base miles. You do however, need sufficient base to support the training for those events.
Once you've read the books a logged a few miles have a read of the training recipe thread in the racing forum: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ut-recipe-book
and the New to Racing Tips thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...s-a-tip-or-two
Have fun,
05-08-13, 10:11 PM
#43
It do, but it don't.
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The usual method to start with is:
1. What level of experience or fitness do you currently have?
2, what are you short term and long term goal(s) and how much time per week do you have to achieve them?
3. What training are you doing now? What have the results of this training been?
4. Do you have a HRM or power meter? If not, are these something you would consider?
You've already answered #1 and the first part of #2. Number 3 needs to be filled in next. From there you might be able to get some actionable advice beyond the various sources already mentioned.
1. What level of experience or fitness do you currently have?
2, what are you short term and long term goal(s) and how much time per week do you have to achieve them?
3. What training are you doing now? What have the results of this training been?
4. Do you have a HRM or power meter? If not, are these something you would consider?
You've already answered #1 and the first part of #2. Number 3 needs to be filled in next. From there you might be able to get some actionable advice beyond the various sources already mentioned.
) into practice...and then do it again in another few weeks after that.thanks for the help, Bob. my apologies for getting off on the wrong foot initially.
05-08-13, 10:14 PM
#44
It do, but it don't.
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by threshold do you mean maximum sustained effort over a given period of time? if not, what do you mean by threshold?
05-09-13, 09:29 AM
#45
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i'm enjoying rides of random distances, random paths, random speeds because it is still new, but soon i'd like my rides to be more intentional. how can i plan my approach for consistent improvement?
Make your rides intentional
Go take a few rides and see how far you can go at a moderate pace. This will give you an idea of where you are at. You can use either time or miles. but once you have an idea of where your longest possible ride is you can do a some rides near that distance, and maybe once a week try to go a little farther.
So if you find a limit of say 10 miles. Do a couple rides at 8 then try one at 13. Now 13 is your limit, so do a couple 10 mile rides then do one for 16. ect. ect.
Once you have that baseline you will know how difficult a day will be. All keep in mine hills and elevation changes....actually, being in Illinois you probably don't have to worry about that at all.
05-09-13, 09:49 AM
#46
It do, but it don't.
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[/COLOR]
Make your rides intentional
Go take a few rides and see how far you can go at a moderate pace. This will give you an idea of where you are at. You can use either time or miles. but once you have an idea of where your longest possible ride is you can do a some rides near that distance, and maybe once a week try to go a little farther.
So if you find a limit of say 10 miles. Do a couple rides at 8 then try one at 13. Now 13 is your limit, so do a couple 10 mile rides then do one for 16. ect. ect.
Once you have that baseline you will know how difficult a day will be. All keep in mine hills and elevation changes....actually, being in Illinois you probably don't have to worry about that at all.
Make your rides intentional
Go take a few rides and see how far you can go at a moderate pace. This will give you an idea of where you are at. You can use either time or miles. but once you have an idea of where your longest possible ride is you can do a some rides near that distance, and maybe once a week try to go a little farther.
So if you find a limit of say 10 miles. Do a couple rides at 8 then try one at 13. Now 13 is your limit, so do a couple 10 mile rides then do one for 16. ect. ect.
Once you have that baseline you will know how difficult a day will be. All keep in mine hills and elevation changes....actually, being in Illinois you probably don't have to worry about that at all.
thanks for the response, btw. good stuff.
05-09-13, 10:24 AM
#47
Senior Member
Do some rides where you ride a long way at a nice comfortable speed.
Do some other rides where you ride pretty fast for shorter distances.
When you think you're pretty good, go on some club rides and watch the riders disappear over the horizon.
Get miffed and try to keep up with the club riders.
And no, a more expensive bike won't make you faster.
There. No charge.
Do some other rides where you ride pretty fast for shorter distances.
When you think you're pretty good, go on some club rides and watch the riders disappear over the horizon.
Get miffed and try to keep up with the club riders.
And no, a more expensive bike won't make you faster.
There. No charge.
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05-09-13, 12:05 PM
#48
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https://youtu.be/r58_bRZLeLw
05-09-13, 12:17 PM
#49
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Get some tools to measure your performance. If you don't have a speedometer and a cadence meter, I'd start there. Then you can work with real numbers to establish a baseline. Don't be suprized by how slow you seem to yourself - it's part of the sport!
05-09-13, 01:10 PM
#50
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...
i dont have a local group to ride with yet (working on it), so you guys are it as far as advice. i'd be a fool not to try and glean as much helpful info as i can from every resource available to me.
for what it's worth - i'm 30 years old and i have 3 kids under 5 years old and a stay at home wife. needless to say i don't own an Xbox and i can't remember the last time i spent more than 5 minutes on a sofa. "free time" for me is virtually non-existant, so it's important i maximize my approach to any activity i decide to spend time on..
i dont have a local group to ride with yet (working on it), so you guys are it as far as advice. i'd be a fool not to try and glean as much helpful info as i can from every resource available to me.
for what it's worth - i'm 30 years old and i have 3 kids under 5 years old and a stay at home wife. needless to say i don't own an Xbox and i can't remember the last time i spent more than 5 minutes on a sofa. "free time" for me is virtually non-existant, so it's important i maximize my approach to any activity i decide to spend time on..
The best thing I did was join a group that rides every week, and make that a "set in stone" ride, no matter what the kids are doing then. You also may need to take time off from work when you have extra hours banked, or take time off from sleep and get up before the kids do (ok, the baby gets up at 4-5am, so I don't do that one anymore).
And hills. Lots of hills. Short hills are a gift from God to bestow us with HIIT, and long hills bless us with endurance.