i was wondering how i should go about doing this...
up until recently all i did was ride almost daily for 2-3 hours averaging 16.5mph...
i'd like to kick it up a notch, but i have no idea where to begin and how hard i should train.

browsing bf, you hear things like heart rate training, watt meters, etc.
but how does one effectively use hrms and such?

if anybody out there would like to give me the heads up on these things, i'd be forever in your debt .
i NEED to train right.

p.s. anyone know how fast high school teams ride?

Your question is extremely wide ranging, my advice is to read up on the following two books:

Joe Friel's Cyclist Training Bible (best book IMO for overall training guidance, periodization and training with heart rate)

Coggan/Hunter - Training and Racing with Power - the bible of training with a power meter and its use.

Friel is good, carmichael is also good. They have slightly different approaches but they end up the same.

Their approaches will seem weird. You spend a lot of time doing fairly easy workouts, and then a small amount of time doing very intense workouts.

But it works.

oh cool, thanks.
i'll look into them =)

It sounds like you've been doing proper "base" workouts already. Usually it goes from high volume/low intensity to high intensity/low volume throughout the year as race season approaches. I would google sweet spot training, though.

you generally spend a lot of time doing base workouts... long steady rides.

then, as the season approaches, you start to work on specific things such as intervals, hill repeats, etc.

the idea is to build a large base of general fitness, then "sharpen" it as you get ready for competition.



does your highshool have a coach? i've actually never heard of a high school cycling program.

oh really?

yeah but it isn't my high school's team...
it's the team of a neighboring high school...
he's supposedly a good biology teacher...

thanks for all the advice
im gonna start doing intervals and heart rate training and see how that goes.

I wish my high school had a team, consider yourself lucky.

yeah, i wish i could take advantage of it...
but i just rode with one of the guys on said team and got ***** =(
should'ave trained harder.

damn.

keep riding with him/them...that ought to help your training then you can find out what they are doing and do it on your own. The above mentioned books are a great starting point, though.

Also, bring a chastity belt with you next time ride with them.

^^ rofl

oh and on a sidenote: how does one become "race certified"?