Hows the training going?

uberwolf

For all of you racers - ready for the season yet? tis only 6 weeks away.

For everyone else - stuck to the new yr resolutions?

uberwolf

for my part, i'm only getting out at the wknd every so often and a wee bit in de gym during in the week, the small matter of my finals getting in the way.

So whats every one elses weekly milage looking like? Although we cyclists are notoriously recalcitrant about revelaling such things

klong

uberwolf, im sort of in the same situation as yourself at the moment (except ive got end of semester exams rather than finals), once or twice a week on some terrible roads and the same in the gym.
im rather ashamed of myself- this was meant to be the season when i was unleashed upon the world...

uberwolf

Originally posted by klong
this was meant to be the season when i was unleashed upon the world...

Know the feeling. All too well. When does the season start for college folk? june?

klong

i dont know about everyone else but i was aiming at starting off with a one day licence in april or so (when everybody else has been going for 2 months and can easily kick my sorry ass).
im thinking of trying out in S3 at the moment, what about yourself?

uberwolf

as for this yr, i'll ride the dunboyne to get some miles in my legs after the exams. Nothing before then, unfortunately. If ur smart you can get around races with no training done

Gearoid

I used to do a good bit of racing up to U-13 but then gave it up, I'm hoping to get back racing this year (first year junior) I've just started training again, just how hard is the jump into junior or has anyone here started into junior?

uberwolf

I started as a junior, they're stuck in with the 3rd cats and vets most days. Which means the racing is a little tougher to win, but if you have a cycling brain from a few years ago, you ought be able to find a hiding place in the bunch until you get the legs If you want a few tips fot training let us know.
E

Dr Pepper

I started again this weekend gone. Havn't sat on a (non-mechanically-propelled) bike in years. Just did 20 miles (sore ar$e ).. Want to try 40 next week and so on. Trying to get back into it for the Galway Cycle in March.
I don't think I'd be into racing too much though. Sounds like far too much effort.. I am happy setting my own challenges and meeting them

Gearoid

If you want a few tips fot training let us know.

Yeah that'd be great, sound.

uberwolf

Originally posted by Dr Pepper
I am happy setting my own challenges and meeting them

thats what its all about

Gearóid, you're going to have to give us a few details and I can give you general tips hints and guidelines from there. Everything of course with a pinch of salt, I don't want to end up causing you damage or ill advising you. As I discovered best seeing what works for you, take things slowly. Even the most qaulified people can you lead you down the garden path as regards training.

So what age are ya? 16? 17? 18? what you hoping to do and what else have you going on in ur life?

klong

uberwolf,
as im hoping to start a bit of racing myself, why not post a training thread on the board, telling us what works for you, and get one of the mods to make it a sticky?
went out for 2 hours myself today and im still feeling the effects, went for an hour yesterday.still, a spin like today felt good:D

Gearoid

Cheers Uber, I'll be 17 in a fortnight, I'm in 5th year so I'm not stuck to the books but have 2-2 1/2 hours homework everynight, so that takes up a bit of time. I have an exercise bike in the garage so I can get the time in no matter what the weather. I'm also hoping to combine cycling with some weight training for all round fitness cos I'm hoping to go for a career in the DF. Thats all I can think of at the moment, but i'm also interested in what sort of diet i should have like protein and carbohydrates etc.
Thanks,
Gearoid

brainstorm

hi all,
good 2 see theres finally a cycling fourm!

starting back racing as S3, this year after many years (7) out. lm in the 'finals' boat as well, so its suffer like a dog up till june..and then hopefully do some decent milage. why have the distances dropped for races? when i was a junior it was always 62-63 mls, with the nationals and a junior tour stage @ 75mls. now races are around the 50 -60 mark. for J,S3,V.......i think... not that im complaining

i used to find doing the tours were good training but they dont start till april........ guess for now the training plan is few times a week in the gym and then long easy spins, with a few hill reps put in. agree/disagree???.

uberwolf

Gearoid if you check your PM, we can get something rolling.

I think brainstorm has the rough essence of it.

I've always looked on training as building a pyramid. Long slow miles being the base, and the larger the base the higher you can build on it with higher quality training later on. Learning to listen to your body is vital, recognising when you're tired, when you really oughtn'd go out. When sleep is needed. For training to have the rqrd effect you have to recover from it.

Don't assume that you an step in and start doing the same milage as everyone else, build up slowly, taking every 4th week considerably easier. This cycle will give you recovery within weeks, and within months. Build up to race distance in terms of your endurance spins, adding no more then 10-15% a week. And droping back on the 4th week. As a junior Gearoid you have restriced gears which will decrease the impact of weight training, and especially as you're only looking to get back into racing I wouldn't recommend you rely too much on it, but for your DF ambitions its prob a reasonable idea to work on the situps, pushups, chin ups frequently enough, and if you're in a gym some light weights. I could get very scientific because I train with a heart rate monitor always. But that removes some of the fun from a spin. As well as being an expensive addition.

Another thing is to have a training diary. Write down what you've done, how you felt about it, how the weather was. A morning heart rate as well if you can train your self to do it, its a v.handy way to keep an eye on your progress, and also the best indicator of when you should back off.

Anyway things to do, I'll add to this later.
E

and any specific questions, let us know.

Gearoid

Thanks for that Uberwolf, lots of stuff to keep in mind, I have a heart rate monitor by the way but don't really know how to train with it so any info u have on techniques with it would be appreciated when you have time.
Le meas,
Gearoid

uberwolf

Right having a HRM takes an awful lot of the guess work out of training, but you still have to learn how to use it. When you get used to it, you'll find it predicting illness before you feel them, so you can gauge your efforts accordingly. It also serves to control you on the days you feel like going harder than you should.

I go into the Human Performance Lab in Trinity to get the correct heart rates to train at (they can differ drastically from individual to individual*). They do a series of tests to ascertain them. From this it should be clear that you can't just pick a HR to train at and just go with it, as well - the approximations the HRM manufacturers and gym instructors give you can be completely wrong. A good friend of mine had a max HR of 236 as a junior*(see what I mean), he would of been seriuosly risking his health had he of taken the advice of a book blindly.

So in an ideal world you'd get into one of these labs and have yourself tested. Not always feasible though. They're not cheap or convenient (for you Gearoid there's one in Limerick). or even strictly necessary depending on your ambitions.

The reason you ask about training is because you've decided you want to improve your fitness, prepare for racing and as we all have a limited time frame to do so as effectively and as safely as possible.

What sort of a training bike set up do you have in the garage Gearoid? What are your ambitions for this year? (as a first year racer no point thinking about down the line - IMO)

Gearoid

It's just you're run of the mill bike, like the one's out of gyms, it gives time, speed and even has a thing to say how much fat you're burning but like you said I only take that with a pinch of salt. With trying to divide time between homework and everything else I only get about 40 mins cycling on it every 2 days, I take every second day a rest day, after the cycle I do some weights and crunches, shower and stretch. I feel myself i should be doing more bike but I suppose it's enough to get the ball rolling for now and it's a handy warm up before the weights so i don't do damage. My ambitions for this year- just to get my fitness level as high as I can so I can hang in there in the races mainly to work up to racing the new distance cos the last races I did were U-13/14!
Thanks,

uberwolf

most important thing about a training bike like that is that you set it up as closely to the bike you do your road training on. So many people over look this and it can cause you real damage. What do you do up on the trainer? and what do you do out at the wknds? milage and timewise? and do you ever use the HR out?
How many miles have you done to date this winter?

uberwolf

Originally posted by brainstorm
why have the distances dropped for races? when i was a junior it was always 62-63 mls, with the nationals and a junior tour stage @ 75mls. now races are around the 50 -60 mark. for J,S3,V.......i think... not that im complaining

we're all going soft. That was always my main difficulty when I raced seriously, the races weren't long enough/tough enough to weed out people, and give the real fit lads a benefit for their miles. Still though this year I won't be complaining

Gearoid

I've only started very recently, 2 weeks ago an in that time only got 5-6 30 min spins in on the indoor, haven't gotten outdoor yet, I ride at a steady pace what I'd call my max cruise lol which is hard enough, the bike's computer says that's 40 kph though I don't trust it i reckon its a bit less, hoping to get out this weekend for a long spin. What sort of mileage is a good start?

uberwolf

yeah don't even look at the onboard comp on those things. Strap on ur HRM, try and keep a steady HR(at this cruising speed).

*Science bit. The training effect is to decrease your heart rate for the same power output, which means you can either go the same pace longer or go harder. *end science.

If you're going out on the road drop the heart rate you're maintaing for half an hour by ten - 15 beats and try and hold it for 1 1/2 hrs. You may find this quite a long spin and don't worry if you can't hold the HR, when you find you can't just drop back the pace, and ignore the monitor. You'll prob find it tough to maintain the HR, it takes time and patience to develop this and at best you can keep it a zone of around 10 beats.

Anyone else experience with this they'd like to share?