Training speeds

-=Shamrock=-

Hi all,

Im a rower just started cycling in the off season to keep fitness levels up.

I do 20km a day minimum (as I said just trying not to let fitness levels drop too much in off season) and on a flat road (there and back again route) I average just under 30km/hr. Not pushing myself full on just keeping a nice solid tempo.

What should I be aiming for? What do you lads do?

Cheers

Caroline_ie

Speed is good, but looking at your Cadence is also very good. Hammering it on a flat road is fun but it's not all about that. I mainly do interval training during the week. Incorporating some hills as well will be beneficial. Training on flat will not help you going up a hill, but the opposite works.

Rowers make great cyclists.

Now waiting for Lumen to give the top answer again

blorg

You might be better off looking at your heart rate, (or failing that perceived effort) - speed can vary a lot depending on wind conditions, gradients, etc. Heart rate has issues too but might be a better indicator.

Lumen

Speed is not a great indicator if you're trying to train accurately since it depends too much on the prevailing wind, although 30kph is a decent enough pace on the flat.

If you don't own a heart rate monitor, train using perceived effort - let your breathing tell you how hard you are working.

According to cptips you don't need much training volume to maintain aerobic fitness, but you do need to keep the intensity up.

I imagine lactate threshold and core strength are important for rowing, and the easiest/most fun way to train both is probably to head for the mountains.

Tau

If you want to keep your erg times down in the off season you really need to do some ergs! I found the best thing to do for some variety was to only do the medium-high intensity stuff on ergs and do low intensity stuff on the bike. For low intensity stuff you should probably aim for more like an hour of cycling with as few stops on your route (traffic lights etc) as possible (or at least as long as you would have spent doing low intensity work on the erg).

Average speeds aren't really a good measure - with similar effort, I'm 4-5kph faster on my road bike than on my mountain bike so without knowing what you're on, its hard to know. Main thing is that you're going as hard as you can maintain for 40 - 80 mins. (and as Blorg says, HRMs are useful for this)

-=Shamrock=-

blorg wrote: »

You might be better off looking at your heart rate, (or failing that perceived effort) - speed can vary a lot depending on wind conditions, gradients, etc. Heart rate has issues too but might be a better indicator.

Yeah I have a heart rate monitor. It was about 155. I have been doing no physical work for the last month or so: holidays/lazy/usual excuses, so my heart rate has increased a bit for the work I put in.

These are all really helpful, thanks guys and lady.

-=Shamrock=-

Oh and its a road bike, aluminium frame, shimano Tiagra ( I know I know, just didnt have the money for a better group).

Because I do a there and back again route I thought that the wind I have on the way out is wind I have against on the way in so my average would have been alright?

Raam

-=Shamrock=- wrote: »

Oh and its a road bike, aluminium frame, shimano Tiagra ( I know I know, just didnt have the money for a better group).

Don't worry about that. It's all about the legs and lungs that are on top of the bike. I know a rower who posts on here who dominated in some of the TTs I have done.

Jumpy

Caroline_ie wrote: »

Uncorporating some hills as well will be beneficial.

But thats unpossible!

Caroline_ie

Jumpy wrote: »

But thats unpossible!

I make far less mistakes than your average native speaker, and 75% of the global West Dub population and they're using spell check.

-=Shamrock=-

Raam wrote: »

Don't worry about that. It's all about the legs and lungs that are on top of the bike. I know a rower who posts on here who dominated in some of the TTs I have done.

Lightweight ?

Although I suppose TT's are the one area where lads that weigh a bit have an advantage.

Raam

-=Shamrock=- wrote: »

Lightweight ?

Although I suppose TT's are the one area where lads that weigh a bit have an advantage.

Indeed, bigger guys usually have more power, same aero profile... no contest... unless you are Alberto Contador.

-=Shamrock=-

Raam wrote: »

Indeed, bigger guys usually have more power, same aero profile... no contest... unless you are Alberto Contador.

You wouldnt be suggesting something that should not be suggested there are you :rolleyes::p

Billy Whizz

Raam wrote: »

Indeed, bigger guys usually have more power, same aero profile... no contest... unless you are Alberto Contador.

Smaller guys can achieve a smaller frontal area and thus improve their aero profile. No excuses!

Raam

-=Shamrock=- wrote: »

You wouldnt be suggesting something that should not be suggested there are you :rolleyes::p

I'm not suggesting anything! Don't wanna derail this thread as it could prove to have some good information in it for training.

Raam

Billy Whizz wrote: »

Smaller guys can achieve a smaller frontal area and thus improve their aero profile. No excuses!

Actually that's an interesting one. In the TTs I've been riding regular drops and being destroyed by guys who are on aero bars. I'd consider myself at least as strong as some of them.

blorg

-=Shamrock=- wrote: »

Yeah I have a heart rate monitor. It was about 155.

Do you know what your max HR is? Not very meaningful without that.

You can get as much training benefit on a heavier/less aerodynamic bike, it isn't relevant as long as the bike is comfortable. You would just go a bit slower. Not so relevant if you are training rather than racing.

Billy Whizz

Raam wrote: »

Actually that's an interesting one. In the TTs I've been riding regular drops and being destroyed by guys who are on aero bars. I'd consider myself at least as strong as some of them.

Aerobars are a massive massive advantage (if used properly of course, which is the crucial thing). A matter of minutes even in a 10 mile TT.

-=Shamrock=-

When I hit 193 im at 97% of my max.

Raam

Billy Whizz wrote: »

Aerobars are a massive massive advantage (if used properly of course, which is the crucial thing). A matter of minutes even in a 10 mile TT.

Keep meaning to buy a set. Any recommendations?

tunney

Raam wrote: »

Actually that's an interesting one. In the TTs I've been riding regular drops and being destroyed by guys who are on aero bars. I'd consider myself at least as strong as some of them.

Cda difference on tt bikes versus road bikes is huge. Huge I tells ya

Raam

tunney wrote: »

Cda difference on tt bikes versus road bikes is huge. Huge I tells ya

Yup, the guys on full TT rigs are always pumping out the best times with the roadbikes+aero bars next, followed by non aero barred road bikes. Of course there are some that buck the trend as they will be naturally stronger than others regardless of equipment.

This thread is teaching me that not only do I need a CycloCross bike for the winter season but also a TT bike for next summer.

Billy Whizz

Raam wrote: »

Keep meaning to buy a set. Any recommendations?

None in particular, know a couple of lads who have Oval setups but they're pricey. If you're looking for a set of clip-ons for your road bike you should be able to find a good deal online on a pair that have a lot of room for adjustments. Try and get a set which can be teamed with base bars, bar end shifters and brake levers if you decide to go down that route.

blorg

-=Shamrock=- wrote: »

When I hit 193 im at 97% of my max.

Right, so your max is 200 then? That is similar to me, I used to think my max was 185, then it became 200 when I started racing, most recently I hit 204 in a race sprint finish. 155 is not going that hard in that context, it would be be a solid aerobic workout though which I imagine has value.

@Raam- aero bars definitely make a major difference. I borrowed a set from Daymobrew, just one more TT left this year but I mean to buy my own, not sure which ones to get. Could definitely do with getting them a bit lower I reckon so will go for ones that fix under rather than over the bars (already have the stem down as far as it will go.) In fact I like them so much I will be sticking them on my tourer and fixie.

Raam

sorry for the thread highjack, I'll start a new one about TT stuff