advice on training program(new cyclist)

piobhan

Any opinions on this training program, its for 3 weeks, Im fairly new on the bike but im enjoying it so far!
Ive a good general fitness level from gaa but can no longer play due to injuries :rolleyes:

Monday - Off

Tuesday - 2 hours - 2 *10 mins as hard as you can go in this with a min of 20 mins recovery

Wednesday - 2 hours steady but taking in hills, might I suggest Rathbawn

Thursday - 2 hours with 10 30 sec sprints flat out with a min of 5 mins recovery between sets

Friday - Off

Saturday - 3 hours steady ( aim for avg of approx 30kph)

Sunday - 3 hours steady ( aim for avg of approx 30kph)

Takes a lot of time but ive 2 weeks of it done so far and getting on grand with it!

macnab

That might suit your level of fitness but it is not a good training program for a beginner. Flat out intervals could cause injuries if the muscle is not already built up. I would suggest day on - day off training for a beginner, with the emphasis on distance rather than effort or average Kmph.

niceonetom

What, specifically, are you training for? Long distance? Racing? Weight loss? Please don't sat "fitness" as I'll just have to ask "fit for what?".

That sounds like a pretty intensive training schedule for someone new to the bike. Even people with years of regular riding would go straight into that kind of program. Generally there's a preliminary period of building an aerobic base which involves many km of riding at lower intensity. As well as building aerobic capacity and endurance this phase serves to build up the musculature, connective tissue and vascular systems you need to really get the most out of the intensity training that comes later in a program.

You may consider yourself to already be fit, but going straight into 30 second max efforts sounds like a great way to wreck yourself.

Training is huge area, way beyond what can be gotten across here. There's some good books out there though. Someone here will no doubt recommend Joe Friel's Training Bible so I might as well do it myself. It's a good start.

piobhan

niceonetom wrote: »

What, specifically, are you training for? Long distance? Racing? Weight loss? Please don't sat "fitness" as I'll just have to ask "fit for what?".

That sounds like a pretty intensive training schedule for someone new to the bike. Even people with years of regular riding would go straight into that kind of program. Generally there's a preliminary period of building an aerobic base which involves many km of riding at lower intensity. As well as building aerobic capacity and endurance this phase serves to build up the musculature, connective tissue and vascular systems you need to really get the most out of the intensity training that comes later in a program.

You may consider yourself to already be fit, but going straight into 30 second max efforts sounds like a great way to wreck yourself.

Training is huge area, way beyond what can be gotten across here. There's some good books out there though. Someone here will no doubt recommend Joe Friel's Training Bible so I might as well do it myself. It's a good start.

Ya i'll try get my hands on that book,
Ya i'm training for races, hope to be able to compete at a fairly high level next year as i'm only home from some travelling and didn't train all over winter so id say it will be next year before il be competitive!
Ya my legs are a little tender alright, muscles around my left knee are sensitive/sore enough!
thanks for good reply

aquanaut

Joe Friels book ill teach you all about stamina, power, intervals, volume,intensity and every single aspect of training, and then it goes on to state that any cyclist should not attempt any training other than distance and time in the saddle in their first 2 seasons, even if coming from other sports

ktz84

Mon - the recovery period is too long. 5-10 mins is more usual. If you need more then you aren't fit enough.

I'd swap the Wed & Thur. The Thur one is a very hard workout and therefore best completed when you are freshest IMHO. The hill climb isn't so important in terms of being fresh as it is as much about getting a good rythmn as anything else and actually learning to climb when you are not at your freshest isn't a bad thing to get used to as the reality is that hills can come anywhere and too often late on too.

Otherwise balance looks ok though you could be starting to see the first signs of an overuse injury with those dodgy knees so be careful and listen to your body if you are pushing yourself very hard and haven't done a lot of training beforehand.

piobhan

ktz84 wrote: »

Mon - the recovery period is too long. 5-10 mins is more usual. If you need more then you aren't fit enough.

I'd swap the Wed & Thur. The Thur one is a very hard workout and therefore best completed when you are freshest IMHO. The hill climb isn't so important in terms of being fresh as it is as much about getting a good rythmn as anything else and actually learning to climb when you are not at your freshest isn't a bad thing to get used to as the reality is that hills can come anywhere and too often late on too.

Otherwise balance looks ok though you could be starting to see the first signs of an overuse injury with those dodgy knees so be careful and listen to your body if you are pushing yourself very hard and haven't done a lot of training beforehand.

Ya'll il keep that in mind about my legs, I probarbly jumped into a bit quick!
Ya swapping the days could be a good idea,
at the end of the 3 wks im doing a heart rate test and then going from there! hope to get to a high level, hopefully next year! :cool:

thebouldwhacker

Sat & Sun aim for ave 30kmph.

Seems a bit high for a newbie, are you reaching this average on the two days? if not what are you coming in at?

piobhan

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

Sat & Sun aim for ave 30kmph.

Seems a bit high for a newbie, are you reaching this average on the two days? if not what are you coming in at?

The wind lately has been a huge factor! :rolleyes:
If there was no wind I wouldnt be far off it, im getting 28ish at least, the bike I have is pretty good so that helps too!