Winter training

laura2006

Anybody know of good sites for winter training programs? Myself and a friend are considering racing next year but we havent a clue where to start ! Any advice would be great

couerdelion

First port of call would usually be the other members of a club - if you aren't in one I'd recommend joining one.

Other than that there's books like Friels - Cycle Training Bible

Or websites like Jesper Bondo Medhus

Final option would be to look into getting a coach.


If you have a turbo and don't mind training indoors I'd recommend TrainerRoad

man_no_plan

Cycling clubs are only good if they're good clubs. I joined my local club this summer but have gained nothing from it on spite of going on all the spins.

First few weeks were taking an hour and a half to do 20k between taking rubbish and stopping at the shop 😲

In fairness I suppose they were kind of taster sessions. After that then it went to spins where the very good riders just dropped a couple of is and headed off on their merry way while out on a spin. Very bad form imo.

Its a small club but I found there was no middle ground for someone looking for a bit of advice and to improve. Since then myself and another lad have started riding together and pushing rach other on a bit. Best thing ever.

Rant over. Reason for the post is that a club isn't the answer to everyone's woes, there are several good clubs around here but I'm talking a half an hours drive to any of them ten mins on the bike got me to the one I joined. When time is limited on the bike with kids etc every minute in the saddle counts.

So thanks for asking the question op and thanks for the answer too. Bastards didn't give me my CI card yet either now that I think of it...

laura2006

Yes im with a club but no talk of racing or how to go about it next season ! Suppose I should talk to women within the club.I need to get the distance up also but as you said with family work etc this can be difficult.Should I be concentrating on distance or speed??

couerdelion

Well it's simple enough to go racing - get a license at the beginning of the year that has the road racing category on it and then look on the CI site for the ladies races, find out where they are being held and then turn up and pay your money. But I guess that's not really what you are asking?

Training wise - At this point in the year it's usually all about getting the miles in the legs - the "base" period. This isn't all about tootling around taking it easy though and it should increase your fitness and power levels as you are going along. After the "base" periods done you move to "build" looking to "peak" and then try and hold that level or just below for as long as you can. For one off races it's easy to aim for a peak - for a season of racing it's a bit more difficult. If that all sounds like a foreign language I'll try and explain how I look at it...

Training seems to be a bit secretive for some reason in cycling and very few people share what they are doing. I'll be back at A4 racing next year so here's what my plan is in the hope it might help you (or anyone else considering racing) - as I didn't get A3 this year I'm obviously crap though, so you might want to ignore any advice I'm giving!

The best thing to do is to work out when you are aiming to hit peak and work back from there.

After having a bit of time off through injury I'm back training properly from tomorrow. My plan is to aim to peak for mid April. The club league starts then and the race season is really under way so its as good a point as any - there's no races around that time I'm really targeting though that might be different for others.

So Mid April is 24 weeks away - so working back and knowing what I did last year, what worked well for me, and what training I can fit in - I'm aiming to turbo on a Tue and Thu, club spin on a Sat and another turbo on a Sunday. If the weather is bad I'll miss the club spin and turbo Sat as well. Too many cold, damp rides led to chest infections and lost weeks last season. I also find the turbo a time saver - it's an hour or so of constant pedaling compared to the freewheeling I might do outside so I get more bang for my buck so to speak.

First turbo session will be a fitness test to see where I am. I use TrainerRoad so it turns my turbo into a power meter - it might not be 100% accurate but it's a measurable and repeatable test so I can compare test to test to see if I'm improving. It also gives me a figure to train against so when I know that when I'm meant to be doing 80% I really am doing 80%.

After the test I'll move into the base phase. This is all about low intensity with most in the 70-80% zone and a few efforts up to 90% and this will take me around 12 weeks with testing every four weeks to make sure I'm heading in the right direction. It's split into 4 week blocks and the average weekly hours for this is: block 1 - 6.5hrs, block 2 - 7.2hrs and block 3 - 8.6hrs (Wednesdays added in for Block 4). There'll be more hours per week if I go out with the club on the Saturdays as it's usually a 4 hour ride or so rather than the 2 max on a Turbo.

12 weeks is pretty much the minimum base I'd do before I move to Build and this is where it gets seriously hard (you get out what you put in) and sessions are usually just below FTP with short all out efforts - kinda replicating a race where you are going fairly hard but still just within yourself for a lot of the time but then hitting max as you sprint hard out of corners and try to bridge when someone goes down the road before trying to settle again and recover whilst maintaining position.

Build period will be 11-12 weeks averaging 7.3 hours a week. Again - will be slightly more if I'm out on the road on a Saturday. I don't think for cycling this is a stupid amount of training and hopefully this amount of training will get me to a position to challenge for points next season and get me to A3.

As a disclaimer of sorts I will be doing a lot more than just the cycling with plenty of swimming, core and s&c work (plus a bit of that running stuff when the physio gives me the all clear). But I think if you are looking to race at a beginner level then 8 hours a week cycling is enough.

laura2006

Thanks for that some great advice there ! I honestly dont like the turbo its so boring I much prefer to get outside.Im considering getting a coach even for my first year.
The motivation is there its just the know how....

Inquitus

laura2006 wrote: »

Thanks for that some great advice there ! I honestly dont like the turbo its so boring I much prefer to get outside.Im considering getting a coach even for my first year.
The motivation is there its just the know how....

I would only use the turbo as a last resort. It's boring and it feels harder, Z3 on the road feels easy, Z3 on the turbo feels like murder as a I gradually melt into the floor!

mathie

couerdelion wrote: »

Well it's simple enough to go racing - get a license at the beginning of the year that has the road racing category on it and then look on the CI site for the ladies races, find out where they are being held and then turn up and pay your money. But I guess that's not really what you are asking?

Training wise - At this point in the year it's usually all about getting the miles in the legs - the "base" period. This isn't all about tootling around taking it easy though and it should increase your fitness and power levels as you are going along. After the "base" periods done you move to "build" looking to "peak" and then try and hold that level or just below for as long as you can. For one off races it's easy to aim for a peak - for a season of racing it's a bit more difficult. If that all sounds like a foreign language I'll try and explain how I look at it...

Training seems to be a bit secretive for some reason in cycling and very few people share what they are doing. I'll be back at A4 racing next year so here's what my plan is in the hope it might help you (or anyone else considering racing) - as I didn't get A3 this year I'm obviously crap though, so you might want to ignore any advice I'm giving!

The best thing to do is to work out when you are aiming to hit peak and work back from there.

After having a bit of time off through injury I'm back training properly from tomorrow. My plan is to aim to peak for mid April. The club league starts then and the race season is really under way so its as good a point as any - there's no races around that time I'm really targeting though that might be different for others.

So Mid April is 24 weeks away - so working back and knowing what I did last year, what worked well for me, and what training I can fit in - I'm aiming to turbo on a Tue and Thu, club spin on a Sat and another turbo on a Sunday. If the weather is bad I'll miss the club spin and turbo Sat as well. Too many cold, damp rides led to chest infections and lost weeks last season. I also find the turbo a time saver - it's an hour or so of constant pedaling compared to the freewheeling I might do outside so I get more bang for my buck so to speak.

First turbo session will be a fitness test to see where I am. I use TrainerRoad so it turns my turbo into a power meter - it might not be 100% accurate but it's a measurable and repeatable test so I can compare test to test to see if I'm improving. It also gives me a figure to train against so when I know that when I'm meant to be doing 80% I really am doing 80%.

After the test I'll move into the base phase. This is all about low intensity with most in the 70-80% zone and a few efforts up to 90% and this will take me around 12 weeks with testing every four weeks to make sure I'm heading in the right direction. It's split into 4 week blocks and the average weekly hours for this is: block 1 - 6.5hrs, block 2 - 7.2hrs and block 3 - 8.6hrs (Wednesdays added in for Block 4). There'll be more hours per week if I go out with the club on the Saturdays as it's usually a 4 hour ride or so rather than the 2 max on a Turbo.

12 weeks is pretty much the minimum base I'd do before I move to Build and this is where it gets seriously hard (you get out what you put in) and sessions are usually just below FTP with short all out efforts - kinda replicating a race where you are going fairly hard but still just within yourself for a lot of the time but then hitting max as you sprint hard out of corners and try to bridge when someone goes down the road before trying to settle again and recover whilst maintaining position.

Build period will be 11-12 weeks averaging 7.3 hours a week. Again - will be slightly more if I'm out on the road on a Saturday. I don't think for cycling this is a stupid amount of training and hopefully this amount of training will get me to a position to challenge for points next season and get me to A3.

As a disclaimer of sorts I will be doing a lot more than just the cycling with plenty of swimming, core and s&c work (plus a bit of that running stuff when the physio gives me the all clear). But I think if you are looking to race at a beginner level then 8 hours a week cycling is enough.

Excellent post and thanks for sharing.

With regard to the "Build" period. The bursts of speed you're talking about ... how long should they be?

I've heard of Interval Training before (I think Joe Friel talks about it a bit).

If you're on a 1 1/2 hour spin in the build phase how many sprints and for how long should you be doing?

thanks
M

QueensGael

Laura - there's information about women's racing in Ireland available here
http://womenscycling.ie

It'll be updated with information about races when the calendar is finalised by Cycling Ireland. You can go through the archives also and find some articles about nutrition, training, etc.

If you want to PM me your email address, I can add you to the mailing list for details of training camps, beginner leagues etc in the coming year.

couerdelion

mathie wrote: »

Excellent post and thanks for sharing.

With regard to the "Build" period. The bursts of speed you're talking about ... how long should they be?

I've heard of Interval Training before (I think Joe Friel talks about it a bit).

If you're on a 1 1/2 hour spin in the build phase how many sprints and for how long should you be doing?

thanks
M

Different sessions will be different intensities so one could be 90 mins at 60% FTP with 6 x 10 mins at 100% or another 90 mins at 60% with 3 x (4 x 3) at 120-130% FTP. There's other sessions with micro bursts. It's a mix of different types creating different stimulus so no perfect answer.

couerdelion

Inquitus wrote: »

I would only use the turbo as a last resort. It's boring and it feels harder, Z3 on the road feels easy, Z3 on the turbo feels like murder as a I gradually melt into the floor!

I agree and spent most of last year doing sessions outside. This year work will mean I don't see daylight so it's the convenience more than anything else.

pointer28

Inquitus wrote: »

I would only use the turbo as a last resort. It's boring and it feels harder, Z3 on the road feels easy, Z3 on the turbo feels like murder as a I gradually melt into the floor!

Couerdelion mentioned trainerroad.com and I find this helps enormously with the boredom as it gives you something to focus on and aim for.

laura2006

Yes I was on womens cycling website and there is alot of good info ! I also spoke to a friend who is much more experienced so I have a focus now and know what I need to be doing.
I plan on doing the coaching session with Paddy Doran in Corkagh park next week so that will help !