Consistency...

Grimone

Hi

Just looking for some advice really. I am 19 years old and took up cycling 'seriously' about 18 months ago. I am looking to race in 2009, however i can't seem to string structured training sessions together.

I work full time, and as a result, in the winter most of my training in the week is on the turbo trainer, i tend to do an hour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday all at 80-85% of my 212bpm max. I attend University on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

When it comes to the weekend, i'm afraid my teenage ways, more often than not, seem to get the better of me, i would rather wake up late on a saturday than go on the club run in the early morning(particularly this month as it's so cold). I try to get out on as many Sunday runs as possible but, again, i'd rather rest and recouperate.

I went to the Tour this year and stayed at a place in the alps, climbing Alpe D'huez twice in two days, amongst other cols also climbed during that week. I know i am quite fit, but far from race fit. My dad is quite encouraging and races at second cat level, he's the main reason i want to race to be honest, so that i can beat him! I've also done the Cat n Fiddle ride this year and found that quite straight forward, however, i am under no illusion, if the cat n fiddle was a race i would have suffered big time. I ride on club runs with a few ex pro's, and they all have encouragng words to say about me, but i am scared that i will not fulfil my potential!

I need words of advice from you guys, on how to juggle the demands of training and working life. I can hopefully, with your help, begin racing next season.
:?

Infamous

You need to ride a lot more imo. 3 hours total for monday-friday is not enough. And don't worry about missing club runs, wake up whatever time you want at the weekend and just go out yourself. Club runs don't tend to be very good training anyway.

Grimone

Infamous wrote:

You need to ride a lot more imo. 3 hours total for monday-friday is not enough. And don't worry about missing club runs, wake up whatever time you want at the weekend and just go out yourself. Club runs don't tend to be very good training anyway.

Thanks infamous. How many hours would you suggest? 3-5 hours each day on a Sat and Sun? Would you suggest increasing my Turbo sessions to more than an hour also?

fuzzynavel

Grimone wrote:

Infamous wrote:

You need to ride a lot more imo. 3 hours total for monday-friday is not enough. And don't worry about missing club runs, wake up whatever time you want at the weekend and just go out yourself. Club runs don't tend to be very good training anyway.

Thanks infamous. How many hours would you suggest? 3-5 hours each day on a Sat and Sun? Would you suggest increasing my Turbo sessions to more than an hour also?

Try committing yourself to 1 x 3-5 hour ride at the weekend first and then decide if you are committed enough to do another.
Also...if your dad is nearby then he must do some sort of training to race at Cat 2 so see if you can join him during his training and you may find yourself quickly lifted to his level of riding if you are constantly competing with him.
As infamous said....3 -5 hours may not be enough to help you improve but then there are some people on here (alex simmons) who would say that less can be more with the correct routine.....maybe you should consider some coaching if you are serious.

Bhima

Hi mate, I just turned 21 last week and have been training since I was 18 so I know what it's like being a teenager and not being arsed at the weekends!

The best thing you can do is get a daily routine going, instead of doing different things on different days. Consistency is the key. You don't even have to do loads of training, just as long as it's regular, in my opinion.

As opposed to getting up early, i've developed a routine of going out at night or late in the evenings. I don't think the time of day really matters, as long as you time your eating around your training right. Recently (unless it's icy), i've been going out from about 5pm to 10pm and in the summer I tend to go out later from about 8pm to 1am. It's the only way I can fit it into my daily schedule as my days are pretty unpredictable. It also guarantees that you always get a good night sleep and the other advantage of doing training that late is that there's less traffic about. 8)

Just try and find one time of day, like that, where you're guaranteed to have spare time and make training a regular part of your day. Having a day of rest is essential but I find that it's more effective if you're in some kind of daily routine like this.

Grimone

Bhima wrote:

Hi mate, I just turned 21 last week and have been training since I was 18 so I know what it's like being a teenager and not being arsed at the weekends!

The best thing you can do is get a daily routine going, instead of doing different things on different days. Consistency is the key. You don't even have to do loads of training, just as long as it's regular, in my opinion.

As opposed to getting up early, i've developed a routine of going out at night or late in the evenings. I don't think the time of day really matters, as long as you time your eating around your training right. Recently (unless it's icy), i've been going out from about 5pm to 10pm and in the summer I tend to go out later from about 8pm to 1am. It's the only way I can fit it into my daily schedule as my days are pretty unpredictable. It also guarantees that you always get a good night sleep and the other advantage of doing training that late is that there's less traffic about. 8)

Just try and find one time of day, like that, where you're guaranteed to have spare time and make training a regular part of your day. Having a day of rest is essential but I find that it's more effective if you're in some kind of daily routine like this.

Cheers Bhima, sounds like an interesting approach - no one likes riding through a load of traffic! Has it worked for you? Do you, or are you going to race?

Thanks also Fuzzynavel, i may consider some structured coaching. Any recommendations and/or prices?

Infamous

Grimone wrote:

Infamous wrote:

You need to ride a lot more imo. 3 hours total for monday-friday is not enough. And don't worry about missing club runs, wake up whatever time you want at the weekend and just go out yourself. Club runs don't tend to be very good training anyway.

Thanks infamous. How many hours would you suggest? 3-5 hours each day on a Sat and Sun? Would you suggest increasing my Turbo sessions to more than an hour also?

I don't think there's much sense in doing 8 hours on a weekend and only a few during the week. I think there would be more benefit to spacing out the rides evenly over the week (but if that's the only way you can get the miles in then so be it).

I think you could try riding as much as you can at the weekend, and during the week ride the turbo (say, minimum 1 hr, max 2 hrs) every day, and just take a day off as and when you need to.

Bhima talks a lot of sense.

Bhima

Grimone wrote:

Cheers Bhima, sounds like an interesting approach - no one likes riding through a load of traffic! Has it worked for you? Do you, or are you going to race?

Yeah, it's worked for me, definitely. I think, because my muscles are doing serious work every day, it's less of a shock for them when you push really hard. If you train irregularly, you can feel a bit more tired sometimes because your muscles just aren't "prepared" enough for it, if you see what I mean. My strength seems to be gradually improving, slowly but surely so i'm going to continue with that method.

I've found that, if you do a regular routine, it can get a bit tedious, but it inspires you to throw a spanner in the works and just go out one day and give it 120%. Then, soon, that 120% becomes your "standard" power output and you can try going higher after a few more weeks of consistent training at that level.

I don't race at the moment but am going to try and get into it next year at some point. I'm sure that being in competition affects your performance in a different way though, which you can't prepare for when training alone.

shockedsoshocked

Grimone wrote:

I ride on club runs with a few ex pro's, and they all have encouragng words to say about me, but i am scared that i will not fulfil my potential!

I need words of advice from you guys, on how to juggle the demands of training and working life. I can hopefully, with your help, begin racing next season.
:?

You've pretty much answered your own question there. If your club runs on a weekend contain ex-pro's, you're not going to get much better advice than from them. If they still race the club runs will (or should be) more structured, with an emphasis on racing (not just being able to go fast on a bike, which are two separate things). The only advice I can personally offer is make the most of your weekends. I'm 20 so I know what it's like on a weekend getting out of bed (plus I feel like a right old fart declining nights out so I can get up at 8am to go cycling in the cold/rain/snow) but once I'm out the house and with the club I feel much better and thoroughly enjoy it.

Basically, get out of bed, get out on your bike, and make the most of your time. Come summer it will pay dividends to get a fair amount of miles under your belt now.

phil s

Grimone wrote:

I am 19 years old and took up cycling 'seriously' about 18 months ago. I am looking to race in 2009, however i can't seem to string structured training sessions together...

When it comes to the weekend, i'm afraid my teenage ways, more often than not, seem to get the better of me..."

So you haven't really taken up cycling 'seriously', you are just flirting with the idea of doing so. I am 35 years old, I work full time with shifts that cover any of the 24 hours of the day, and seven days of the week, any day of the year. I have a baby that is three weeks old, but I am organised and take care of my wife and daughter, clean our home every day, do the weekly shop, spend quality time with them both and make other sacrifices to train properly... spot the difference?
My advice to you is to ask yourself how 'serious' you want to be. It's a hard sport and requires sacrifice. Are you prepared to make sacrifices? If so, then get organised and work out a plan or get some help working one out. Don't just ride, set some targets that can be measured and set about achieving them. When you start improving the sense of satisfaction is worth it. You're going the right way about things with the turbo but mix things up as well... how many races afford you the luxury of sitting at one particular heart rate for an hour?
Good luck.

Infamous

phil s wrote:

... how many races afford you the luxury of sitting at one particular heart rate for an hour?Good luck.

All of them.






*assuming you are a TTer

Alex_Simmons/RST

Infamous wrote:

phil s wrote:

... how many races afford you the luxury of sitting at one particular heart rate for an hour?Good luck.

All of them.






*assuming you are a TTer

If you were a TTr, then pacing by holding the same HR would be significantly sub-optimal from a fastest time point of view.

Alex_Simmons/RST

For the OP. As mentioned, depends on what you mean by serious.

Consistency of training is very important if one want to make progressive fitness gains.
Consistency through the week, week to week, month to month and season to season.

Infamous

Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:

If you were a TTr, then pacing by holding the same HR would be significantly sub-optimal from a fastest time point of view.

d'oh. I meant sitting at the same effort level for the whole race.

Grimone

Oh yes, no doubt i want to take it very seriously. I want to be as successful as possible really.

I've decided to take your advice and train a lot more consistently and regularly.

Thanks for the help