Turbo Training for endurance

Velonutter

Chiggy wrote:

Ah.

Thanks for all the responses about 'bloaterism'.

Now I know who the REAL people on this forum are, and I can place myself in order. A long way down the list....

Chiggy,

It's just a forum Mate,

Everyone has opinions, I'm sure if we met in real life then we would debate over a coffee, just it is harder to put a personality across in writing.

Don't worry about it,

Safe Riding?

freehub

Chiggy wrote:

A person who has been a fat bloater at some time in their life will never be a good cyclist. I've seen lots of these type of riders.

That's a load of shite, I know one guy who was a "fat bloater" and years ago he used to race and won 28 races one after the other. He's pretty chunky even now and he's putting out some proper good power and he's not even got started.

I'm starting to train properly and I'm improving week on week now just need to train to get over the psychological part and I'm confident that one day I will be a good cyclist, and all I used to do about 2 years ago was sit on my a$$ playing GTA Vice City running over pedestrians to get my wanted level up so the army would come after me and I could nick a tank, then I'd eat a huge pasta bake and loads of junk all day followed my pancakes with cheese on top then repeat the next day, granted, I only weighed near to 14 stone and I'm 5ft 11 so I was never a proper bloater, now I probs weigh about 11.5 stone, so only lost abit.

BBH

Pokerface, WOW!, what a truly inspirational story :shock: :shock: . Congratulations to you and keep up the amazing work, your achievements are truly superb and I am sure we will all be behind you come 2012!! Please tell me how you lost 6st in 3months, that is an amazing feat in itself – I am trying so hard to shed some weight and would love to lose half of that in that time frame! :oops: , were there any particular training methods you used/diet you followed??

In fact, all of the stories posted on this thread re: weight loss, training and achievements in cycling and life (I think I have got the order of importance right ) are truly inspirational and just go to show what people can do when they put their mind to it.

In addition to providing excellent motivation to those of use working toward goals, they also serve as real examples of how being a ‘bloater’ is not the end. They prove the fact that human physiology is dynamic and can easily adapt to any new circumstances imposed on it (no matter how hard they may seem at first!!).

Keep up the good work guys !!

Pokerface

BBH wrote:

Please tell me how you lost 6st in 3months, that is an amazing feat in itself – I am trying so hard to shed some weight and would love to lose half of that in that time frame! :oops: , were there any particular training methods you used/diet you followed??

Unfortunately, the diet I followed was done at a time when I didn't have to worry about my energy levels - and it's not one I would recommend. It worked for me, but was HARD to follow.

Very simply - low fat, low cal and low carb, coupled with lots of exercise. No more than 1500 cals a day (usually closer to 1000), consisting mainly of soup, salad, tuna and apples. Protein (tuna) to keep the muscle from digesting itself - and everything else was really filler. Lots of vitamin B to keep the metabolism ticking over at a high level.

I was also cycling for a few hours a day - but at a low intensity. Didn't have the energy for much more!

No alcohol, sugar, bread, pasta, rice, etc, etc.

Short term pain for long-term gain! It's a LOT easier to lose that much weight when you have large amounts of body fat to burn through. Once you start to get leaner, the weight loss slows down and it becomes a lot harder to lose.

bahzob

May already have been mentioned, but as noted its a long old thread with a lot of bumpf.

Anyways, I'd recommend getting this book. Its designed to give the best possible training results given limited time.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Time-crunched-Cyclist-Fast-Powerful-Hours/dp/1934030473/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1291678315&sr=1-1

This makes it ideal for you as basically it consists of a number of structured workouts of around an hour or so that you do during weekdays and are, in fact, best done on a turbo.

Its also got some 12 week training plans specifically designed for those beginning or re-starting racing. So again what you want.

I know the author is not everyone's cup of tea, including mine as it happens. If things follow their normal course no doubt there will be a few follow up posts following this theme.

But you cant dispute he knows his stuff. And you also cant dispute that he has come up with a specific answer to the question you and many others pose, which is how to maximise training benefit when having to balance this with a busy life and its many priorities.

As for whether it works, well I've tried it myself to get back to racing fitness after taking a year off. I was sceptical when I started but so far have been gobsmacked by the results. I've gone from a very sad state of affairs and struggling to put together a couple of decent 8 minute intervals a couple of months ago to putting out sustained hour long sessions of the same intensity as when I was training many hours/miles more a week.

The book costs £8. IMHO given your requirements that will be money well spent and much time saved in terms of finding a training plan that will give you the results you want.

Chiggy

There is a difference between a 'beginner' and someone getting back into racing.

The beginner will need to specifically grow capillaries in their muscle, build their cardiac muscle, expand their pulmonary system by recruiting previously unused alveoli and worst of all, increase the size and length of the interconnective tendons between bone and muscle.

This cannot be done in twelve weeks.

A chap returning to racing, even after a year will already have the capillaries, cardiac, alveoli and strong tendons etc. All he has to do is re-awaken them into action.

This can take less than twelve weeks and doesn't need a book to tell him what he used to do when he was racing a year ago.

bahzob

Lol, This thread reminds me of why I gave up on this forum. Anyway just for the sake of old times..

Chiggy or whover tf ..some points of fact.

- If you have comprehension difficulty best to be careful before using forums. Trying to impress by using physiological terms is just sad if you don't understand basic English.

So for the hard of understanding I say again: the book I recommended has a program for those beginning racing (or just wanting to ride 100 miles for the first time in their life or just want to get fitter. Also a specific, harder, program for those like me returning after a gap which is the one I am following to address your bo point. Unless you have reading issues all this was covered in the link I provided).

Truth is it's a book that probably meets the needs of 90% of the people posting given it addresses the key issue of providing a structured training plan, focused on their specific goals that addresses the key limiter most have, which is time available to train.

Reading it will, for sure be better investment of that precious resource than that spent here.

btw on the subject of racing

- You need precisely zero training to start racing. All you need to do is turn up at an an event like the Hillingdon or Thruxton winter series with a bit of cash, a bike, a helment and some Lycra. You can then take part in a race, you most likely just won't do very well. But hopefully you will have a benchmark to measure progress against and some motivation and information to drive training

- Those who race, mostly, are aware that in reality every time they compete they are in fact taking part in 2 races.
--> the one against the other riders - judged by finishing position in the fleld
--> the one against themselves - judged by how far they pushed themselves and how they did vis a vis previous events.

- Wise racers enjoy beating others but understand the second of the above is the real challenge.

- Conversely there are some real losers who call themselves racers and denigrate the activities of others because, say, they are Cat 1 and the others mere Cat 4. This ignores the fact that by their own standards failures, because they are not Elites. Taken to its logical conclusion this means pretty much all including most professional riders are fails, since they compete with no real chance of winning.

- With this in mind the best advice to the OP or whoever feels like taking up racing or competition of any sort is just do it, dont let training or the lack of it put you off.

Yes you will most likely receive a drubbing but this should inspire you to get on your bike and do some hard work so it doesnt happen again.

If this happens then grats, because you have taken and passed the only real test of what it is to be a racer.

jonmack

Chiggy,
bahzob didn't say beginners, he said someone beginning racing. I'd imagine that someone who has been cycling say, 2 years, will have stronger muscles, tendons, and cardiovascular system than someone who is starting out right, but not stronger than someone who raced for 3 seasons but had to take a season off.

Its also got some 12 week training plans specifically designed for those beginning or re-starting racing. So again what you want.

To me that can be read as beginning racing, or re-starting racing, not an out and out beginner to cycling.

Your last sentence seems to imply that the person starting racing again is in the same circumstances that they were in when they stopped racing, surely if they're looking at buying a book which is aimed at cyclists who don't have a lot of spare time (due to work/family/other commitments), then their circumstances will probably have changed (for example a different job, maybe a new family member, etc.). If that was the case then they would need a different training plan to the one that they were previously using, which is where this book comes into play.

I'm getting the book for christmas from my sister and I hope to be able to put some of the workouts in it to use.

SteveR_100Milers

Chiggy wrote:

There is a difference between a 'beginner' and someone getting back into racing.

The beginner will need to specifically grow capillaries in their muscle, build their cardiac muscle, expand their pulmonary system by recruiting previously unused alveoli and worst of all, increase the size and length of the interconnective tendons between bone and muscle.

This cannot be done in twelve weeks.

A chap returning to racing, even after a year will already have the capillaries, cardiac, alveoli and strong tendons etc. All he has to do is re-awaken them into action.

This can take less than twelve weeks and doesn't need a book to tell him what he used to do when he was racing a year ago.

Bit of a sweeping statement. If he/she was racing a year ago and gave up because they were making little or no progress then a book or similar advice might be exactly what's required.

Mr Dog

Bahzob - Please don't give up on the thread. Your post is inspiring and may prove the difference between someone just rolling around on the roads or giving racing a go. We need people like you. 8)

Anonymous

Bahzob,

Don't get put off by Chiggy, he has made a spectacular start to posting on this forum by spouting all sorts of scientific terms yet no real substance. Furthermore he has nothing to back up what he says as he won't say what his background in cycling is.

WRT the Time Crunched Cyclist, it's a good book, I started following it and was doing well, but then I started getting coached...

CarbonCopy

Great thread this But i`m sure alot of the misunderstandings are all to do with how things are typed....my grammer is terrible

secretsqizz

NapoleonD wrote:

Bahzob,

Don't get put off by Chiggy, he has made a spectacular start to posting on this forum by spouting all sorts of scientific terms yet no real substance. Furthermore he has nothing to back up what he says as he won't say what his background in cycling is.

WRT the Time Crunched Cyclist, it's a good book, I started following it and was doing well, but then I started getting coached...

it's as though Bhima had swallowed a dictionary

jamie_smoove

Hi all,

I took a step back from this thread (despite me starting it) a while ago because it seemed to become a bit of a pissing contest.. I have kept reading, and luckily i'm the type of person who knows what I should be listening to and what I shouldnt. Take away the bickering, and there is some great information in this thread, and for that I thank you..

Anyway, i'm off to the garage for a blast on the turbo.

JB

BBH

jamie_smoove wrote:

Hi all,

I took a step back from this thread (despite me starting it) a while ago because it seemed to become a bit of a pissing contest.. I have kept reading, and luckily i'm the type of person who knows what I should be listening to and what I shouldnt. Take away the bickering, and there is some great information in this thread, and for that I thank you..

Anyway, i'm off to the garage for a blast on the turbo.

JB

Mate, Its a real shame that this happens on some threads - but I am glad you are reading through it, because as is common to this site, there are some real gems of advice to be had/learnt.

Just want to ask a general question - the time crunched book, does this require you to work with a power meter or has it got options for using a HRM? The reason I ask is because I only own the later and it looks a good book to help me with my goals of continuing to shift weight and ?race 4th cat next season if the weight continues to fall and the endurance is good.

Cheers guys!

Anonymous

It has HRM too.

Chiggy

I must admit.
My only involvement in cycling is straightening the handlebars when the little girl down the street fell off on someone's front lawn.

I thought the bicycle was completely wrecked because the cross bar had moved to half way down the tube that has the saddle at the top.
She told me that's what it should be like, so I was pleased I hadn't spoiled her bike.

The tyres were white! Is that the usual colour?

Chiggy

You see. I'm qualified.

Garz

* Cue Tumbleweed