Increasing Stamina

MickTup

After some constructive advice please on how to increase stamina with a limited amount of time say 8hrs a week. Is it possible?
I seem to just hit the wall after 3 hours on my Saturday rides . Also any suggestions on food consumption on a longer rides?

richa

Mick,
What training are you doing at the moment?

amaferanga

MickTup wrote:

After some constructive advice please on how to increase stamina with a limited amount of time say 8hrs a week. Is it possible?
I seem to just hit the wall after 3 hours on my Saturday rides . Also any suggestions on food consumption on a longer rides?

If 3 hour rides are fairly routine for you then that would suggest to me that your issue is with rehydration and eating. What do you eat and drink before and during your rides? Also, how hard are you riding?

MickTup

I’ve been doing steady turbo sessions most of the winter, lower level 2 up to level 3 to build base fitness. I’m now adding the road miles on a Saturday. A usual week would be Monday 40 mins spin Tuesday 1hr 15mins turbo, Wednesday 40mins to hour recovery, Thursday 1hr 15mins with 5-7 hard geared sprints of 10 to 15 seconds to start increase strength, Friday a spin 1/2hr. Saturday anything from 2.5 to 4 hours at average speed 17-18 miles an hour. Food wise I always have a pasta dish Friday night. Before going out I eat a bowl of porridge or rice pudding with banana in about an hour before. I take 2 bananas out with me and also some fruit cake and the odd gel. Drink wise I have 2 bottles with Powdered Carbohydrate and Electrolyte Drink both bottles are 750ml.

keef66

You don't appear to have any rest days in there, is it possible you're overdoing it?

Most of the stuff I've read includes a couple of rest days in a week

MickTup

Sunday is usually a rest day followed by an easy day Monday plus I'm sat down at a desk all day.

amaferanga

keef66 wrote:

You don't appear to have any rest days in there, is it possible you're overdoing it?

Most of the stuff I've read includes a couple of rest days in a week

Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday look like rest/recovery days to me.

amaferanga

Have you only been doing steady level 2 and level 3 rides of about an hour (plus your weekend ride) all winter?

SBezza

Going too hard for the duration you are trying to ride at. To be honest the load you are riding during the week is not that big, so if you eat a decent diet throughout the week I doubt it is food related, and by the sounds of it what you take on the rides should more than cover your needs.

Try doing the 3-4 hour ride at a slightly lower effort, and see how you feel.

MickTup

amaferanga yes level 2 to 3 plus weekend when possible over the winter. SBezza i'll try lowing the intensity on the Saturday ride and see if this help improve Thanks for the advice

amaferanga

I'd recommend you do some threshold sessions on the turbo - 2x20 on Tues and Thurs. An hour at L2/L3 is really not worth much. And as SBezza says, try riding a little easier on the weekend.

MickTup

OK will try this thanks for the help. I presume if more time becomes available a steady increase would help improve more?

keef66

Oops, hadn't looked at the effort levels :oops:

nferrar

+1 for threshold sessions, you're basically doing all your training at a similar effort so any improvement is going to be very gradual. Add some 2x20's or shorter HIIT into the mix, done properly they can boost your stamina not just power etc.

StorckSpeed

17-18mph is good going especially at this time of year.
I'd say as the previous posts suggest your going too hard.
I'm just getting up to the 3hr mark now, after cutting down the mileage over the winter, and that first 50 miler was a killer. Increase the distance/time gradually.
I increase the distance by about 10% each Sunday and it's surprising how quickly the distance builds up. I lower the mileage every 4th week to let me recover.
Remember your Sunday runs are meant to enjoyable don't push too hard. If you find you are then look for a buddy to cycle with. You should be able to hold a conversation when riding, if you can't your pushing too hard.
Lastly I find that anything over 4hrs is mind numbingly boring when cycling on your own, once your rides reach this distance join a club, Sunday runs will be more enjoyable and 4 hrs will speed past, you won't even notice the pain in your legs.