Do we take training too seriously?

Muffintop

Team4Luke wrote:

I would say look closely where you live and see if there is a quiet loop you can do with left turns and no stops...As, for your comments about doing intervals/hard session on roads with interruptions, anyone who knows how to train will not be using roads like these.

There is, it's still fifteen minutes out of town (can you guess where I live yet?) And unless the council shut and clean the road especially for me, I have no guarantee that that road is in the same condition as it was last time, etc.., So the upshot is I'm not going to do interval training on the road.

Team4Luke wrote:

Strength training in the gym not really needed for cycling unless your a track rider requiring sheer muscular power to get moving/sprinting etc, any strength work should be done on the bike and using various hand positions on the bars, in and out saddle work on the hills too. .

I completely disagree - though that may be indicative on how weak I was before hand - weights with leg work (squats and dips etc) have added to my ability to push up hills faster on longer rides (I'm a sportive rider).

Mx

Team4Luke

given you have limited bike training options, your improvements will be quickly become limited from what training you are doing.
(very fast Tester)

Muffintop

Team4Luke wrote:

given you have limited bike training options, your improvements will be quickly become limited from what training you are doing.
(very fast Tester)

As opposed to someone who can only spend time on their bike on the road outside?

I do find that I am hitting plateaus more often - this year round - but it's just really a case of being aware when these come up (so's not wasting time wondering why I'm not getting any better), being inventive with the time available and making sure when I do have time it's not wasted. I'm quite pleased with the way this year has went overall, and I definately feel more comfortable with the thought of doing the event this year than I did last.

Mx

dincost

It depends on the purpose:if you want to go to competitions and want to do your best there,then,yes,the training must be taken seriously.If you want only to get a ride with the friends,then,it is not the case to stress.But I think,and this is a personal point of view,that if you are "addicted" to this sport,then you will want to be better and better each time you go for a ride

cyclefitness.co.uk

As long as you are still enjoying it! Dont overtrain and if you really really dont feel like training that day, dont, or try doing weights or someonthing different for a change. We all get into cycling because we enjoy it!

rick_chasey

Take it as seriously as you want to.

For me - I train when I want to and it's convenient. For sure, there are days where I REALLY want to go riding, but usually I can make an hour or two.

I'm not one for big targets etc - I have enough of that in the rest of my life - I like the freedom of being the only chap in charge of my bike .

We'd all like to ride more if we could since we'd be faster/stronger/fitter - but we all find the balance we want.

Anyway, I don't call it training - I call it riding :P

P_Tucker

phreak wrote:

Zoomer37 wrote:

Depends what your doing with your time on the bike. If you race on a regular basis then you kind of have no choice but to take training seriously no matter what level your at. If you dont there's not point as you'll get nowhere.

That's kinda my point. For what is essentially a recreational endeavour for us all, should we behave like the pros? Obviously they can do more volume than those of us with day jobs but I dare say many on here take their diet very seriously, do 10+ hours training per week, monitor and measure as much as they can.

Just wondering out loud when healthy becomes unhealthy.

Some people take pleasure in doing exactly what they feel like at any given moment:



Others take pleasure in doing something they find challenging as well as they are able. I suspect many cyclists fall into the latter camp. As to when it's unhealthy, in general as long as you enjoy it and no-one else is getting hurt, where's the problem?

Muffintop

I'd like to add I think we take our own advice way too seriously, and are apocalyptical about anyone who doesn't follow it.

Mx

trickydisco

One of my clubmates has never had a training plan,never relly looks at how much riding he does per week and doesn't own a heart rate monitor. He's a few points off a 1st cat and getting top 5 finishes in e/1/2 races

mamba80

On sunday i'll find out if i ve been taking it too seriously OR NOT

okgo

trickydisco wrote:

One of my clubmates has never had a training plan,never relly looks at how much riding he does per week and doesn't own a heart rate monitor. He's a few points off a 1st cat and getting top 5 finishes in e/1/2 races

Not everyone is talented though. Some people don't need anything much or specific to get to a decent level, I have never done intervals, or hill repeats (I'm starting to now) just a few hard rides in the week and some commuting and I've progressed through reasonably well.

trickydisco

Not everyone is talented though.

hence why i mentioned it

Wait until you do a 2/3/4 road race (if you haven't already). I've seen a few people progress up from 4th to 2nd on pure circuit races only to be shot out the back in a 2/3/4 road race.

okgo

Yes. I'll be fine on a 2/3 that's not too hilly. But part of the reason I wanted to do some road races was to make sure I was up to it. But actually in the end half the points I've got to move from 4th to 2nd were from road races. Albeit 3 only most of time.

Herbsman

trickydisco wrote:

One of my clubmates has never had a training plan,never relly looks at how much riding he does per week and doesn't own a heart rate monitor. He's a few points off a 1st cat and getting top 5 finishes in e/1/2 races

Lucky him.

If we need to ask whether we're taking training too seriously, then we're not taking it seriously enough.

Here is a list in descending order of importance:

1. Racing (a form of training)
2. Training
3. Sleep (recovery from training)
4. Food (for health and energy, so best possibly training is achievable)
5. Acquisition of money through work or other means (to pay for tyres, tubes, food etc. to make training possible)

If anything else in your life is important to you, yet does not contribute to training, then you are not taking training seriously enough.

trickydisco

Yes. I'll be fine on a 2/3 that's not too hilly. But part of the reason I wanted to do some road races was to make sure I was up to it. But actually in the end half the points I've got to move from 4th to 2nd were from road races. Albeit 3 only most of time.

good work! impressive. I know i've found the 2/3/4 road races much better kind of racing than crit races. Certainly no hiding and lots more tactics

giropaul

Herbsman wrote:

trickydisco wrote:

One of my clubmates has never had a training plan,never relly looks at how much riding he does per week and doesn't own a heart rate monitor. He's a few points off a 1st cat and getting top 5 finishes in e/1/2 races

Lucky him.

If we need to ask whether we're taking training too seriously, then we're not taking it seriously enough.

Here is a list in descending order of importance:

1. Racing (a form of training)
2. Training
3. Sleep (recovery from training)
4. Food (for health and energy, so best possibly training is achievable)
5. Acquisition of money through work or other means (to pay for tyres, tubes, food etc. to make training possible)

If anything else in your life is important to you, yet does not contribute to training, then you are not taking training seriously enough.

Well, to every Yin there's a Yang; so just to balace things a tad, a quote from one of the world's best past riders who's still working at the top of pro-cycling:

"You're either good enough to make a good living at it or it's only a hobby".