Training Routines

gjwatt

Hi, could anyone recommend a good training routine/online coach for a century ride? done 80 miles recently(etape caledonia) and time was down 30 mins from last year, i'm looking for a structured course to get me back on track.

Herbsman

Pedal, then pedal more. Then pedal harder. Then more. Then harder.

(I'm being serious)

cyco2

I would have thought for the amount of time you've been on this site you would have seen enough posts to work something out.

dincost

try to ride more,and try to alternate the trainings:resistance/speed

Wardster00

gj watt, I've just signed up to do the Stoke on Trent Tour ride in September and found a training programme on the British Heart Foundation website.

http://www.bhf.org.uk/get-involved/even ... edule.aspx

I'm a couple of weeks into the advanced programme and so far it is working for me with regards to time (I have 2 kids and a busy job) and I've noticed a difference already.

A google search and a search on here will throw up loads of different options. I find having a schedule makes me go and ride when sometimes I might feel too knackered after work.

dw300

Pedaling hard is spot on. Obviously if you've planned several rides that week then operate at an intensity that you'll be able to compete your other rides to a suitable intensity (faster than you are now).

Rest appropriately as well. Listen to your body. If you go out and shoot your load on a ride and can't do a beneficial workout the next day then you'd be better off resting.

Practice what you want to improve .. time in the saddle for distance, hill climbing and threshold work to go faster.

If you're trying to get faster, increase cumulative fatigue over 2-4 weeks and then reset to allow recovery and super-compensation. Done correctly this can negate training plateaus caused by not training hard enough, or not resting enough. Eg. Ride 2 days/wk, ride 3 days/wk, ride 4 days/wk, ride 5 days/wk, ride 2 days/wk .. etc, bearing in mind what I said in the first para.

Alex_Simmons/RST

gjwatt wrote:

Hi, could anyone recommend a good training routine/online coach for a century ride? done 80 miles recently(etape caledonia) and time was down 30 mins from last year, i'm looking for a structured course to get me back on track.

See our training plans here:
http://www.rstsport.com/?event=training

bahzob

This book is also very good, especially if time available for training is limited and/or needs to be done indoors. It includes 2 specific century plans, one for first timers, second for those wanting to do them quicker.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Time-crunched-Cyclist-Powerful-Time-Crunched/dp/1934030473

TheEnglishman

Wardster00 wrote:

.....found a training programme on the British Heart Foundation website.

http://www.bhf.org.uk/get-involved/even ... edule.aspx
.

Excellent find! Intermediate program for me I think. Thanks

phreak

Herbsman wrote:

Pedal, then pedal more. Then pedal harder. Then more. Then harder.

(I'm being serious)

Not really true though is it? I mean I could race my commute as hard as I could in London and it'd do nothing but tire my legs out with little benefit for a 100 mile ride.

You need to be a bit smarter than just riding as far as you can as fast as you can.

Tom Dean

TheEnglishman wrote:

Wardster00 wrote:

.....found a training programme on the British Heart Foundation website.

http://www.bhf.org.uk/get-involved/even ... edule.aspx
.

Excellent find! Intermediate program for me I think. Thanks

This will give you a progression but the 45-60 min easy rides are pointless, replace these with something a bit harder.

TheEnglishman

Well that's the rub you see. One group say long low heartrate sessions are key to building stamina/endurance. And then someone else comes along and says don't do that do something else. Leaving those of us who just want to get out and do something utterly confused. You'd have thought the BHF know what they're doing as much as anyone else.

So I doubt this training regime isn't wrong or bad, it's just different. I mean even the training schedules this site puts up has its detractors. I guess you can only try... :?:

dw300

TheEnglishman wrote:

Well that's the rub you see. One group say long low heartrate sessions are key to building stamina/endurance. And then someone else comes along and says don't do that do something else. Leaving those of us who just want to get out and do something utterly confused. You'd have thought the BHF know what they're doing as much as anyone else.

So I doubt this training regime isn't wrong or bad, it's just different. I mean even the training schedules this site puts up has its detractors. I guess you can only try... :?:

I'm certain they do know what they're doing, however they'll tend to be aiming their info at people with heart problems, or people worried that they my be at risk of them, not people who cycle regularly .. hence the recommendation to throw in a little extra intensity. The easy rides will burn some fat off you .. if your diet is spot on they'll help you get faster from getting lighter.

edit .. Lol .. ok maybe I should have read it first, seems ok to me for people aiming at the 60-90 mile sportives as they say. The Saturday easy rides seem to be to get the saddle-hours up, a bit of an active recovery type ride.

jfw

Herbsman wrote:
Pedal, then pedal more. Then pedal harder. Then more. Then harder.

(I'm being serious)


Not really true though is it? I mean I could race my commute as hard as I could in London and it'd do nothing but tire my legs out with little benefit for a 100 mile ride.

You need to be a bit smarter than just riding as far as you can as fast as you can.

I think he means build up distance/ volume - then when you're adapted to distance/volume increase intensity - then when you're quicker - do another step up in distance/volume (don't increase distance/volume and intensity at the same time)

Herbsman

phreak wrote:

Herbsman wrote:

Pedal, then pedal more. Then pedal harder. Then more. Then harder.

(I'm being serious)

Not really true though is it? I mean I could race my commute as hard as I could in London and it'd do nothing but tire my legs out with little benefit for a 100 mile ride.

You need to be a bit smarter than just riding as far as you can as fast as you can.

I didn't actually say "ride as far as you can as fast as you can". Obviously I wasn't trying to write a strict and specific training plan for the fella to follow. Just a simple suggestion that, simply, more pedaling is required. It is up to him to work out how to spend that pedaling time. Perhaps by reading a book, like the Cyclist's Training Bible perhaps?

Besides, have you got nothing to do but pick holes in something I said two months ago? If I had actually said "Dude, ride as far as you can as fast as you can and that will totally work for what you are trying to achieve!" then I could understand why you had bothered.

DavidJB

jfw wrote:

Herbsman wrote:
Pedal, then pedal more. Then pedal harder. Then more. Then harder.

(I'm being serious)


Not really true though is it? I mean I could race my commute as hard as I could in London and it'd do nothing but tire my legs out with little benefit for a 100 mile ride.

You need to be a bit smarter than just riding as far as you can as fast as you can.

I think he means build up distance/ volume - then when you're adapted to distance/volume increase intensity - then when you're quicker - do another step up in distance/volume (don't increase distance/volume and intensity at the same time)

Such bad advice...going at your maximum all the time be it distance or speed is very bad training.

cyco2

jfw wrote:

Such bad advice...going at your maximum all the time be it distance or speed is very bad training.

Yes, especially if you wanted to do a touring event but for racing very beneficial even if at times unsustainable. But a little an often would get you there.

Herbsman

DavidJB wrote:

jfw wrote:

Herbsman wrote:
Pedal, then pedal more. Then pedal harder. Then more. Then harder.

(I'm being serious)


Not really true though is it? I mean I could race my commute as hard as I could in London and it'd do nothing but tire my legs out with little benefit for a 100 mile ride.

You need to be a bit smarter than just riding as far as you can as fast as you can.

I think he means build up distance/ volume - then when you're adapted to distance/volume increase intensity - then when you're quicker - do another step up in distance/volume (don't increase distance/volume and intensity at the same time)

Such bad advice...going at your maximum all the time be it distance or speed is very bad training.

Errrr hello. Nobody suggested that.