Training for beginner

robbiemclaren

Hello everyone
I'm new to the forum and cycling and am looking for some training advice. having recently starting cycling for a club and competeing in my first race which was a 10mile tt (29:57 on a 10kg+ b-twin triban 3 without aero bars (on hoods)). So now I am looking for some advice on training to do over the next 6months or
So before the season starts again (for tt and crit). I come from a running background so I have all the fitness; aerobic and anaerobic but I just need the strength and power. At the moment i am really built like an endurance athlete and very tall for my age 6ft at 14 (18.9 bmi) so I am not sure whether to get bigger or keep lightweight, gym strength work is an option but I amnt sure what things are effective for cycling.
Thanks for any help

imposter2.0

Work on things that will improve your sustainable power and threshold - if you search this forum you should find plenty of useful threads. Gym work is not necessary. Bear in mind it's a bit early to start training for next season, but if you are a beginner, then just riding regular/often will be beneficial at the moment.

robbiemclaren

Thanks for your help. Isn't squating and good?

imposter2.0

robbiemclaren wrote:

Thanks for your help. Isn't squating and good?

Assuming you do not have any particular weaknesses or deficiencies, then your leg strength will not be a limiter in improving your performance on the bike. Plenty of threads about that on here too...

markos1963

At your level just getting out and riding often is going to be the best for you. Frequency of riding is one of the best ways of progressing quickly, even if you can only get out for a short time riding everyday will bring you on far faster. Make the most of your club mates and rides to gain bike handling experience and knowledge. If you are already lean and trained I would stay with that, power to weight is very important for cycling, you should be able to stay at your current weight and the strength will come from your riding. Stay out of the gym but work on core and flexibility.

robbiemclaren

Thanks, your advice is appreciated

Wrath Rob

markos1963 wrote:

At your level just getting out and riding often is going to be the best for you. Frequency of riding is one of the best ways of progressing quickly, even if you can only get out for a short time riding everyday will bring you on far faster. Make the most of your club mates and rides to gain bike handling experience and knowledge. If you are already lean and trained I would stay with that, power to weight is very important for cycling, you should be able to stay at your current weight and the strength will come from your riding. Stay out of the gym but work on core and flexibility.

This. When I started my biggest gains came from going from commuting 4 times a week and a Sunday 50 miler to commuting 4 times a week but increasing 2 of the homewards commutes by an hour to an hour and a half, plus the Sunday ride went to 60-70 miles.

I then plateaued and at that point I had to change the 2 mid week rides from unstructured miles to specific interval training to further increase my fitness. You could skip the plateau stage I went through and so something more structured in those midweek rides but you really need to know what your goals and weaknesses are to know what to do. For example with crit rating if you are able to stay in the bunch but eventually blow up before being able to contest the finish then its likely that you need shorter, harder intervals to simulate the surging in crit racing. If you want to improve your 10 mile TT time then much longer (20 minute) intervals will really help.

DHTT

If you haven't already make sure your gears are right for BC regulations, no point in training on gears you can't race. Biggest asset at Youth races I found was leg speed, you've got to be able to hold a high pace but get there quickly as well as most youth races are criteriums sprinting in and out, don't ignore your basic skills either cornering, moving up a group etc.

robbiemclaren

Thanks this has really made me think. My problem at the moment seems to be hills. On a weekly group ride everyone races up the biggest hill on the route and I always get dropped and finish in the middle of the group. So I think that is what I need work on. However the problem is that my parents aren't keen on allowing me out on the road alone so I am pretty much restricted to my local cycle track which is 11miles out slightly down hill and therefore slightly up hill on the way back so it seems impossible to get better at hills on flat?!?
And yes I had my gears restricted at a recent TT

imposter2.0

If you are getting dropped on climbs by riders of similar age/ability, then refer to my earlier comment on sustainable power and threshold. Alternatively, if you are 14 and getting dropped by regular racers in their 20s, 30s and 40s, then you might just have to live with it for now.