New rider improvement curve

craigus89

I know that this is an extremely subjective question, but responses would be appreciated.

I began riding around Christmas last year, have covered a little over 1,000 miles since and the improvement curve has been great. I'm using Strava to track my progress (trying to ignore the segments and leaderboards) which I realise is not the best way to do it, but for a new rider it is very accessible and at least you can see when you are going faster on certain rides etc. I won't list a load of rubbish from strava about my rides but when I started I struggled on any incline, and could only manage 20 miles at about 13mph. Now I can get up most hills (just spinning but it feels like an accomplishment) and can do a flattish 20 miles at about 17.5mph. Recently I have done an 80 mile group ride which was fantastic fun.

Basically, what I'm asking is how long does this improvement curve last for? I hear other riders and see posts on here with people saying that they platau and need to do more 'serious' training, HRM intervals etc to see any improvement.

I'm not sure what my goals are, I doubt I will ever race or TT, but would like to just keep improving and getting faster and better on the hills.

Is it worth me looking into training yet or should I still just rack up time in the saddle and reconsider this next summer?

Thanks

lambpie

You’ll get responses along these lines I suspect.

- Just enjoy riding as much as you can and worry you’ll keep getting faster
- Learn some basic training techniques – balancing “easy” rides with some harder interval sessions to help up the speed & endurance (but nothing too complex/onerous)
- Find an online training programme (there are loads) and follow it
- Get a coach
- Buy a new bike / wheels / seatpost etc

All of the above will have helped different people on this forum continue to improve their performance and all are valid (clearly some will get better results than others). The truth is, you are the only one who can answer what is going to work for you as you understand your personality (i.e. do you respond generally to structure or do you reject it), and you know how badly you really want to get faster and how fast.

So pick a direction from the list above and just do it. All of the above will allow you to continue to improve, especially as a newer rider.

Clearly buying a new bike is the best option.

dw300

You'll keep improving until, for whatever reason, you can't add more volume and intensity to your training schedule. When you stop cycling further or faster than you did last month, then you'll plateau.

kajjal

Eventually it comes down to motivation, diet, rest /recovery and how much / how hard you ride. I have no interest in TT or racing on road so just enjoy the riding. You might find a bike fit useful if you are reaching your limits.

Newlife

You won't be anywhere near you limits yet and should enjoy increasing fitness and performance for some time yet. As far as the curve goes if you keep pushing yourself and eventually develop a proper training plan you can reasonably hope to see gains for around 5 years until you hit that glass ceiling. Note that I did say "eventually" develop a proper training plan as you don't need one yet. Just spend as much time as you can going out on the bike whilst remembering to take a day of two off whenever you need it. I personally wouldn't worry about intervals and such like for a few months yet.

BenderRodriguez

Generally, the rate of improvement that you will see will become slower and slower, even as you keep on progressively increasing your work load, and sooner or later you will plateau due to limitations on the amount of time you have to train, an inability to recover from an increased work load, an increases susceptibility to illness and injury, a loss of motivation and so forth. If you train seriously (i.e. close to the limits of your current ability) you will probably be already performing at more than 80% of your ultimate capacity after less than a year and at over 90% of your ultimate capacity after as little as 2 years.

Stephen Seilers' 'The Time Course Of Training Adaptations' gives some insight into the underlying physiology:

The First Wave of Change- Increased Maximal Oxygen Consumption

In a previously untrained person, VO2 max is increased significantly after only one week of training! The reason for this early improvement appears to be an increase in blood volume, which results in improved maximal stroke volume. As training continues, VO2max continues to increase, for several months, albeit at a slower rate of improvement. We have already discussed the fact that the heart appears to be remodeled by endurance training, developing a greater ventricular volume diameter, and other more subtle adapatations that make it a more effective pump. After about 3-4 months of regular exercise, the improvement in maximal oxygen consumption begins to level off dramatically. At this point, it is common to see about a 15-20% improvement in this variable. For example, a hypothetical male (who I will call Bjorn) with an initial VO2max of 3.5 liters/min (at a bodyweight of 75kg, that's 47ml/min/kg) may increase to 4.0 liters/min, a 14% increase in absolute VO2. If in the process of training, Bjorn also loses 4kg (close to 10 pounds), then his relative VO2 max will have increased even more (from 3500/75 or 47, to 4000/71 or 56 ml/min/kg). This is a nearly 20% improvement. Unfortunately, after another 6 months of training, it will have increased little more, if any. If the level of training intensity remained the same after the first 4 months, then no further changes would be expected. If on the other hand, Bjorn continues to intensify his training over the next 6 months, a small additional increase might occur. This increase might be as much as 5 additional percent, bringing our example athlete up from an initial value of 3.5 liters/ min at 75 kg, to 4.2 liters/min at 70kg (he also lost another 1 kg of fat). That's 47 ml/min/kg up to 60 ml/min/kg due to a combination of both increased absolute VO2max (20%) and decreased bodyweight (6.7%), for a total improvement in relative maximal oxygen consumption of 27%. This is actually an unusually large improvement in this variable, but definitely plausible.

If our example subject started at a higher level of VO2, the relative improvement would almost certainly be less dramatic. The important point to recognize from this is that VO2 max increases fairly rapidly in response to chronic exercise, then plateaus. If our example athlete continues training another 5 years, his VO2 max won't improve any more. It might actually decrease slightly due to age related declines in maximal heart rate. Depressed? Don't be. There is much more to endurance performance then the Vo2 max.

The Second Wave of Change-The Lactate Threshold

At the same time Bjorn's VO2max was increasing due to central and peripheral cardiovascular adaptations, changes were beginning to occur in his skeletal muscles (let's assume Bjorn is a runner, so the adaptations of interest are happening in the legs).

Initially, an incremental exercise test on a treadmill revealed that Bjorn began to show an substantial increase in lactic acid concentration in his blood while running at 60% of his maximal oxygen consumption. Remember, his max was 3.5 liters/min. 60% of this is 2.1 l/min. So functionally speaking, 2.1 l/min was his threshold workload for sustained exercise. If he runs at a speed that elicits a higher VO2 than 2.1, he fatigues quite quickly. However, over time, the overload of training induced quantitative changes to begin occurring in his leg muscles. Mitochondrial synthesis increased. More enzymes necessary for fatty acid metabolism within the muscle cell were produced. And, the number of capillaries surrounding his muscle fibers began to increase. Additional capillaries are being constructed. The functional consequence of these local muscular adaptations is a very positve one. Bjorn's running muscles use more fat and less glycogen at any given running pace. And, the glycogen metabolized to pyruvate is less likely to be converted to lactic acid and more likely to inter the mitochondria for complete oxidative metabolism. Consequently, Bjorn's lactate threshold begins to increase. After 6 months of training, in addition to a higher VO2max, his lactate threshold has increased from 60% to 70% of max, a 17% improvement in an absolute sense, but functionally much more. Why? Because the 70% is relative to an increased max! So, Bjorn has gone from an initial sustainable oxygen consumption of 2.1 liters/min (60% of 3.5) to a new sustainable intensity of 2.8 liters/min, a 33% improvement!

Now, the important thing to know is this. While VO2max plateaus quite rapidly, lactate threshold does not. If Bjorn continues to train, and increase his intensity appropriately, his lactate threshold will continue to improve slowly for a longer period. Of course, improvements in lactate threshold also plateau, otherwise elite athletes that have been training for 15 years would have LT's of 100% of VO2 max! But, the time course of adaptation is slower, so the plateau occurs after a longer period of intense training, probably several years

It is also important to remember that the lactate threshold is even more specific to the mode of exercise than the VO2 max. This was exemplified by a study performed by Coyle et al. and published in 1991. In this study, 14 competitive cyclists with nearly identical VO2 max values differed substantially in their lactate threshold determined during cycling (ranging between 61 and 86% of VO2 max). When the cyclists were divided into a "low" and "high" LT groups (66% vs 81% of maximal oxygen consumption), it was found that the two groups differed considerable in the years of cycling training (2.7 compared to 5.1 years on average). However, they did not differ in years of endurance training (7-8 years of running, rowing etc.) When the low cycling LT and high cycling LT groups were asked to perform a lactate threshold test while running on a treadmill, the two groups were no longer different. Measured while running, the lactate threshold in both groups averaged over 80% of VO2 max. Similarly, if you are a runner and decide to add swimming and cycling to your training and compete in triathlons, you will immediately recognize that your running fitness does not immediately transfer to the bike, and of course not to the water!

The Third Wave of Change-Efficiency

The final element of our BIG THREE endurance adaptations is efficiency. I think we all know what it means to be an "efficient" person, or own a "fuel efficient car". But, what does the term mean when applied to endurance performance? It means the same thing, getting more done at lower "cost". Efficiency is defined as MECHANICAL WORK/METABOLIC WORK. For example, one (quite good) cyclist can sustain 300 watts power output for 1 hour on a cycling ergometer at a sustained VO2 of 4.3 liters/min. Another rider performing at the same oxygen consumption, squeezes out 315 watts, a difference in efficiency of 5%. Even though both riders have the same "metabolic engine" they have different power output capabilities. You don't do 40k time trials on a lab ergometer, though. So, thanks to my friend the cycling guru, Jim Martin, we can predict their actual performance time in a 40k time trial. If these two cyclists have identical aerodynamics and use aero bars, the times will be 56:10 vs. 55:15. This is only a one minute difference, but probably worth at least 2 or 3 places at the Masters Nationals Time Trial!

So efficiency makes a difference, often much bigger than the above example. And it also varies among different athletes. That's interesting, but not terribly useful for YOUR training. Your big question is probably "Can My Efficiency Improve With Training?". The answer is YES. In highly technical sports like swimming, efficiency differences between beginners and experienced swimmers can be absolutely tremendous! Swimmers already know this full well. In rowing, efficiency also improves dramatically at first, due to gross technical improvements. However, efficiency can also continue to improve after years of training. Dr. Fritz Hagerman followed one group of national class (U.S.) rowers for 8 years, measuring ergometer performance, VO2, lactate threshold, etc. Peak values for maximal oxygen consumption and lactate threshold stabilized after only 2 or 3 years in these hard training athletes. However, performance times on the water and on the rowing machine continued to improve over additional years of training. The reason? Slow improvements in rowing efficiency. One source that is independent of on-water technique may be optimization of workload distribution among the large muscle mass employed in rowing. Ultimately, the rowers who went on to become national team members and have success at the highest levels were more efficient than their peers.