Need some training advice badly

themarfancyclist

I have been cycling for about two seasons now and seem to be struggling a bit. My average speed on a 25 miles ride can vary between 13.5-15.6 (on a really good day with little wind) for a solo ride. I can do low 16's with some drafting on group rides. I attributed this to the fact that I was not very strong. Prior to taking up cycling I was not athletic and quite sedentary.

I joined a local gym so I could better maintain/improve my cardio. I have been doing some interval training on the spin bike and seem to be running into some issues.

One workout I like to do as 5 x 5min at between 200-230w, and another is 4 x 10 min at 150-170 watts. I have this issue where sometimes I can knock them out and sometimes I can't seem to get through them. I keep hearing that as a 33 year old male cyclist I should be able to turn out 150 watts for hours on end with ease. Sunday I went to do the 10 min @ 150 watts and by the end of the second rep I was hurting and just couldn't keep the watts up despite my heart being around 160bpm. I try to keep the interval stuff down to twice a week, but I do at least 20 min or more of cardio every evening on the bike or the elliptical w/ a bit of strength training.

It feel like I might just be tired...i work long days on my feet and sleep pretty well, but sometimes get a little less than I would like. Nutrition is pretty good, a lot of whole plant based foods with some meat sprinkled in from time to time.

Not really sure what is going on though...I would like to be able to go out and do high 16's low 17's for my average speed. My rides are pretty flat so this should not be an issue. Some days I just really doubt my training.

I was wondering if anyone could advise me on how I should start training to better reach this goal. Any help would be appreciated. The weather is slowly improving and the days or getting longer, so more outside training is coming...but for the next few weeks I am keeping it in doors.

Thanks in advance,
Adam

My bike is an Ultegra Ridley Fenix Alloy with an 32-11 cassette in the rear and a 52/36 up front. I am 33 years of age about 6'2 and weigh 198lbs or about 90 kilos. I use a wahoo elemnt and I have a heart rate monitor and a cadence sensor...no power meter yet

My strava profile is below if you want to check out some data

https://www.strava.com/athletes/12045711

singleton

Improvements will come but they take a while.
I improved the most when I started riding with quicker riders - it seems obvious in a way, but to ride faster you have to ride faster. Get outside and ride your bike as much as you can. Don't be constantly beasting yourself, a 2 or 3 hour ride at low intensity is great for fitness.

Remember that training doesn't make you fitter - recovery makes you fitter - so allow time for proper rest and don't overtain.

timothyw

Assuming that you aren't doing lots of rides/training that you don't upload to strava, then the advice is simple - Ride more.

The stats have you as having done an average of 20km a week for the past 4 weeks - that is nothing. I ride 220km each week just commuting.

If you honestly want to do it, then get out and do it. You will get better at it - you can worry about training smarter in a few months when your fitness has increased.

If you are doing it just to hit the numbers on a static trainer, then what's the point?

fenix

Sign up for trainerroad and get a turbo thats compatible with them or a powermeter.

Then follow one of their programs. As it is - you may be overdoing stuff which is why your performance suffers. It's easy to do this with intervals. Especially as your mileage looks very low.

With TR you repeat sessions every few weeks and you'll see that your either putting out more power for the same HR or the same power for lower HR. It's very motivational.

markhewitt1978

As others have said, an average of 1 hour per week? For a training load that basically equals zero. You simply need to do a lot more riding.

Mind you I do seem to have the stuck to one speed issue too, flat out, taking it east, flat, hilly, always 14.2mph

themarfancyclist

Good advice so far guys! It's just feels like I am going backwards sometimes.Most of my miles have been indoor, and the spin bikes at the gym don't support strava as far as I can see...maybe tack on two extra 20 miles indoor sessions a week. That would be pretty accurate. I have defiantly seen improvements in avg heart rate and recovery time in between efforts.

sungod

two years in, given your age/weight, i'd think you should indeed be able to do 150w for hours, short reps at 230w also is low, raises the question of whether the power readings are accurate

have you been pushing for two years? or have you really been taking it easy?

if you've been pushing and your hr is maxing at 160 and at those power levels, it seems low for your age and i would seek a health check

if you've been taking it easy then you can soon improve by putting in the effort


assuming no health issue, indoors i'd suggest look at much higher intensity interval training a couple of times a week, i used to do sufferfest downward spiral, https://thesufferfest.com/products/the-downward-spiral it's pretty brutal if you do it correctly, i just give it as an example, there are many other ways as suggested above

you can do intervals on perceived exertion, doesn't need a pm, a dumb turbo and a big fan are all you need

these together with lengthening rides at the weekend to build endurance

dinyull

Fenix wrote:

Sign up for trainerroad and get a turbo thats compatible with them or a powermeter.

Then follow one of their programs. As it is - you may be overdoing stuff which is why your performance suffers. It's easy to do this with intervals. Especially as your mileage looks very low.

With TR you repeat sessions every few weeks and you'll see that your either putting out more power for the same HR or the same power for lower HR. It's very motivational.

This - it's the best money I've spent on cycling.

Follow their plans and you will soon notice a difference. I haven't used it for about 5 months, and despite riding approx 140 miles a week I'm just about to start back up again as I'm losing the benefits.

themarfancyclist

I am new to trying any sort of structured training...and I don't think I have been pushing as hard as I could per say...I am going to include an image of HR data from my 5 x 5min @ 200-230 watt intervals. I guess we will just assume maybe these spin bikes are not accurate. When I back the watts down to 150 or so on the spin bike my hear will usually settle into the low 160's

perhaps this will give some more insight

sungod wrote:

two years in, given your age/weight, i'd think you should indeed be able to do 150w for hours, short reps at 230w also is low, raises the question of whether the power readings are accurate

have you been pushing for two years? or have you really been taking it easy?

if you've been pushing and your hr is maxing at 160 and at those power levels, it seems low for your age and i would seek a health check

if you've been taking it easy then you can soon improve by putting in the effort


assuming no health issue, indoors i'd suggest look at much higher intensity interval training a couple of times a week, i used to do sufferfest downward spiral, https://thesufferfest.com/products/the-downward-spiral it's pretty brutal if you do it correctly, i just give it as an example, there are many other ways as suggested above

you can do intervals on perceived exertion, doesn't need a pm, a dumb turbo and a big fan are all you need

these together with lengthening rides at the weekend to build endurance

sungod

have a read of some of the articles on cp tips, they are flannel free and generally well regarded

if you are really just starting out, i suggested base what you do on perceived exertion rather than watching numbers, and keep things simple

http://www.cptips.com/percxtn.htm

fenix

I'd not put too much faith in the accuracy of the bike at the gym. I know my gyms spin bike that tells me power has me at 350w for most of a session. I don't think I'm that strong at the moment....

It might be wrong but consistently wrong - which wouldnt be so bad - but if someones on that bike and you have to use another - well you're screwed.

TR and a turbo and a plan is MUCH better.

Websta24

I had a look at your strava profile and your rides seem to be quite short and only ever a maximum of 1.5 hours. I would extend these, but don't worry too much about speed. I'd be looking at upping your mileage each week. and spend a good 2-3 hours in the saddle per ride!