Mountain Mayhem - Training plan for a Uni student

Er, sorry but no amount of time in the gym lifting weights, running, rowing, etc is going to prepare you for riding for 24 hours (or whatever part of that you'll be on the bike). These activities should supplement rather than replace the riding - there is simply no realistic replacement for hours on the bike in this case. Partly this is because your body needs to be prepared for the strain of being in the saddle, in the riding position for that amount of time.

zstaines wrote:

Thanks OwenBird for your advise on power training, which I think I'm lacking in at the moment. I currently do CV work in the gym.

Paulie W if you read my problem I can't ride my bike or any other type of bike at my uni because my halls of residence do not allow bike storage. I live too far away from home to go back there for a weekend ride. Next time read the persons problem before you comment and FYI I competed in last years Mountain Mayhem so I full realise that time spent in the saddle is the best form of training and that the mental side of the race is WAY more important than fitness when it comes to endurance races.

I read your problem and as someone who has done dozens of endurance races, including a number of 24 hour solos I told you what I think - that gym time is going to be damn near useless for this purpose unless coupled with miles on the bike. Your 'problem' is that you are not being realistic.

I am in the same boat as you but luckly i have my road bike here, with three months to go does anyone think training one day on one day off is ok?

OwenBird wrote:

Paulie - Yes, if you want to get good at riding long distances/times on a bike, the best way to train for it is to ride long distances on a bike. If this option is not available to us, we have to see what alternatives are available.

I think that any training (which doesn't cause injury) is better than no training. It may not be ideal, but it is better than nothing. I cannot see how this guy busting his ass in the gym, then having a nice taper before the event will fail to positively impact his performance.

You're right, of course, some training is better than no training and I apologise if my initial answer seemed a bit rude. I just know from bitter experience that there is no real replacement for putting in the hours on the bike (and in truth the hours off road for an event like MM) and I guess I was making the point that the OP should try to find a way of getting access to a bike for the next few months, even if its an old hack that he locks up outside.

If the OP is doing this as part of a team (particularly if there are 4 of you) then it is less of a problem than if doing it solo or in a team of 2.

I guess I would look to do some work on the static bikes:

one time trail (over the MM lap distance maybe) aboslutely flat out
one set of intervals - you can vary the duration and number and you could mix it up with intervals on the rower, treadmill or cross-trainer
one ride of 1-1.5 hours (which is about 2 laps of the MM course) at tempo
one 'long' ride building the length up over the weeks at race pace or just below - I dont know how long you can stand on a static but I would be looking to weekend rides of 3-4 hours which just isnt realistic in a gym; maybe shorter sessions on the treadmill but still 1hr plus
rest days or very gentle spinning, jogging in between each session and obviously you're looking to build the effort for each session (by lengthening or going quicker) over the weeks.
tapering is of course a necessity

I would also conisder doing some core work which would involve doing combination exercises like squats, bench press, dead lifts, etc on 'rest days'.

There is also something to be said for pilates type training to strengthen the core.

Paulie - S'all good.

ZS - Kick some asses!

The solution to this is quite different I suspect..

Similarly when I was at Uni no bikes in rooms. However an almost unlimited number of bike parts could be stored...

Dismantle it an stick it in the wardrobe,as long as it doesn;t block the way in or out then no one will care