Realistic fitness expectations.

Gym?

However is it possible for us to get to that level of fitness?

VO2 max is essentially genetically hard wired so bottom line is pro riders are born not made. You may have the genetic raw material if so you then you need to train like a pro and also have the necessary mental fortitude to push yourself into some dark places

cougie wrote:

I'm not sure I buy the genetics theory. Read Bounce by Matthew Sayed. It's a good book.

Agreed Bounce is a good read and makes some interesting points for skills based sports or games, but I think it falls down somewhat in a sport like cycling or running in which there is genuinely a huge contribution from in-built aerobic abilities. Granted aerobic/anaerobic/endurance capacities can all be improved with the right training, but in some of us, no amount of even the best training will get us up to pro or olympic standards.

ben@31 wrote:

...
I know what you mean by having a different mind set. But I do like to push myself and see what I'm capable of.

What you are doing is fine, the main thing is that whatever you do it's important to stay motivated. The benefits of outdoor training, especially at this time of year, can be over rated. The main benefit from them in my experience is that, if you expect to have to compete when conditions are bad, then training in conditions that are much worse toughens up your spirit and gives you an edge over warm weather riders.

With regard to your original question it's impossible to answer. The closest you can come is to follow a structured training programme including a good fitness test. Then at least you should be able to see if you are improving and have some idea as to what's making this happen (time spent training, intensity of training, workload mix etc). Also when you plateau you will hopefully have some idea as to whether you have reached an absolute limit or not, and whether adjusting any of the training variables has any effect in terms of breaking through to a new level of performance.

As an aside: having a goal related to VO2 is going to be pretty hard as you VO2 requires a specialised test to measure (if it's done correctly, some exercise machines have a setting for this but they are not going to be very accurate as they are nothing more than normal fitness load test over time and take no account of the many factors that could affect a result which they are incapable of measuring).

A far better measure is watts/kg, especially for cycling. This factors in the fact that in terms of end performance racing weight is also very important (save if you are an out and out track sprint specialist) and will, normally, be considered as part of any serious training program. (If using gym equipment to measure watts may still not be completely accurate. Using a variety of machines and averaging results may help with this. And some machines are actually quite good.)

It also has a fairly well established table that lets you compare yourself with the pros.

Some sample figures below (source WKO) for 60 mins and 5 mins sustained power (all are ofc subject to variation and also ofc if you are a sprinter then figures will be lower than if you are a climber. Nonetheless in the right ballpark. The figure of 6+ W/kg 60 mins power is for sure the minimum standard for those thinking about winning the tour. If you want to see how close to a pro you are just see how long you can sustain this power for. For most folks it will be less than 5 mins, which illustrates the gulf between us and those who can put out this level of power for an hour)

Untrained....................60 mins < 2.5 W/kg...................5 mins < 3W/kg
Trained (cat 4ish)..........60 mins > 3.5W/kg.................... 5 mins > 4.3W/kg
Good (cat 3/2)..............60 mins > 4 W/kg................... . 5 mins >4.8 W/kg
Very good (cat 1)............60 mins > 5 W/kg.................... 5 mins >6 W/kg
Pro............................60 mins > 5.8 W/kg.................. 5 mins >6.9 W/kg
TDF winner...................60 mins > 6.5W/kg................... 5 mins> 7.7 W/kg

Muffintop wrote:

..

As an asside, do you have a specific goal in mind? Raising your VO2 to which level and to what end? Where are you just now? Once you get the numbers what will that mean in practical terms - if it's just to get quicker, how quick? To be able to do a certain route or event under x time? I'm sure you know it's not just about the numbers, they're just a numerical translation of practical abilities.

Mx

Raising a performance level (watts/kg especially for cycling) is a perfectly sensible goal in and of itself and should be done regardless of whether you actually race or not. How "quick" you ride is hugely variable and a much less useful objective. (my granny can ride at 70 kph in her wheelchair if you push her in the right direction down a hill)

If you look at the training of top riders this is the value they will be monitoring for most of the year, since they know the threshold they need to reach in order to have a realistic chance of achieving a goal.

By all means supplement goals related to an absolute measure like W/kg with those like setting a PB for a TT or moving up a racing category. This will help with motivation and encourage you to consider broader aspects of the sport like aerodynamics, race tactics and the like which make it more interesting. But even with these knowing your w/kg provides a big benefit since it will help you understand what is and is not working to improve them.

bahzob wrote:

Raising a performance level (watts/kg especially for cycling) is a perfectly sensible goal in and of itself and should be done regardless of whether you actually race or not. How "quick" you ride is hugely variable and a much less useful objective. (my granny can ride at 70 kph in her wheelchair if you push her in the right direction down a hill)

If you look at the training of top riders this is the value they will be monitoring for most of the year, since they know the threshold they need to reach in order to have a realistic chance of achieving a goal.

By all means supplement goals related to an absolute measure like W/kg with those like setting a PB for a TT or moving up a racing category. This will help with motivation and encourage you to consider broader aspects of the sport like aerodynamics, race tactics and the like which make it more interesting. But even with these knowing your w/kg provides a big benefit since it will help you understand what is and is not working to improve them.

The professionals main aim is not achieving a particular threashold though, and they're not paid for that... it's one (of alot of elements that) enable them to compete at that particular level - to ride (and win) the TDF, TT and all that jazz. For them it's just a means to an end, not an abstract end in itself. I'm sure the OP has his own goals in mind, but being in his position I would need something more substantial than the VO2 alone, which he didn't mention so I was wondering what they were.

Mx