Learning to train effectively

[ICU812]

I have a few goals in mind - one is join the cycling club and the other is to do the MS gong ride later in the year
I have no athletic genes in my body. I went to the gym to strengthen my legs (pump class) using sensible weights and couldn't walk for 4 days afterwards - gave that up after numerous attempts.
I'm not getting any younger, I'm 41 and chasing after 3 children. Time can be against me sometimes, but I have a supportive husband who encourages me to ride more.
Are there rules to training effectively? Should I use my HRM more often?
I would like to get better at riding, it is my aim, but not really sure what I need to be doing to get better - distance and effort. Any websites helpful?
If I join the club now, I'll be left for dead - we have some very high performers in our club - one in the Tour de France (Mark Renshaw) and another 2 women who came second in the para olympics tandem racing Bejiing last year!!
All your help would be fantastic
Sam

[sogood]

Join your local cycling club to get stronger. The thing about it is, by riding with faster riders, you'll push yourself harder and have a realistic gauge to measure your improvements.

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Well the best thing is simply to ride as often as you can.

The main rule is to ride regularly (4 rides/week is great), don't ramp up how much you do too quickly (e.g. if starting with 3-4 hours of riding, 15-min extra each week is enough) and enjoy it!

Don't worry about HRMs etc at this stage, the best thing for now is to ride and enjoy it. The more you ride, the fitter you'll get and you'll naturally start going faster and so the rides will get a bit longer.

A few hills around your way, so every now and then, do some of those and pick roads you can get over and not need to walk.

I don't personally know the organisers behind the Bathurst club but I'm sure Mark's mum would be happy to point you in the right direction. She's no spring chicken herself (neither am I) but rides competitively and enjoys it.

Many clubs encourage beginners and might even have a ride every so often especially for them.

[der Ungar]

Just ride, and you'll surprise yourself and find that you do, indeed, have athletic genes in your body!

You'll probably also surprise yourself at just how quickly you improve if you can get out there 4 times a week.

Good luck!

Michael

[ICU812]

The more you ride, the fitter you'll get and you'll naturally start going faster and so the rides will get a bit longer.

A few hills around your way, so every now and then, do some of those and pick roads you can get over and not need to walk.

I've been riding for a few years now and have had some setbacks here and there. The lastest is a serious lung condition. I have be strongly encouraged to ride my bike frequently to clear the gunk from my lungs. So this pushes me to out there riding and makes me more motivated.

I sometimes get really scared of going outside of my territory to increase my km - it is isolated and my mobile doesn't work if something went wrong, so I stick around town.

I'm at the point where I am significantly better than my friends at bike riding, so I have to go myself or find someone to ride with. I will sus out the bike club training morning.

Yes there are hills a plenty around here, every direction you head there are hills. A lot of them I can get up, usually slowly but I don't stop or I can't get back on. Mt Panorama is one of the evil mountains I can't do yet.(':twisted:')

Thanks for your encouragement - I will pick up the pace more often.
Sam

[slane]

Hey Sam,

you must be my doppelganger in Bathurst!

I'm Sam too! 43. One kid. Wanna ride with the local club but too slow.
Really gotta ride more and think about it less. When DD goes to school it will be easier to ride. Excuses! Excuses!

I get scared getting out on the road too, some days I just have to stay inside and pedal my trainer. And there are hills all around me too!

If its the sort of thing that helps you, you could hook upto me as a friend on fitlink and we can encourage and or inspire each other.
I'm not allowed to post links yet so if you can figure this out ...

www dot fitlink dot com slash samlane


have fun

Sam

[im_no_pro]

Heres the link for you

fitlink

[JV911]

some more info here

[slane]

I don't know if this is the sort of thing you're looking for, but I borrowed a book called "ride fast" by Eric Harr from the library recently and it has week by week schedules of workouts for 10 weeks, with the promise that you'll be able do a TT at 25mph at the end.

[bracko]

i would actually make an argument for the heart rate monitor... more for your own safety and increased fitness development than anything else.

if you want to increase your fitness quickly, HIIT (high intensity, inverval training) is one of the best ways.

you can do this a number of ways... either based on time or heart rate.

example... choose a fairly flat track that is safe to keep riding around... when you start, get your heart rate up to an exercise level (this is age dependent) then do bursts of 1min at a higher heart rate (be careful not to exceed your maximum allowable, especially considering you have mentioned you are not fit) then do 2-5 min at "rest" speed then go again for a min... then 2-5min rest....

the other way is to keep your (these are my pulse rates) heart at 150bpm for the rest and raise it to 170 for the peaks for 2min then back down for 3min....

your fitness will increase vastly quicker than just going for a casual ride, but of course it's not as enjoyable... so it's dependent on how quickly you want to increase your fitness...

maybe find a personal trainer who has experience in cycling and get them to assess your firness and write you a simple plan including light weights, some swimming if you like that and a cycling plan?? that shouldn't be too expensive at all then get assessed every month and have the plane updated.

also body pump is pretty full on!! does your gym have any less hard courses, a spin class is obviously the best.

[sogood]

i would actually make an argument for the heart rate monitor...

example... choose a fairly flat track that is safe to keep riding around... when you start, get your heart rate up to an exercise level (this is age dependent) then do bursts of 1min at a higher heart rate (be careful not to exceed your maximum allowable, especially considering you have mentioned you are not fit) then do 2-5 min at "rest" speed then go again for a min... then 2-5min rest....

the other way is to keep your (these are my pulse rates) heart at 150bpm for the rest and raise it to 170 for the peaks for 2min then back down for 3min....

HRM is not useful for these short intervals you describe due to the delay b/n physical exertion and rise in HR.

As for reference on HR. We all have an individualized maximum heart rate but there's no such thing as maximum allowable.

So given all the misunderstanding that already exist on HR and HRM use, I'd say that the OP is better off to stay away from it until she want to get into a more defined form of training. Otherwise it's just wasting money on unnecessary gadgets.

[slane]

This business about not being able to post links is really a bore!

There are a few articles on bicycling dot com about strength training for cyclists

one is www dot bicycling dot com slash article slah 0,6610,s1-4-20-15681-1-P,00.html

which is about core training

and the other is

www dot bicycling dot com slash article slash 0,6610,s1-4-20-14276-1,00.html

which is about plyometrics.
All exercises that can be done at home!

Also, if you go to samstuff dot x10hosting dot com and click on spinning, there is some podrunner music that I've added prompts to make interval training. Its 3 sets of 20sec intervals with 40s rest and 5 min rests between sets.

If anyone could be bothered translating my links I'd be grateful

[sogood]

This business about not being able to post links is really a bore!

It has been highly successful in keeping spammers away.

[slane]

This business about not being able to post links is really a bore!

It has been highly successful in keeping spammers away.

Well that's all jolly well .. but you could have translated my links into real links for me!

[Alex Simmons/RST]

i would actually make an argument for the heart rate monitor... more for your own safety and increased fitness development than anything else.

if you want to increase your fitness quickly, HIIT (high intensity, inverval training) is one of the best ways.

you can do this a number of ways... either based on time or heart rate.

example... choose a fairly flat track that is safe to keep riding around... when you start, get your heart rate up to an exercise level (this is age dependent) then do bursts of 1min at a higher heart rate (be careful not to exceed your maximum allowable, especially considering you have mentioned you are not fit) then do 2-5 min at "rest" speed then go again for a min... then 2-5min rest....

the other way is to keep your (these are my pulse rates) heart at 150bpm for the rest and raise it to 170 for the peaks for 2min then back down for 3min....

your fitness will increase vastly quicker than just going for a casual ride, but of course it's not as enjoyable... so it's dependent on how quickly you want to increase your fitness...

maybe find a personal trainer who has experience in cycling and get them to assess your firness and write you a simple plan including light weights, some swimming if you like that and a cycling plan?? that shouldn't be too expensive at all then get assessed every month and have the plane updated.

also body pump is pretty full on!! does your gym have any less hard courses, a spin class is obviously the best.

Hi bracko

I like your enthusiasm but unfortunately your advice on use of HR is somewhat deficient.

The OP will do well to simply ride frequently and gradually increase the duration they spend on a bike each week. If they can do 4-5 rides per week it will make a big difference. Consistency is key.

Staying positive and finding ways to maintain motivation are important. Appropriate ride buddies is a good one, so I hope the Bathurst club can help with that. Having some goals to work towards is always a good one too.

For some riders, introducing them to specific hard interval work is the worst thing you can do. Particularly a newer rider who's had a few setbacks and has mentioned some respiratory problems. In addition, the sort of HIIT you are suggesting often provides a short term boost to fitness (and is just as quickly lost) but doesn't address the type of physiological adaptations required to make the longer term gains.

As long as Sam is pedalling with reasonable effort, the terrain around where she lives will act as a natural set of unstructured intervals anyway.

Sam, keep it up, we all have setbacks. It happens, just get back into it when healthy and ramp up steadily. Hills are your friend, they will make you a better rider in the long run.

And if anyone is concerned about their health or readiness for strenuous exercise, they should consult a medical professional.

[Alex Simmons/RST]

I don't know if this is the sort of thing you're looking for, but I borrowed a book called "ride fast" by Eric Harr from the library recently and it has week by week schedules of workouts for 10 weeks, with the promise that you'll be able do a TT at 25mph at the end.

That's a hell of a promise

[toolonglegs]

I don't know if this is the sort of thing you're looking for, but I borrowed a book called "ride fast" by Eric Harr from the library recently and it has week by week schedules of workouts for 10 weeks, with the promise that you'll be able do a TT at 25mph at the end.

That's a hell of a promise

Yes...my thought to ...did he design power cranks as well then?.

[sogood]

I don't know if this is the sort of thing you're looking for, but I borrowed a book called "ride fast" by Eric Harr from the library recently and it has week by week schedules of workouts for 10 weeks, with the promise that you'll be able do a TT at 25mph at the end.

That's a hell of a promise

Don't miss the sub-clause... In 15mph tail wind and in the middle of a team TT line.

[Alex Simmons/RST]

This business about not being able to post links is really a bore!

There are a few articles on bicycling dot com about strength training for cyclists

one is www dot bicycling dot com slash article slah 0,6610,s1-4-20-15681-1-P,00.html

which is about core training

and the other is

www dot bicycling dot com slash article slash 0,6610,s1-4-20-14276-1,00.html

which is about plyometrics.
All exercises that can be done at home!

Also, if you go to samstuff dot x10hosting dot com and click on spinning, there is some podrunner music that I've added prompts to make interval training. Its 3 sets of 20sec intervals with 40s rest and 5 min rests between sets.

If anyone could be bothered translating my links I'd be grateful

Yeah, do any or all of those if interested in that kind of thing, but if riding a bike faster with greater endurance is the primary aim, then nothing will help achieve that better/faster than riding a bike.

So I'd only suggest doing other forms of exercise if:
i. you are doing them for reasons other than to get fitter for bike riding and
ii. they don't replace time you might have spent on a bike.

[ICU812]

As long as Sam is pedalling with reasonable effort, the terrain around where she lives will act as a natural set of unstructured intervals anyway.

Sam, keep it up, we all have setbacks. It happens, just get back into it when healthy and ramp up steadily. Hills are your friend, they will make you a better rider in the long run.

Thanks that makes me feel so much better. I went for a ride later this evening as it is far too hot during the day. Didn't bother with the HRM at all, just went for it and enjoyed it. I did 23 km undulating terrain (before the sun set) and did my best ever average speed of 20.1km/hr. (':D') I know that doesn't sound much, but to me I'm smitten and it is progress.
Sam

[sogood]

Thanks that makes me feel so much better. I went for a ride later this evening as it is far too hot during the day. Didn't bother with the HRM at all, just went for it and enjoyed it. I did 23 km undulating terrain (before the sun set) and did my best ever average speed of 20.1km/hr. (':D') I know that doesn't sound much, but to me I'm smitten and it is progress.

Good job for throwing away that HRM.

When you start, you'll improve quickly with or without a gadget, just need to go out and ride. Those gadget really only come into use when you are starting to hit a plateau and only if you grasp the correct concepts on their use.