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Training Advice

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:51 am
by CoffeeNut
Ok - I'm back into it after many years off being slack and loading up that spare tyre....

Summary of my current performance/ability:

Long range stamina is fine - got that spare tyre to burn and I have a body/metabolism that works all day.

30km club rides - av 25km/h - staying with the bunch no worries - up hills we are all blowing hard, but HR to 90% and I'm not loosing it.

Long steady hills - no worries as long as I can do a smooth ramp up to 90 or 93% HR - and can then hold this for 5 or 10 mins.

Sharp hills where the rise from cruising (80% HR) to 93% HR is rapid - this is my real weakness - the lactose builds up quickly and I slip behind.

Finally the question - to work on this main weakness I need to understand it - do you think this is an issue of:
1. sheer strength (I sense this is the case)
2. muscle condition (I'm only 3 weeks back into the program after years off remember)
3. cardiovascular - O2 tpt systems

Opinions appreciated as I'll adjust my trg routine to work on this weakness.

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:03 am
by toolonglegs
if you can hold 90-93% of max hr for 5 to 10 mins after just 3 weeks back into training then I don't think you have much to worry about.Your spare tire will hold you back on the climbs as is, but you may want to try some intensity or power efforts to get your body used to ramping it up quickly.
PS you should start a bit of racing,nothing better!!! :wink:

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:59 am
by tallywhacker
If you are looking to build strength I would suggest getting into a gym at least 3 days a week for some weight training. I have just trarted a weight programme and it's like I have a new pair of legs.

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 11:11 am
by sogood
Needs to push that lactic threshold higher. Practice hill repeats and induce pain on each climb. Fortunately, lactic threshold is something that can be quickly improved through focused training. :D

Search for Andrew Coggan's power based interval training technique. By having an understanding of that, you'll be able to adapt specific training to target your weaknesses even without a power meter. And for those higher power level training zones, HRM is not a useful tool due to physiological delays and a loss of direct correlation. HRM only correlates better at level 4 and below training zones, hence the preference for power meter. The link below should be able to get you started.

http://www.cyclingpeakssoftware.com/power411/

BTW, lactose isn't the stuff that's building up. Think lactate, lactic acid etc. Lactose is a disaccharide. :wink:

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 11:55 am
by CoffeeNut
great advice guys - thanks:)

1. Strength trg
2. Expand lactic threashold by hill repeats
3. Read and understand Coggan

Much appreciated.

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 12:42 pm
by toolonglegs
Just a quick question....how have you found your max heart rate?...

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:10 pm
by europa
toolonglegs wrote:Just a quick question....how have you found your max heart rate?...
I find mine painful if I try to sustain it for too long :roll:

Richard

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:10 pm
by mikesbytes
toolonglegs wrote:Just a quick question....how have you found your max heart rate?...
Do you know yours?

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:30 pm
by CoffeeNut
how have you found your max heart rate?
I have a Polar C200 - so I have just been using the age based model it has - which is 177 for my age.

I find 93% - 167 BPM is a fair max to use - fairly hard work without blowing a foofoo valve. Just a few minutes there at the moment - building this upwards slowly
Last weeks club ride got me to 97% (173bpm) for a few mins - that really knocked me around. I spent about 16 mins above 90% on that ride and that is as hard as I'm gunna play for the moment :oops:

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:36 pm
by toolonglegs
mikesbytes wrote:
toolonglegs wrote:Just a quick question....how have you found your max heart rate?...
Do you know yours?
lol... i am still finding it... the highest I have seen is 194. 90% of that is 174 which is pretty close to my lactate threshold...actually it is probaly closer to 170.That why i was suprised at 178av on Saturday for 30mins.But find my heart rate is always funny after being off the bike (3 weeks this time) or having been sick.It looks like a motorbike rev counter flying up at the tiniest effort!.

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 6:34 pm
by CoffeeNut
178 for 30 mins...... :shock: :shock: :shock:

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:46 pm
by toolonglegs
CoffeeNut wrote:
how have you found your max heart rate?
I have a Polar C200 - so I have just been using the age based model it has - which is 177 for my age.

I find 93% - 167 BPM is a fair max to use - fairly hard work without blowing a foofoo valve. Just a few minutes there at the moment - building this upwards slowly
Last weeks club ride got me to 97% (173bpm) for a few mins - that really knocked me around. I spent about 16 mins above 90% on that ride and that is as hard as I'm gunna play for the moment :oops:
The reason I ask is that if you take the 220 minus your age it is often very inaccurate.My max according to that would be 183 but is closer to 194-5.I have the same Polar model....so you may well find that you exceed your maximum heart rate one day,then you would have to reset the limits.I only really hit my max at the end of a sprint,and only then if it has been a hard race.

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:27 pm
by CoffeeNut
Can you tell me what is the definition for MaxHR ???

Is it the absolute max you ever see in trg/race/full exertion ?
Is it a theoretical number that allows you to train at a safe % ???

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:43 pm
by mikesbytes
CoffeeNut wrote:Can you tell me what is the definition for MaxHR ???

Is it the absolute max you ever see in trg/race/full exertion ?
Is it a theoretical number that allows you to train at a safe % ???
Max heart rate is the highest heart rate you can physically acheive.

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:06 pm
by CoffeeNut
thanks Mike.
Under what circumstances/regime is it typically achieved in order to tesk/know this for an individual?

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:24 pm
by mikesbytes
CoffeeNut wrote:thanks Mike.
Under what circumstances/regime is it typically achieved in order to tesk/know this for an individual?
I'll let toolonglegs answer that one :D

Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:34 pm
by toolonglegs
Typically you do a max test in a lab....pretty much a ergo trainer which you ramp up your effort till you blow.The advantage of these is that they do your lactate levels at the same time by taking a small drop of blood at intervals to check your lactate levels ...but obviously this is not for everyone.You can find your limit on your own...like I say I have hit mine in sprints which is a sustained 100% effort.Do you have a sprint in your bunch rides?.Otherwise do your own test,on a day when you are feeling fresh,possibly on your second day of a training block (where you have ridden a good effort the day before but not exhausted yourself).Find a road with a gentle rise that is not too steep,has a good run into it.Do a good warm up for 20-30mins...then start ramping up your effort from about 5 kms out so that you are at about 90% max heart rate when you hit the bottom of the climb and hit the climb at absolute maximum effort and go as hard as you can till you blow.The climb has to be steep enough to give you enough resistance,but so that you can keep a high cadence/momemtum.Pretty much just a 400 meter rise.
Well there are more scientific ways but that is how I do it :wink:

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 7:25 am
by CoffeeNut
thanks - I know just the place then.
Can you draw any personal conclusions from the result that you get ?
Ie. is high vs age based value good/bad?

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 8:32 am
by toolonglegs
CoffeeNut wrote:thanks - I know just the place then.
Can you draw any personal conclusions from the result that you get ?
Ie. is high vs age based value good/bad?
Not really...it is more about finding your training zones,once you know your maximum you can work out your %'s better.The next most important value to work out your lactate threshold.Some people have high reving hearts,some have diesels :wink:

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 9:38 am
by CoffeeNut
I suspect I have a diesel - my resting pulse is usually low and my blood pressure is low.

My max rate found thus far is 97% of the age based value - and when I think of it - I'm not sure I'm gunna push myself harder than on that recent ride. I should probably re-baseline that 97% to 100% then?

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 10:08 am
by europa
Forget the age based formula, it's rubbish. Don't even think about it. With me, the formula gives 170 yet it's actually about 187. You've got a HR monitor, start thinking about the maximums you see there and once you feel strong enough, find a decent hill and find out where you peak. I've maintained that 187 for over 5 mins up Flagstaff Hill. In colloquial terms, it damned near killed me (in medical terms it obviously didn't because my heart happily belted along at that rate), but more importantly, it hurt like blazes and the rate didn't want to go any higher, a fair enough definition of max. A proper stress test might push it a few beats higher, but you don't want to go collapsing on the side of the road - it upsets the locals.

Forget about the zones until you've got a good idea of your max. Getting the max out by 10 beats will stuff up the edges of the zones. While that isn't overly important, it is important to know where you are going from aerobic to anearobic, and how you'll recover from wherever you are. The zones give you an idea of where that'll occur, you work the rest out from observation.

For example, with that max of 187, I can work at 150 for long periods without bonking or lactic build ups. At about 155, for hard efforts (eg standing to sprint a hill), I'll start to feel that burn in the legs and it's noticeable if I do, that my HR takes a while to drop back - that's the old body cleaning out the system. On big hills, I can work for some distance at 165+ and recover while still on the climb with a backing off of the effort (a change in gear or a slackening of the rise), but I couldn't do that for hours because I'm well into that anaerobic zone. At 175, I can still recover on the climb but need a decent flat spot to do so (so if the hill's still going up steeply, that's the time to stop because the HR is just going to keep climbing if I don't).

I can ride all day under 150 but know I've been working.
I can ride all day under 140 and not feel too bad.
I can't ride all day under 130 because after awhile, it gets boring and I want to push on a bit :D but it works as a 'sort of' recovery ride.
A true recovery ride of under 120 does wonders for the legs after a monster effort the day before.

Those numbers are based on my observations of my body aided by the zones. They've been rounded to make it easier for this bear's tiny brain to grasp, but they work. As I normally ride on my own, I have nothing to prove to the bunch around me, and so can work at whatever rate I choose and that rate is usually a balance between my mental state, my physical state and the distance left to get home. By having a feel for this stuff though, I can manage my work rate to either achieve training goals or to recover on the ride. To be honest, I feel this latter is the more important of the two when putting in long distances. You will be stuffed after belting up a series of steep hills, but by knowing how to recover on the bike, you'll still be able to do the next 80km and still have the energy to climb that mountain at the end (as someone who's long rides always end with Flagstaff Hill, I appreciate that last bit).

The HR monitor is a tool. It's like the gear change lever, you can ignore it (like riding a single speed), or you can use it. Once it starts to control you, leave the chest strap at home occasionally :shock:

Richard
who might even have answered your question in there somewhere :roll:

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 10:21 am
by MichaelB
europa wrote: long periods without bonking or lactic build ups.
For one without a HR, can someone please define the sensation of "bonking" as well as "Lactic threshold"

Heard about them lots, and can find a def'n, but as Monty Python put it

"Wots it like ?"

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 10:22 am
by sogood
OMGosh, Richard is riding by numbers again!!! :shock:

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 10:48 am
by europa
MichaelB wrote:
europa wrote: long periods without bonking or lactic build ups.
For one without a HR, can someone please define the sensation of "bonking" as well as "Lactic threshold"

Heard about them lots, and can find a def'n, but as Monty Python put it

"Wots it like ?"
bonking means you're absolutely, utterly stuuuuffffffeeeeedddd. Technically, you've burned up all your glycogen and your body is madly stealling energy from wherever it can get it. It's one of those things you'll wonder about until it happens, then you'll know. It feels like you're moving in slow motion ... which you are :shock:

Lactic Threshold is where lactic acid is formed in the muscles. Or is it where it's no longer flushed out? Stuffit, I'll leave that one to someone who knows what he's talking about.

Richard
**pokes tongue out at sogood**

Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2007 10:56 am
by sogood
MichaelB wrote:For one without a HR, can someone please define the sensation of "bonking" as well as "Lactic threshold"

Heard about them lots, and can find a def'n, but as Monty Python put it

"Wots it like ?"
You don't need a HRM to get those sensations.

Try doing a hard 100km ride without eating prior and during the ride. You'll bonk somewhere in the later part. It's a situation where your legs just would no longer turn at your command, and your leg power drops to a fraction of what you'd expect normally.

Lactic threshold is easy. Just do a stand up climb of a hill and continue until your legs are burning to the point of unable to move further. Welcome to your threshold.