Cycling Fitness / Training Advice

I'm very fat, and very slow. This is annoying - I have plenty of things to blame this on, but inactivity and icecream are probably the two largest factors.

I can go back to the old training that my coach (I had one many years ago now when I was nearly fast, sometimes) specified, but he was a great cycling coach and I would like to improve both my running and my cycling.

Has anyone got a basic program that addresses both two wheels and trainers?

I struggle to do well at both at the same time.

My FTP was at an all time high when I'd basically quit running other the odd 5km run to the gym.

I'm now holding the KOM for the run leg of my recent tri. But now my FTP is well down.

I think you need some way of organising the training so that your legs get maximum recovery from running stress. But still get the kms they need on the bike. I've tried recovery rides after a big run. Just hurts my hips.

I think I need some sort of lightweight replacement for my right hip. Its basically fully locked. My physio mate is a bit surprised I can run as far as I do at all.

Currently looking at a 33km multi peak mountain trail race for next year..........Bit worried it'll kill my bike season though.

This is my first winter of 'training' proper, with the hope of putting another .5w/kg on my FTP (gone from 2.5 to 3.5 this year). I'm the fittest and lightest I've ever been but I don't think I can lose that much more weight, so more power is my only option. As we go into Autumn, what should I be doing if I want to peak in the spring? Base phase until December, then a build phase? I'm following the trainer road Sweet spot base at the moment which feels super easy, but is that kind of the point?

I've no idea what I'm doing really, but I do know that spring last year I tried to fit too much in over a month or so and ended up fucking myself for a couple of months and I'd rather not do that again.

My schedule looks like 2-3 midweek rides, hour each with lots of sweet spot and some short intervals then a 3+ hour endurance ride (club run) every Sunday. We have a winter chaingang thing up here which starts in November and usually ends up being around 2 hours of tempo, and I'll do that on top of, or in place of one of the indoor sessions if I feel like it.

I suppose my question is if I feel ok with the load I'm doing, should I just keep doing it for the next few months or is it necessary to take a step back during the winter to work on base fitness?

Winter = drinking darker beers than summer.

Just had eight days smashing it up Cols on the Cote d'Azur. First hill climb of the season is a 4 min effort on Sunday. Do I do a Trainer Road session mid week with some 4 min all our efforts to get a feel for pacing, or take the race bike out and test the modifications (single ring up front, removing bits) with some reps of Swains Lane (short ~2 mins all-out hill)?

Or do nothing and let my muscles recover.

Or do nothing and let my muscles recover.

Winter = drinking darker beers than summer.

Concentrate on finishing any pale ale, cider, etc that you might still have, before the Summer's gone.

I would ride the race bike up an actual hill.

While drinking an amber ale.

I always look to winter to maintain ftp.
Always failz.

Winter is for mudguards and cake stops

I think I need some sort of lightweight replacement for my right hip. Its basically fully locked. My physio mate is a bit surprised I can run as far as I do at all.

My dad had a hip resurfacing (replacing just the top of the femur rather than a full hip replacement). It locking up (due to bony lumps on the femoral head) was the trigger for the resurfacing.

My brother (6 years older than me) had one of his hips replaced last year. He did the Prudential Ride 100 in sub 5h this year and he's back running (but there's no way he'll do a marathon again).

I broke my hip when I was 2 (cracked the head of the femur) and get a bit of gyp from it occasionally. I certainly have less range of motion than the other hip. So I wouldn't be surprised if I need a new hip at some point before I get to 50. Riding long distance on fixed and playing hours of 5-a-side football on astroturf don't help either. Meh.

Well I'm signing up for a ultra trail run. Up three different mountain peaks.

Running off-road feels less stressful on my legs/hip. Plus I can probably roll down the mountain sides. My kids reckon it's the easiest way down hills.

Will cross training in boxing, on what would otherwise be rest/recovery ride days, have any meaningful negative consequences on my cycling training? In the past I've only ever concentrated on one sport or the other, but would like to mix it up with both for a change.

Am currently transitioning to include boxing, in what was a purely cycling only summer, with the end plan to be alternating between the two for 6 days in a row, followed by one proper day off per week, in 4 week blocks. Is this a good plan or wishful thinking?

Bit worried it'll kill my bike season though.

Injuries aside, I've always found that running training benefits my cycling way more than cycling benefits my running.

Also, your physio mate is just toying with you, so that he can make you suffer more when you ride with him.

I think just likes making my joints crack.

Playing my worn body like some horrific musical instrument.

Will cross training in boxing, on what would otherwise be rest/recovery ride days, have any meaningful negative consequences on my cycling training?

I find it depends on what sort of session I'm doing and how much it impacts my legs. Heavy bag doesn't take much out of my legs (unless I'm kicking too), but pad work does, and sparring definitely does.

The latter. Best to find a problem with the bike whilst you still have time to rectify it, than finding it just before you're about to start your race.

From a training perspective, some short efforts will be good for you, as it'll remind the body what's happening and not fatigue you too much (as I'd imagine you're still fairly fatigued from the week on the Cote d'Azur).

Thanks, good advice. It'll also give me a chance to better my Swains PB - good for race day confidence if I can do it.

There are a lot of variables, but I guess you could look to where you want to be race fit and then start working backwards. So a trainerroad approach would be from an A event, 8 weeks prior you do specific training, 8 weeks prior to that build and then your base prior to that.

Your base stuff sounds grand, the most important aspects will be consistency and avoiding overloading too much too soon. So if you track TSS this is really easy as you can set a target CTL for the end of your base and then gradually get yourself there on a weekly increase (with easy weeks of course). Or without power or HR then you could do it on the basis of no. of hours at tempo, intensity and recovery. Combination of which depends on your time constraints and proceeding training plan/goals.

What workouts do people do for developing maximal power? The most intense i do on a turbo is z5 stuff, but would like to throw in a few sessions to get me some megawattz

Am i right to think i should be doing something like set of 30sec full gas / 30 sec off?

Great, thank you that's really helpful. I use power so have a way of measuring CTL. Is there a set figure I should be aiming for? Should I expect to take a big dip in TSS for my base block then? The last couple of months have been 800ish with a couple of 1200+ weeks but looking at a week of trainerroad stuff seems a lot lower than that. Should I also be making a concerted effort to not do that much for the next few weeks? I've just been out for a 4x10 sweet spot which ended up closer to threshold (just due to the nature of being outside and in the wind/bumps).

I'll try and work out what I want to aim for in the spring and work back. Is it just a case of doing base until the 8 build and 8 specialism phases?

Wouldn't some kind of pyramid session be best?

For cyclocross, I've done a session like this (after a warm up obviously)

10 seconds all out
10 seconds easy
20 seconds all out
20 seconds easy
30 seconds all out
30 seconds reasy
40 seconds all out
40 seconds easy
50 seconds all out
50 seconds easy
40 seconds all out
40 seconds easy
30 seconds all out
30 seconds easy
20 seconds all out
20 seconds easy
10 seconds all out
10 seconds easy

I guess there's no right or wrong answer with CTL, mine hovers between 70-80 during racing, bit higher in build and lower in base. That said I'm pretty time confined so I have to cram as much into hour-long sessions; if I was doing a 'proper' base with lots of hours of outdoor riding then it would definitely be much higher.

If you can cope with that much TSS (and by the way that sounds loads, are you sure your FTP is correct in Training Peaks?) then I would have a rest, knock it down 20-25% less than now and then build it back up. But that's only because I always take a month off the bike around October so my fitness takes a hit before starting base. This isn't because legs, it's to stop me getting mentally burnt out after 12 week base + 8 week build...that's quite a long time just getting ready to push up your FTP.

If you have the time and moreover the mental dedication, then make your base longer, say up to 20 weeks. Lots of Z2, lots of miles, regular intensity, regular sweetspot. But just keep monitoring your weekly TSS and keep having easier weeks every month or so.

Ha, just checked and it was 40w lower than it should have been... that explains it!

Thanks again for the advice, I'll see about taking a couple of weeks off.