Cycling Fitness / Training Advice

Yeah i forget others people get to train outdoors still ☹️ all good points riding your bike is good and fun especially now the weather is nice and makes you better at it. Turbo trainers are really boring even if they are good if your time crunched. Crashing slows you down and it hurts.
Loading up a bike will affect its handling negatively and how much effort it takes to get it over a hill. Chucking on a heavy backpack for the first time on a ride might fuck your back. Saddle height/angle and front end reach /drop even cleat set up problems will catch up with you on a long ride. Get some quality bibs and socks and eat and drink plenty as well

1 Attachment

Amen. Definitely my type of "training". That's why I've never trained before. But also never had this long without riding too. Didn't think to actually get the set up on. I usually just get on with it when it comes around. But all sage advice, thank you.

@dbr don't worry about the trainer road stuff. I'll likely take the @hippy approach.

Chat a few pages back about getting the BC Gold discount on TrainingPeaks, and I realised this morning that I needed to renew my subscription...

Clicked around a bit on the BC members section and managed to find it here.

Code is 2022British40Cycling

Any tips on boosting 30-60s power?
Keen to lean into my strengths.

Is it mainly gym work and sprint repeats?

Repeatable or just absolute value?

It's an aerobic effort so I'd go for a variety of intervals L5/L6, composition depends on the above question.

Absolute value for now.
Surely it’s anaerobic as sub 1 minute, but longer than sprint/neuromuscular?

I know a lot of the repeatability will come from a stronger aerobic system and better recovery, and that’s a longer term goal.

Anything up to 10 maybe 20s is mostly anaerobic, it's a mix of the two systems from then out until you are doing sub threshold efforts say over 20-30 mins.

Personally I would do 1-3 minute efforts building up to classic 5x5 using variable power but keeping HR in the appropriate zone...but it would be pretty mind numbing!

There's some stuff I read recently with Ashton Lambie about heavy lifts same day as activation which could be worth looking at if you want to do same day compound gymwork and interval work.

I can’t remember the details but iirc there was a study that looked at this in runners. Essentially they measured the proportional contribution of aerobic and anaerobic energy systems at different distances. By 400m (duration of c. 45-50seconds) the effort was predominantly (maybe 60-70%) aerobic.

So maybe you could say 30s efforts are at least substantially anaerobic, but I think 60s would be dominated by aerobic systems.

That’s interesting!
Would go part of the way of explaining why I seem to have nothing left after 40 seconds.
Perhaps my aerobic contribution is letting me down.

I’m aiming to push 30s power to 900w+ and 60s to 700w+.
Current at 800w / 600w.

From the sounds of it, I would need to approach these with different methods?

Maybe if, and please don't take this the wrong way, you are operating at a very high level/upper reach of potential. Assuming you are a mere mortal with job, family etc then I think a focused aerobic block will push both numbers up. Once you are maxed out then maybe pick one but I still think past a max sprint effort (ie less than 30s) then the vast majority of us cyclists are aerobically limited..

I'm not "training" as such, but I ride quite a lot, my weeks vary from 250 - 450km. On average I'd say I'm around 300km a week and I aim to be consistent in general. I don't commute so all of this is cycling with intent so to speak. I eat healthy, am 62ish kg, 6'2 and in my late 30s. Recently I've been feeling pretty dead in my legs, as if there is a baseline of lactic. I haven't ridden on zwift for months but know that they have lactic-based workouts... I'd appreciate any other thoughts or suggestions, cheers!

I eat healthy, am 62ish kg, 6'2

Eat more.

Drink moar

I was being good for a while but that went out the window. I need to reel it back in a bit... he says while eyeballing a collection of TIPAs in the fridge...

Hahaha

Oui chef

62ish kg, 6'2

No judgement, I’m just a guy on the internet with no expertise in this area, but are you sure that’s a healthy weight for you?

I’m 6’ and currently ~70-72kg. I’m my 20s I used to row in a lightweight rowing program (70kg max weight limit) and at my fittest I was down at 67kg but I can’t imagine how I could have lost any more while also being strong. I guess it might have been possible since I was actually trying to gain muscle mass to maximise strength at exactly 70kg, but I knew a lot of tall skinny guys back then and none of them were anywhere close to 62kgs.

62ish kg, 6'2

Bored and trying to find athletes with a similar build, closest I can come up with is Mutaz Barshim, Qatari high jumper. 6'3, listed at 65kg.

Another example, Chris Froome, 6’2, 67kg.

Appreciate the thoughts - I am pretty lean but I don't seem able to put weight on no matter what I do. My mother has joked ever since I was a kid that I must have a worm... It's been a while since I've weighed myself but I've never been over 65kg, I typically hover around 62-63kg.

I've been vegetarian for years and years but ensure I eat a lot of protein as well as having a balanced diet in general. The feeling of lactic is a more recent thing - I was away in France recently solo riding up the likes of Ventoux, Tourmalet etc and felt super strong and was probably the fastest I've ever been.

I was away in France recently

How recently?

A month ago...

Could be residual fatigue. Especially if you were running on fumes while you were in France (and as a veggie in France that's probably the case :)).

Eat more.

Please DM me beer themed meal plans

What you do is you drink beer then eat kebabs then drink more beer every day until you have the god-like physique of everyone's favourite shitposter.

You can't change what you don't measure. Spend week counting calories and see if you're under-fueling. My bet is that you are. Then, add carbs.