Cycling Fitness / Training Advice

I've always found the health and fitness threads/posts within this forum to be pretty informative, as they lend themselves to expressing (this is the correct use of express, and has NOTHING to do with the beautiful java beverage) opinions but without a definitive result.
There's a reason for this - and its likely to disappoint. I get the feeling that many are searching for the ultimate exercise, lift, training drill etc - to get quicker, fitter and leaner on the bike.
Deep down though, you must understand that nothing pays-off quite like hard graft, and to start off with - anything goes!
I've come from a running background - and have to work really hard on the strength side of my bike-fitness, but others may have the opposite. You need to train your weakness - and not everyone's is the same.
Mix it up Shoosh - and have fun.

Mix it up Shoosh - and have fun.

Thank you. I do and I will. As I'm recovering from an injury I understand completely about training the weakness. It is like hell at the moment but it has to get better. Soon. Doesn't it?

I ride my bike.

The thing that improved my fitness was riding it further and faster.

I've always found the health and fitness threads/posts within this forum to be pretty informative, as they lend themselves to expressing (this is the correct use of express, and has NOTHING to do with the beautiful java beverage) opinions but without a definitive result.
There's a reason for this - and its likely to disappoint. I get the feeling that many are searching for the ultimate exercise, lift, training drill etc - to get quicker, fitter and leaner on the bike.
Deep down though, you must understand that nothing pays-off quite like hard graft, and to start off with - anything goes!
I've come from a running background - and have to work really hard on the strength side of my bike-fitness, but others may have the opposite. You need to train your weakness - and not everyone's is the same.
Mix it up Shoosh - and have fun.

Do you still work on strength? I was under the impression you didnt have time anymore. Holler if you want to mash some iron.

@DFP
Its all maintenance work at the moment mate, as i'd rather be on the bike than in the gym. Putting a few 6am sessions in before work. Mainly working on core stuff etc, high rep stuff.

I find the best abdominal work can be done without visiting a gym.

The foundations of the gymnastic movements is what im on about. Just hanging on a bar working from basic knee tucks & L-sits, all the way up to full levers. I cannot imagine anything better than that. Just need to find something to dangle from.

Ab wheel is a good alternative.

Don't bother with the gym, builds useless muscles - riding more is the only way to go!

My core training isn't focused on the abdominals at all. More around glutes and lower back. My abs are not the weak link, in fact, coupled with over active hip flexors, cause a pelvic tilt that i am having to self-remedy.

My core training involves bosu balls, medicine balls, cables and a trampette. I cannot fit this in my tiny flat, so a gym - in my instance - is very important.

Don't bother with the gym, builds useless muscles - riding more is the only way to go!

surely if you are building muscles you are doing it wrong... if you are training muscles then the gym is good.

^ Like it.

..... and a trampette.

Does she help you wind down afterwards?

Pistaboy, I was nearly aghast with your initial use of the word "core". It has become such a loaded & dirty word in this world of S&C.

I like that you were actually referring to posterior chain.

Bread and butter of team GB and most other sprint cycling teams is the back squat. Supplemented with single leg pressing. Vicky pendleton is a slim sprinter who does not really rely on powerful starts like typical sprinters, yet even she had a 120kg (60kgBW) squat back in 2006, I imagine it is a lot more now. Big guys like Chris Hoy and Sean Eaddie are moving 230-250kg.

It is certainly possible (although much tougher) to achieve similar effects without a barbell. Look at Ross Enamait for example. Someone on his forum with dissing him, saying that all the BW exercises and conditioning he does would not translate to real strength.

But then he goes and proves it with a 500lb deadlift even though he has no practice in it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95D7lj-A6tA

Do you have his books/DVD's Dan? Seem right up your street.

Have you tried vertical jumps as a training method for glutes/hip extension?

I ocassionally do them 3x20 when I cannot get to gym to squat. Touching the ground with hands on each rep. It actually gets me more "sore" than squatting, the glutes especially!

I may seem kinda slow on the bike and such, but ive increased my strength, speed, endurance and coordination by about triple in every physical activity. Did not have a great foundation to start from!

surely if you are building muscles you are doing it wrong... if you are training muscles then the gym is good.

Well, that depends on whether all you want to do is ride a bike. Which isn't everyone's aim. Some of us only cycle because we like it. Training for such people may involve pies and beer. Or red wine in my case.

I've recently lost around 2-ish stone, partly from getting out on the bike more in this good weather and partly from a change of diet (no carbs, LOTS of fat). But all the time on the bike has meant I've neglected the weights for the pedals. And the weights are sad at this BTW. The result in terms of how people see me though, is that several of my female friends have commented that I've lost weight - but not actually in a good way. They liked me being more cuddly and with more muscle. G/f in particular would like me a bit bulkier again.

So as it won't take that much effort to bulk back up a bit, I'll be back onto random no.s of reps of random heavy things after this weekend, along with starting to do sit-ups/crunches again, now that my back isn't too bad (my poor neglected abs). Plus, I'm very tempted with m.f's plug of the yoga for cyclists classes, to help balance everything up. I may even go for a few runs. But I hate running as a form of exercise, so these will be neither long, nor will they happen very often. I just feel that running helps straighten me back out after crouching on the bike for a couple of hours.

@ DFP. Interesting stuff. I have included some dynamic stuff within my training, and found great benefits, more so when i was running.
As i'm aiming to spend more time on the bike this summer - the time that i do spend in the gym is more correctional (posture) and preventative (injury), and to be honest - i spend quite a lot of time in the gym through work, that i kind of resent it at the moment.
It pays off though (going back to OT) - my initial standing start sprints have improved this year, but i've made massive gains in holding top end speed. I'm loving the idea of some time-trialling sometime soon, to really make the lungs bleed.....

surely if you are building muscles you are doing it wrong... if you are training muscles then the gym is good.

Building muscle mass can be (and is) a consequence of strength training, whether on or off the bike.

Hi, I'm just recovering from a ruptured achilles tendon - still have another 5 weeks in plaster. Has anyone experience of this injury and how long it took to get back on a bike?

I cycle 6 days per week even sometimes 7 days a week. I do a 16 mile round commute, it takes me 40 minutes to ride one way. I have been commuting by bike for about year and half but don't seem to be able to improve my commute time and I don't seem to be getting any fitter. i have had good look around the forum and the inetrnet but I can't find any useful tips to improve my ride.

Does anyone have any tips?

Ride further, ride faster.

http://www.lfgss.com/thread46500.html

See above ^^

have a rest day.

http://blog.trainingpeaks.com/posts/2011/9/21/top-10-reasons-exercise-is-bad-for-you.html

I was doing a 3 minute interval set on the turbo last night and decided to throw in a 1 minute interval.

Average heart rate was 157, average power was 464 watts.

By the end I was getting lactate buildup in my quads.

In comparison on Monday I was out on the road and did most of a lap of Regents Park at an average heart rate of 174- no power as this was on the cross bike.

To hit that heartrate on the trainer means I'm operating at a power level that I cannot maintain for long- when I see 177+ come up I know I've got ~30 seconds left before I have to ease up, but I can hit that heart rate out on the road and maintain it for a lot longer.

What gives?

I have no fan when on the turbo btw, and do get very, very hot.

Intervals are too short for HR to be accurate! It takes a while to register.
That's why power is a better measuring tool for them.

Also max efforts use up your muscular energy far quicker than steady state at lower intensities, you also don't have sufficient recovery time in between them.

How long does "most of a lap of regents park" take anyway?

You've partially answered your own question (heat). Also try replicating the turbo session but with a lower gear / higher cadence (if you're dead set on getting your HR up).