BikeMax

Maybe train "moderately" hard instead ..

Noteworthy; Normalised power for the stage is 306w or 83% of FTP, which for 5 hours is pretty hard going. FTP ~370w at 70kg or 5.3w/kg 1st 22 mins @ 358w or 5.1 w/kg - 97% FTP - very fast start After the 60 mile point when they start chasing hard he spends ~96 mins @ 346w or just under 5w/kg - ouch.. For a top pro these numbers are not huge though - for example, Darren Lill's FTP right now is @ 5.6w/kg

so ActionLamb' date=' what would your weeks training schedule look like ?[/quote'] Something like this for the winter...... Mon: Rest Tue: Morning(Spinning) Afternoon Easy 1 hr Ride Wed: Afternoon(gives me a 24 hour rest before next ride) Tempo 1 hour ride Thur: Morning(Spinning) Afternoon Easy 1 hr Ride Fri: Rest Sat: 2 hour comfy ride Sun: Looooong ride (Can swop Sat or Sun around) This works for me......enough rest in here. I feel that rest is very important so I benefit more to take a extra day rest because my sessions are more intense. Which sessions are intense ? The spinning sessions and tempo ride??? The spinning sessions I usually swop for indoor trainer intervals (2x20min). The tempo ride I usually go hilly route.....makes it more "intense" I wasn't trying to be funny... The 2 x 20 is relatively intense but I am afraid that tempo does not quite make the grade unless it is right at the top of the range - otherwise lets call it moderate. Intense is L4 and above - so 85%+

Most of the article makes a lot of sense - but the weeklt training load is a bit more complicated than that IMO. An interval session obviously puts a higher load on the body (the shorter the intervals, the higher the load) but as long as the overall volume is reduced then the load can be managed accordingly and incorporated into a weeks training. I will often have guys riding three interval based sessions per week (and longer L4 intervals often two days in a row) for periods of a few weeks - as long as the overall weekly and cumulative load is carefully managed then there are no problems and plenty of gains.

so ActionLamb' date=' what would your weeks training schedule look like ?[/quote'] Something like this for the winter...... Mon: Rest Tue: Morning(Spinning) Afternoon Easy 1 hr Ride Wed: Afternoon(gives me a 24 hour rest before next ride) Tempo 1 hour ride Thur: Morning(Spinning) Afternoon Easy 1 hr Ride Fri: Rest Sat: 2 hour comfy ride Sun: Looooong ride (Can swop Sat or Sun around) This works for me......enough rest in here. I feel that rest is very important so I benefit more to take a extra day rest because my sessions are more intense. Which sessions are intense ?

I like this programme and it seems to be well laid out. In general I would rather miss the evening sessions and go harder the Wed & Friday. If the intervals are in a session of ~90 mins then you should be fine to ride moderate tempo on the Wed & Friday - and therefore still get some fitness benefit from these sessions - if you are using HR then somehwere around 75-85% depending on how you feel. Make sure saturday is hard / race effort with plenty of pace changes and hard climbing, and then crusie on Sunday. Good luck.

Last week I tried to do intervals, total time 50mins. 6 x 1 minute intervals at average HR of 170 per interval at average cadence of 98 rpm with 4 mins rest between and warm up and cool down at HR 150. Tonight was feeling mif but still tried to do 2 x 5 min intervals at HR average 180, cadence average 62. could only do 2 x in the 60 mins. No idea what this all means, as i still get blown off the back on climbs. OK 96kg does not help. Dick - climbing is all about threshold power, and to improve threshold power you are best off doing longer intervals such as the 2 x 20 @ 85-90% MHR rather than the 1 or 5 min intervals at this stage. Try starting with 2 x 12 or 15 and build from there - your climbing will improve.

... Ai ai. BikeMax' date=' it's weird. I was on the trainer warming up. I do a 15 minute warm up and 5 minutes in to the warm up I was sweating (bubbles on my arms). My hearts at 85bpm and it's not like I'm getting hot... I feel pretty fresh but I just sweat... I'm scared to put the fan on cause it will be like rain inside the house. It's weird. [/quote'] Try putting the fan on just as you start sweating - and play with the distance from you to keep form feeling chilled. If you are sweating - then you are getting hot.

Jason - all that was happening was that you were over heating. Get a fan and watch the difference in sustainable power.

Hi BikeMax' date= wheels are great -thanks Does it matter if no fan leads to lower power readouts - is the effort being put in not having the same effect as more power with a fan? [/quote] Fair point - in theory it does not make that much difference if the metabolic load is similar, but a rider will find that it is very uncomfortable to ride "hot" and this will limit the time that can be spent on the trainer. Recovery is also longer and dehyderation is an issue. On top of that the variation in temp from day to day means that the power could be fluctuating without the rider being aware, and so the effectiveness of the session is compromised (assuming no PM) The body will perform better and the rider will feel better and more positive if adequate cooling is provided.

... The sweating part... When I'm done with my session I look like a tennis ball that's been in a Rotwieler's mouth for a couple of minutes... seriously WET!! I don't use a fan cause it drys out my nose/mouth and I get sick. I prefer to sweat it out and then hop in to the bath straight after the session. This is a big mistake Jason - the fact that you are pouring with sweat tells you your body is not cooling itself effectively and there is a lot of oxygenated blood being diverted to the skin to try and cool you down - when it should be going to the working muscles. This leads to a situation where power output will be significantly lower for the same effort level or alternatively effort will be much higher for the same power. Either way it will seriously compromise the effectiveness of your session. A BIG fan is an absolute must for serious IDT work.

Argus power and time depends upon what group you ride in and how you ride - a 2.37 this year was 4.5w/kg in the Giro bunch and a 2.57 in the vets bunch was 4 w/kg (Normalised power) Power is just an accurate measure of output - if you put out more watts/kg for a given duration, then assuming all else is constant, then you will be riding faster. So using a power meter allows you to measure output, and therefore train more efficiently. Look at it like any tool that gives you accurate and relevant information - if old Big H was measuring a roads level, he could use his experienced eye and guess.. or he could use a tool that gives him accurate & reliable data.

The benefit of the training ride is a result of the intensity you ride it at. Some guys find that a single speed encorages or forces them to ride a little harder than they otherwise might (I tend to agree with this) and as such can turn a regular commute into a better quality session. You could certainly do the same session on your race bike but may find a single speed gives you less options to relax and coast.

Decrease the distance & increase the intensity....

An interesting article here about stretching; http://faculty.washington.edu/crowther/Misc/RBC/stretch.shtml

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