Spannerman Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 I have been mountain biking for a while now, and although I don't find distance an issue, I am lacking in speed. I know that some of my buddies cannot handle long distance but when it comes to the shorter races I can't keep up. So what are the best training methods for improving 'Long term' speed?
vanniri Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 Good question. My take: Short bursts of speed - You need to increase cadence speed for short bursts - train at 100 to 110 rpm for 1 hour focussing on pedal form. Long consistent speed (timetrails) - 20 minutes very hard (slightly below lactate threshold). Try repeating once or twice. Rest 10 minutes between sets. Both these two should be very hard to finish or you are not going hard enough
rudi-h Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 I'm not super fast, so maybe this is shyte advice, but I've got quite a bit faster lately by riding hills. I do this on my roadbike. Roadbike is not a requirement, but I think the lack of gears helps to build strength and hence speed... (my opinion) If on MTB, I don't allow myself to get into the small ring, and not to go in or above the second to last ring at the back when riding on-road, irrespective of slope. I don't know the hills in B-Town, but here in the West I drive to the Sasol garage where the N14 becomes the R28. There are two hills right after one another on the way to Key West with more than 150m and 100m vertical ascent respectively, so I do the hills 2 or 3 times at hard pace, relaxing and enjoying the view on the way down. That got me a tad faster for 94.7!
Chubba Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 Go to some spinning classes the, 90 minute sessions work you hard.
mark ellis Posted January 4, 2011 Posted January 4, 2011 move your legs up and down faster! also agree with the spinning sessions and interval sessions, pm me your email address, have a few interval training sessions I was given by a top 50 epic rider I am happy to share
andretraut Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 Try motorised pacing. Get your missus to drive infront of you in a hatch back vehicle with the hatch open, or on a scooter and keep a pace of about 40km on an open flat road for as far as you can handle it. Increase your speed and distance each week, and in no time you will be flying. Your body will get acquainted to the speed and will be able to handle it without a pace vehicle.
Bat-ass Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 Pas op for motor pacing.... more pro's crash motor pacing training then any other time... but it works!!!!! the answer to your question lies in intervals...
SwissVan Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 First thing you need to do is accurately establish what your Lactate threshold is in BPM (if you train with a HRM) or Watts if you use a Power meter. For the average mtbker it’s better to concentrate on improving your ability to ride longer at LT intensities than worrying about improving sprinting, accelerating, abilities. To improve your ability to ride at LT you can do intervals at intensities of a few bpm lower than your LT once or twice a week (with a few days of easier training in between). The length of time for these sub LT intervals should be short in the beginning (5 minutes) building up to 20 minutes each after a month or 2. Recovery between intervals can be the same amount of time as the actual interval. 3 intervals per session and 2 sessions per week.
X-Gear Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 move your legs up and down faster! So dis die geheim...
TNT1 Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 Nevermind lactate threshold. You'll know you're doing intervals right when you get the coppery taste of blood in the back of your throat.
SwissVan Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 Nevermind lactate threshold. You'll know you're doing intervals right when you get the coppery taste of blood in the back of your throat. HijackHey TNT happy happy 2011Bijack Peps need to use a known constant to measure intensity, some people dont know what coppery blood tates like. I always thought it was mercury flavoured tbh....
IdeJongh Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 I'm not super fast, so maybe this is shyte advice, but I've got quite a bit faster lately by riding hills. I do this on my roadbike. Roadbike is not a requirement, but I think the lack of gears helps to build strength and hence speed... (my opinion) If on MTB, I don't allow myself to get into the small ring, and not to go in or above the second to last ring at the back when riding on-road, irrespective of slope. I don't know the hills in B-Town, but here in the West I drive to the Sasol garage where the N14 becomes the R28. There are two hills right after one another on the way to Key West with more than 150m and 100m vertical ascent respectively, so I do the hills 2 or 3 times at hard pace, relaxing and enjoying the view on the way down. That got me a tad faster for 94.7! Very good advice! Started doing some road training rides with the okes and the intensity is just so different, helps with leg power. On some of the mtb rides I force myself to 'spin' less. One way not mentioned is momentum, makes a huge difference maintaining your momentum better through a race, adds a lot to avg speed.
TNT1 Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 HijackHey TNT happy happy 2011Bijack Peps need to use a known constant to measure intensity, some people dont know what coppery blood tates like. I always thought it was mercury flavoured tbh.... Hey, happy groundhog day! Ah, blood is blood...If ya dunno what it tastes like, then use the 'seeing little black and white spots and almost passing out on the bike' test... I went into oxygen debt and passed out on the bike at an Eric van Enter the once. True story. Doc Goldin caught me as I was falling off...
SwissVan Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 Hey, happy groundhog day! Ah, blood is blood...If ya dunno what it tastes like, then use the 'seeing little black and white spots and almost passing out on the bike' test... I went into oxygen debt and passed out on the bike at an Eric van Enter the once. True story. Doc Goldin caught me as I was falling off...You lucky he was there... Black spots are usualy seen long after LT has been surpassed, your tongue has dangled loosely below your chin and just after your blood stops tasting coppery.
TNT1 Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 Black spots are usualy seen long after LT has been surpassed, your tongue has dangled loosely below your chin and just after your blood stops tasting coppery. And then you know you have completed an interval correctly
andydude Posted January 5, 2011 Posted January 5, 2011 As the guys above said - cycle faster! One leg at a time! There is an inverse relationship between distance and effort... less effort = more distance and vice versa. You say you can easily handle long distances, which in my humble opinion, means you are cycling without much effort. Put some back into it You seam to have the base, so do as the other guys said - some shorter, harder rides. But you seem to be contradicting yourself - you say "when it comes to shorter races I can't keep up", but then in the next line you say "training methods for improving 'Long term' speed". Do you want to go shorter and faster or longer and faster?
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