Base training worth it?

[budgie smuggler]

I had a lazy year last year so I'm starting from zero fitness wise this year.

What I want to know is if it's worth bothering with a few months of base training (i.e. long zone 2 rides with only occasional harder efforts), or whether it's better just to get stuck in with normal hard effort riding.

I'm not racing but I'd like to get back to the front of my group by the end of the year.

[okgo]

Always worth starting off gently and slowly increasing. You'll injure yourself if you jump straight back in at the deep end. I've done it so many times, come back from holiday with zero riding, then go and batter myself and get aches and pains etc, much better to just increase steadily. If you keep that up and monitor is properly you will be amazed at what you can do.

I rode for 14 days straight in the summer and did a few races in that time too, so it was a fairly hard two weeks of riding, I'm now on day ten this year of riding every day on the back of a solid week in xmas and my body is adapting, I don't feel the need for rest yet, and I've done some hard rides too, just making sure you don't do too much I think, keep it on that knife edge.

[matt-ITR]

I would just say get out and ride as much as possible. Don't worry too much about HR zones and the like.
Just aim to increase time/distance spent on the bike.

That said, some people can only really get motivated when training scientifically.

[Rolls]

Wouldn't go full on straight away (build up to it a little IMO), but generally... winter miles = summer smiles

[sparkyb999]

I wouldnt worry too much, just get miles in to your own pace now, a couple of times a week, to keep the interest there, and then come the warmer season can start putting in a lsightly harder effort once or twice a week. This sort of riding will usually get you to the front of the groups.
If your not looking at racing, i wouldnt worry about zones etc,., This time of year, its more about getting out when you can and staying upright!!

[London424]

As being fairly new to cycling but coming from Football I'm struggling to figure out what "training" is.

I'm used to the structure and knowing how to improve, but feel like just going out on the bike (as much as I enjoy it) I'm not sure if I'm getting better.

Any suggestions? I'm not looking to race, but will be looking to do sportives and enjoy the challenge of hills and want to get faster at getting up them (I'm quite competitive like that).

[okgo]

London424 said:

As being fairly new to cycling but coming from Football I'm struggling to figure out what "training" is.

I'm used to the structure and knowing how to improve, but feel like just going out on the bike (as much as I enjoy it) I'm not sure if I'm getting better.

Any suggestions? I'm not looking to race, but will be looking to do sportives and enjoy the challenge of hills and want to get faster at getting up them (I'm quite competitive like that).

Its like anything, how do you become a faster distance runner? You push yourself, you get fitter, cycling is no different. Wanna go up hill faster? Ride up them faster till the point of collapse, and repeat.

[louiebaby]

London424 said:

As being fairly new to cycling but coming from Football I'm struggling to figure out what "training" is.

I'm used to the structure and knowing how to improve, but feel like just going out on the bike (as much as I enjoy it) I'm not sure if I'm getting better.

Any suggestions? I'm not looking to race, but will be looking to do sportives and enjoy the challenge of hills and want to get faster at getting up them (I'm quite competitive like that).

You'll need to find a loop or lap as a marker, so you can measure yourself a bit, at least.

If you're London based, drop me a line, I have a couple of ideas...

[London424]

Thanks both. I think my confusion is that with football the majority of training was around sprints and recovery.

With cycling I can't figure out the distance vs. hills vs. sprinting conundrum. The other thing is the speed vs. distance part of the equation.

For example, if I want to build up to 100 miles do you just get on the bike and slowly increase your distances every week until you get there, or can you do 1 hour sessions including hills and intervals to get to the same result?

Thanks again and any additional suggestions welcome.

Louiebaby, I'm out in Woking so have the Surrey hills to play in so there are plenty of options for routes that include some climbing.

[louiebaby]

You've got some nice places to ride, so get out and enjoy it! Since you're not targeting specific types of races, I think you'll get the most out of your cycling if you build a bit of variety, and just try to enjoy it.

100 miles sounds like a long way, and in some respects it is, but you could probably go out and do it now, if you wanted to. You sure as hell wouldn't enjoy it though. Get in a variety of rides, length, hills and sprints to develop all the areas.

If you're busy with work Mon to Fri, and can't commute, for instance, try to do short, hard sessions like hills or sprints on a Tues and Thu night, then have a long touring ride on a Sat and a shorter touring ride on a Sun, for instance.

For now, the long ride might be 15 miles, but that'll soon go up. You'll be looking for places to make your stop for a coffee and a cake soon. I like to stop after about 2/3 distance if that's the case, so might take the long route to Windsor, have a tea and a cake, and take the more direct route home.

Bear in mind that the further you get from home, the more expensive the taxi if you have problems, so the ability to mend a puncture is something to always have with you.

I try to cycle to work as often as possible, 4.5 miles each way, do a couple of scenic routes home a week, to about 30 miles, and a longer 55-70 miler at the weekend.

I sprint the trip to work, especially away from lights where it is safe, do some hill repeats on the longer week night rides, and try to go somewhere interesting at the weekends. (Sometimes targeting hills, sometimes targetting longer flatter time trial type legs.)

I hate hills, due to my size, but try to target them a bit otherwise I'll always struggle on them. Likewise I'm pretty handy on the longer flatter stages, so try not to do too much. This keeps me balanced so I can enjoy the "touring" rides more.

[London424]

Thanks again!

Well I'm already up to 45 mile rides, but find that after 2/3rds distance my legs are dead. Just no energy in them, even with eating on the route.

I will just keep riding and hopefully see my performance improve. I've realised that football training (sprints etc) doesn't really transfer that well to longer distance cycling, so just assume it will take a while for the body to adapt.

[louiebaby]

London424 said:

Well I'm already up to 45 mile rides, but find that after 2/3rds distance my legs are dead. Just no energy in them, even with eating on the route.

I'm also a big fan of the "Figure of 8" ride. In your example, you'd do a 30 mile loop back home, and if you're struggling, call it a day, if you're still quite fresh, do the extra 15 mile loop.

When you stop, you should feel tired, but not absolutely knackered. If you over do it, you'll take longer to recover, so won't get all the benefit. Whilst recovery is an important part of getting fitter, it's still all about balance.

[drgav2005]

London424 said:

Thanks again!

Well I'm already up to 45 mile rides, but find that after 2/3rds distance my legs are dead. Just no energy in them, even with eating on the route.

I will just keep riding and hopefully see my performance improve. I've realised that football training (sprints etc) doesn't really transfer that well to longer distance cycling, so just assume it will take a while for the body to adapt.

London424.

Try and keep your cadence around 90 r.p.m. this helps to balance the work done by your legs and cardio system. You may be cycling along at a slower cadence and bigger gear (something I did when I started a few months ago) which will just burn your legs… I found by increasing the cadence and dropping to a lower gear my legs lasted far longer… hope this helps! Great start though at 45 miles already - keep going!

[BMWBen]

London424 said:

Thanks both. I think my confusion is that with football the majority of training was around sprints and recovery.

With cycling I can't figure out the distance vs. hills vs. sprinting conundrum. The other thing is the speed vs. distance part of the equation.

For example, if I want to build up to 100 miles do you just get on the bike and slowly increase your distances every week until you get there, or can you do 1 hour sessions including hills and intervals to get to the same result?

Thanks again and any additional suggestions welcome.

Louiebaby, I'm out in Woking so have the Surrey hills to play in so there are plenty of options for routes that include some climbing.

Ah the surrey hills!

1. Get on strava, it not only allows you to see how you fare against others but more importantly allows you to track how you're doing against yourself.
2. Work out some longish routes taking in the ones in surrey from here: http://www.jibbering.com/hills/
3. Do those climbs flat out every time.
4. Report back in 3 months.


If it feels like you're just doing miles and miles on the bike without much point or focus try pedalling harder, then you won't be able to ponder things like that!

[London424]

Thanks again everyone! I have a Garmin 500 and make sure that my cadence is around 90 on the flats...it's whatever I can get it to going up hills though

Thanks for the list of hills. I normally head up towards West Clandon and then mix up between Staples lane, Leith hill, Newlands corner etc.

I guess its just keep doing it and push as much as possible.

I'm on strava so can track my progress and also how many rather quick riders are around here!

[BMWBen]

London424 said:

Thanks again everyone! I have a Garmin 500 and make sure that my cadence is around 90 on the flats...it's whatever I can get it to going up hills though

Thanks for the list of hills. I normally head up towards West Clandon and then mix up between Staples lane, Leith hill, Newlands corner etc.

I guess its just keep doing it and push as much as possible.

I'm on strava so can track my progress and also how many rather quick riders are around here!

Yeah Surrey hills are not the best place to go rond picking up KOMs that's for sure.