Training plan - help/suggestions
Discussion
I'm trying to get into riding longer distances - I'm never going to be 'fast' (40 years old, 85kg), but want to progress from commuting in London (cycling 22 miles a day, 4 days a week) to doing some more meaningful rides. With that aim I've signed up for the New Forest 100 sportive on 16th September.... so not long to go!
I want to be able to enjoy it, not just get around in 7 hours using every last ounce of strength, so training is key... with no guidance I've come up with:
Monday - rest
Tuesday - ride to work, laps of regents park in the morning (18-21 miles), ride home at night (11 miles).
Wednesday - no cycling - swimming/gym
Thursday - ride to work (11 miles), ride home via Greenwich Park and do some hill reps (400m, 6% incline) - maybe 13 miles.
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Longer ride (50-60 miles, building up to 75 or so).
Sunday - Another longer ride, depending on how my legs are from Saturday - I'm guessing shorter than Saturday but building up to a similar distance.
Is this enough, or too much?
I'm not unfit anymore and have been commuting for a year, but I'm not a superfit cyclist - until 10 months ago I was quite unfit. I think the main thing for me is building confidence and knowing I can do it, which I guess is where the longer rides will help.
I want to be able to enjoy it, not just get around in 7 hours using every last ounce of strength, so training is key... with no guidance I've come up with:
Monday - rest
Tuesday - ride to work, laps of regents park in the morning (18-21 miles), ride home at night (11 miles).
Wednesday - no cycling - swimming/gym
Thursday - ride to work (11 miles), ride home via Greenwich Park and do some hill reps (400m, 6% incline) - maybe 13 miles.
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Longer ride (50-60 miles, building up to 75 or so).
Sunday - Another longer ride, depending on how my legs are from Saturday - I'm guessing shorter than Saturday but building up to a similar distance.
Is this enough, or too much?
I'm not unfit anymore and have been commuting for a year, but I'm not a superfit cyclist - until 10 months ago I was quite unfit. I think the main thing for me is building confidence and knowing I can do it, which I guess is where the longer rides will help.
okgo said:
Ditch all the crap that isn't riding. And ditch one of the rest days.
I figured some swimming might give me legs a break... I could easily commute to work that day though. I think I'd struggle not to have a couple of days off the bike though - partly because I'm often off site so can't commute and partly because I'm still a marginally overweight 40 year old 
Maxf said:
I figured some swimming might give me legs a break... I could easily commute to work that day though. I think I'd struggle not to have a couple of days off the bike though - partly because I'm often off site so can't commute and partly because I'm still a marginally overweight 40 year old
Forget the age thing, its an excuse you've sold to yourself. The guy who did Ride100 the fastest on Sunday is 44.The thing with cycling is that you need to do do it often. Riding every day or as near to even if you ride easy some days and harder others will bring on the gains so much more quickly.
Monday - rest
Tuesday - ride to work, laps of regents park in the morning (18-21 miles), ride home at night (11 miles).
Wednesday - easy ride to work
Thursday - ride to work (11 miles), ride home via Greenwich Park and do some hill reps (400m, 6% incline) - maybe 13 miles.
Friday - easy ride to work
Saturday - Longer ride with some hard efforts on climbs - maybe 3 or 4 hard efforts of around 4-6 minutes
Sunday - easy longer spin, take in the sights ;-)
I have tried everything and whilst I got some great gains out of leg strength training in the gym, the best way is to simply get on the bike!!
Rest maybe 1/2 days, but your rides are short enough that you should recover to some extent anyway, so just get out there! (If you were doing 50+ hard hilly miles daily then you'd need more rest.)
When you start riding 5/6 days a week you need to ensure you are eating properly to aid your recovery each night. Me, my wife (runs 20miles per week) and one of my cycling pals use SiS Rego a couple times a week - I think it actually helps out... but other than that make sure you eat well and clean.
I dont often get to train how I want as I have a very busy work and personal schedule, but when I get quieter weeks I base my rides around a long Sunday ride and try to get out as many mornings as I can. In the summer I go at 5-5.20am before work.
Ive only done this for a few weeks this year, but for a general fitness increase (you wont be able to keep up with OKGO doing this) I like to:
Sunday - 50miles at least (up to 80 if I have long events upcoming.)
Monday - 20-30miles before work
Tuesday - 20-30miles before work
Wednesday - 20-30miles before work
Thursday - 20miles before work
Friday - REST
Saturday - REST
I like having 2 full rest days so I can feel fresh for the weekend and in tip top condition to enjoy my Sunday ride which is often with others. But I find its the 20-30miles on Wednesday and Thursday mornings where I gain the most.
But most importantly for you, if you want to enjoy a 100mile sportive you just need to chuck some long rides in there. With longer rides its not all about fitness, its a lot about pacing and taking on fuel. So the more longer rides you do the more you will learn how your body works and what YOU need to keep it going.
p.s, I know people well into there 40's and 50's who absolutely kick my 29yr old ass - so dont use your age as an excuse!!
Rest maybe 1/2 days, but your rides are short enough that you should recover to some extent anyway, so just get out there! (If you were doing 50+ hard hilly miles daily then you'd need more rest.)
When you start riding 5/6 days a week you need to ensure you are eating properly to aid your recovery each night. Me, my wife (runs 20miles per week) and one of my cycling pals use SiS Rego a couple times a week - I think it actually helps out... but other than that make sure you eat well and clean.
I dont often get to train how I want as I have a very busy work and personal schedule, but when I get quieter weeks I base my rides around a long Sunday ride and try to get out as many mornings as I can. In the summer I go at 5-5.20am before work.
Ive only done this for a few weeks this year, but for a general fitness increase (you wont be able to keep up with OKGO doing this) I like to:
Sunday - 50miles at least (up to 80 if I have long events upcoming.)
Monday - 20-30miles before work
Tuesday - 20-30miles before work
Wednesday - 20-30miles before work
Thursday - 20miles before work
Friday - REST
Saturday - REST
I like having 2 full rest days so I can feel fresh for the weekend and in tip top condition to enjoy my Sunday ride which is often with others. But I find its the 20-30miles on Wednesday and Thursday mornings where I gain the most.
But most importantly for you, if you want to enjoy a 100mile sportive you just need to chuck some long rides in there. With longer rides its not all about fitness, its a lot about pacing and taking on fuel. So the more longer rides you do the more you will learn how your body works and what YOU need to keep it going.
p.s, I know people well into there 40's and 50's who absolutely kick my 29yr old ass - so dont use your age as an excuse!!
okgo said:
Two rest days in a row is very unusual and not something anyone I know would do if they could help it, but mixed volume is key.
Yea agreed, its certainly not perfect. But it would certainly make a mere mortal fitter and for me it gives me a completely free Saturday. Edited by okgo on Friday 4th August 10:44
But OP, just get out there and pedal and dont miss the long rides!
Maxf said:
I'm trying to get into riding longer distances - I'm never going to be 'fast' (40 years old, 85kg), but want to progress from commuting in London (cycling 22 miles a day, 4 days a week) to doing some more meaningful rides. With that aim I've signed up for the New Forest 100 sportive on 16th September.... so not long to go!
I want to be able to enjoy it, not just get around in 7 hours using every last ounce of strength, so training is key... with no guidance I've come up with:
Monday - rest
Tuesday - ride to work, laps of regents park in the morning (18-21 miles), ride home at night (11 miles).
Wednesday - no cycling - swimming/gym
Thursday - ride to work (11 miles), ride home via Greenwich Park and do some hill reps (400m, 6% incline) - maybe 13 miles.
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Longer ride (50-60 miles, building up to 75 or so).
Sunday - Another longer ride, depending on how my legs are from Saturday - I'm guessing shorter than Saturday but building up to a similar distance.
Is this enough, or too much?
I'm not unfit anymore and have been commuting for a year, but I'm not a superfit cyclist - until 10 months ago I was quite unfit. I think the main thing for me is building confidence and knowing I can do it, which I guess is where the longer rides will help.
As a rule of thumb if you can do 60 mile rides and commute 100 during the week you're fit enough to do 100.I want to be able to enjoy it, not just get around in 7 hours using every last ounce of strength, so training is key... with no guidance I've come up with:
Monday - rest
Tuesday - ride to work, laps of regents park in the morning (18-21 miles), ride home at night (11 miles).
Wednesday - no cycling - swimming/gym
Thursday - ride to work (11 miles), ride home via Greenwich Park and do some hill reps (400m, 6% incline) - maybe 13 miles.
Friday - Rest
Saturday - Longer ride (50-60 miles, building up to 75 or so).
Sunday - Another longer ride, depending on how my legs are from Saturday - I'm guessing shorter than Saturday but building up to a similar distance.
Is this enough, or too much?
I'm not unfit anymore and have been commuting for a year, but I'm not a superfit cyclist - until 10 months ago I was quite unfit. I think the main thing for me is building confidence and knowing I can do it, which I guess is where the longer rides will help.
I was told (maybe wrongly but I still use it) that you can do roughly your weekly total in one hit...
When I returned to cycling I did 2 days riding, rest day, 3 days riding, rest day. I didn't concentrate so much on the distance but how hard the sessions were. Mostly they were in the 20-22 mile range but as fast as I could go back then. It was more rewarding/encouraging to see the time drop for a certain route than the number of miles I was doing. I found the best gains in fitness were from pushing hard rather than riding for longer times.
Gym work is ok and good for balancing muscle groups and swimming would be good for a rest day, but if you want to ride a bike fast the best way is to just ride the bike
Gym work is ok and good for balancing muscle groups and swimming would be good for a rest day, but if you want to ride a bike fast the best way is to just ride the bike
Pedalling is the best training for pedalling - as others have said
You are already capable of riding the 100, but there is nothing wrong with wanting to do faster &/or in more comfort
I would suggest upping your long ride at the earliest opportunity. Going into a 100 having previous 100s under your belt is a good confidence thing ime
You are already capable of riding the 100, but there is nothing wrong with wanting to do faster &/or in more comfort
I would suggest upping your long ride at the earliest opportunity. Going into a 100 having previous 100s under your belt is a good confidence thing ime
I recently rode my fastest ever century the week after I'd ridden 300+ miles (part of a silly 'private' Strava club challenge, don't ask 
).
Strictly NOT scientific evidence, but based on a sample size of one, and bearing in mind that it was an experiment with no control, I'd say "ride more - it's the best way to get better results".
My stats for the 14 day stretch as follows...
(for reference, the preceding two weeks were 0 miles and 88 miles cycling)
Thursday - 40.6 miles @ 15.5 mph (road bike, solo)
Friday - rest
Saturday - 41.1 miles @ 15.1 mph (road bike, solo)
Sunday - 19.2 miles @ 9.2 mph (MTB, social with a friend)
Monday - 103.6 miles @ 13.1mph (road bike, solo)
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - 71.9 miles @ 15.1 mph (road bike, solo)
Friday - 102.7 miles @ 14.6 mph (road bike, solo)
Saturday - rest
Sunday - 53.3 miles @ 16.9 mph (road bike, solo)
Monday - 68.7 miles @ 10.1 mph (MTB, social with friends and pub stops)
Tuesday - 107.3 miles @ 16.4 mph (road bike, solo)
Wednesday - 24.9 miles @ 11.0 mph (MTB night ride)
...633 miles, including the three centuries, and as you can see I got a fair bit quicker with each one of those. I'm no whippet as you can also plainly see, but I'm told you can expect to see improved pace when riding in a group anyway. I'm pretty sure that the 6 hour 33 minute time for 107.3 miles is faster than I've ever gone for that distance before. But it was split around a meal break, which may have aided my recovery, and consequently my pace quite a lot in the second half.
After that I was off the bike for 7 days straight. And that (including 4 days slogging through mud at a music festival) pretty much undid a lot of my good work. Back to solo MTBing now while the weather is grotty, as I'm no fan of road riding in the wet.
I'm not sure what use this will be to you, OP, but it was an interesting exercise for me to look at the pattern of my times/speeds as these (out of the ordinary, for me) high-mileage weeks progressed.
).Strictly NOT scientific evidence, but based on a sample size of one, and bearing in mind that it was an experiment with no control, I'd say "ride more - it's the best way to get better results".
My stats for the 14 day stretch as follows...
(for reference, the preceding two weeks were 0 miles and 88 miles cycling)
Thursday - 40.6 miles @ 15.5 mph (road bike, solo)
Friday - rest
Saturday - 41.1 miles @ 15.1 mph (road bike, solo)
Sunday - 19.2 miles @ 9.2 mph (MTB, social with a friend)
Monday - 103.6 miles @ 13.1mph (road bike, solo)
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - 71.9 miles @ 15.1 mph (road bike, solo)
Friday - 102.7 miles @ 14.6 mph (road bike, solo)
Saturday - rest
Sunday - 53.3 miles @ 16.9 mph (road bike, solo)
Monday - 68.7 miles @ 10.1 mph (MTB, social with friends and pub stops)
Tuesday - 107.3 miles @ 16.4 mph (road bike, solo)
Wednesday - 24.9 miles @ 11.0 mph (MTB night ride)
...633 miles, including the three centuries, and as you can see I got a fair bit quicker with each one of those. I'm no whippet as you can also plainly see, but I'm told you can expect to see improved pace when riding in a group anyway. I'm pretty sure that the 6 hour 33 minute time for 107.3 miles is faster than I've ever gone for that distance before. But it was split around a meal break, which may have aided my recovery, and consequently my pace quite a lot in the second half.
After that I was off the bike for 7 days straight. And that (including 4 days slogging through mud at a music festival) pretty much undid a lot of my good work. Back to solo MTBing now while the weather is grotty, as I'm no fan of road riding in the wet.
I'm not sure what use this will be to you, OP, but it was an interesting exercise for me to look at the pattern of my times/speeds as these (out of the ordinary, for me) high-mileage weeks progressed.
One word; Pacing! As long as you stay in your aerobic zone and keep feeding yourself you should be able to keep going all day unless your knees cry enough! Be careful riding with others, if you find you are working a bit hard then drop off the back and let them go, if you pace yourself you will cover the 100 miles fine, get it wrong, go too hard and you could be wrecked well before halfway!! Be careful if there is a headwind you can easily over do it riding into a headwind!
Clothing; mid September you might have 20 degrees and sunshine or 5 degrees with wind and rain, or both!! You are out all day so wear layers, take waterproofs even if the forecast is fine. Bib shorts are fine but remember you will need comfort stops so make sure you can do that without having to strip off, personally I wear padded boxers (Assos) and MTB shorts that have very useful pockets and allow easy access for comfort stops, a 100 miler is an endurance event not a Time Trial so I doubt the wind drag from my shorts makes any real difference!!
Food; very important, you will burn several thousand calories during the day so take plenty of food, don't rely on gels and power bars they can upset your guts if you eat them all day, take normal food that you usually eat, same with drinks, water is best IMHO
Spares; don't forget them!!! A couple of tubes plus pump etc.
I use a mountain biking back-pack with built in Camelbak if I am out all day, it can carry plenty of food, water, wallet, camera, phone, water proofs etc. I carry spares on the bike rather than on my back.
Most important, keep to a sensible pace and enjoy the day, after this first event you will have a better idea about your abilities!
Improving your fitness is a long term project that you will need tailoring depending on what you want to achieve, a couple of sessions with a personal trainer down the gym is worth trying.
Enjoy yourself and do let us know how you got on, with photos of course!
Clothing; mid September you might have 20 degrees and sunshine or 5 degrees with wind and rain, or both!! You are out all day so wear layers, take waterproofs even if the forecast is fine. Bib shorts are fine but remember you will need comfort stops so make sure you can do that without having to strip off, personally I wear padded boxers (Assos) and MTB shorts that have very useful pockets and allow easy access for comfort stops, a 100 miler is an endurance event not a Time Trial so I doubt the wind drag from my shorts makes any real difference!!
Food; very important, you will burn several thousand calories during the day so take plenty of food, don't rely on gels and power bars they can upset your guts if you eat them all day, take normal food that you usually eat, same with drinks, water is best IMHO
Spares; don't forget them!!! A couple of tubes plus pump etc.
I use a mountain biking back-pack with built in Camelbak if I am out all day, it can carry plenty of food, water, wallet, camera, phone, water proofs etc. I carry spares on the bike rather than on my back.
Most important, keep to a sensible pace and enjoy the day, after this first event you will have a better idea about your abilities!
Improving your fitness is a long term project that you will need tailoring depending on what you want to achieve, a couple of sessions with a personal trainer down the gym is worth trying.
Enjoy yourself and do let us know how you got on, with photos of course!
I'm not nearly as knowledgable as others but have just started to actually train properly for riding with a coach.
It seems to me that the outline programme is;
Monday - concentrate on cadence, cadence and even faster cadence.
Tuesday - it's all about the power
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - back to Cadence
Friday - power
Saturday - roll it all together and go for a ride (club run)
Sunday - rest.
It seems to be paying dividends for me, he (the coach) messes around with what i do on each day, so when i think it's a power day it could well be a cadence day and vice verse!
But the trick seems to be not to have 2 days together of either.
It seems to me that the outline programme is;
Monday - concentrate on cadence, cadence and even faster cadence.
Tuesday - it's all about the power
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - back to Cadence
Friday - power
Saturday - roll it all together and go for a ride (club run)
Sunday - rest.
It seems to be paying dividends for me, he (the coach) messes around with what i do on each day, so when i think it's a power day it could well be a cadence day and vice verse!
But the trick seems to be not to have 2 days together of either.
Marcellus said:
I'm not nearly as knowledgable as others but have just started to actually train properly for riding with a coach.
It seems to me that the outline programme is;
Monday - concentrate on cadence, cadence and even faster cadence.
Tuesday - it's all about the power
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - back to Cadence
Friday - power
Saturday - roll it all together and go for a ride (club run)
Sunday - rest.
It seems to be paying dividends for me, he (the coach) messes around with what i do on each day, so when i think it's a power day it could well be a cadence day and vice verse!
But the trick seems to be not to have 2 days together of either.
It was explained to me that if you repeat the same exercise too often your body learns the exercise and the training becomes less effective which is one of the reasons 'cross training' has become so popular, It seems to me that the outline programme is;
Monday - concentrate on cadence, cadence and even faster cadence.
Tuesday - it's all about the power
Wednesday - rest
Thursday - back to Cadence
Friday - power
Saturday - roll it all together and go for a ride (club run)
Sunday - rest.
It seems to be paying dividends for me, he (the coach) messes around with what i do on each day, so when i think it's a power day it could well be a cadence day and vice verse!
But the trick seems to be not to have 2 days together of either.
I did a 6 week block of rowing for 1 hour every week day (weekends for recovery), the first 4 weeks were building my aerobic base and the last 2 weeks were high intensity intervals, the difference it made to my cycling was way more than I could have achieved by cycling an hour a day for the same period.
I have had a couple of weeks off due to work/family/holiday but I am looking forward to doing another 6 week block at the gym!
Mr Ted said:
It was explained to me that if you repeat the same exercise too often your body learns the exercise and the training becomes less effective which is one of the reasons 'cross training' has become so popular,
I did a 6 week block of rowing for 1 hour every week day (weekends for recovery), the first 4 weeks were building my aerobic base and the last 2 weeks were high intensity intervals, the difference it made to my cycling was way more than I could have achieved by cycling an hour a day for the same period.
I have had a couple of weeks off due to work/family/holiday but I am looking forward to doing another 6 week block at the gym!
Not really the case with endurance sport though. The whole CTL/TSS model is built upon 'load' with not a vast amount of interest of how you get the load (within reason).I did a 6 week block of rowing for 1 hour every week day (weekends for recovery), the first 4 weeks were building my aerobic base and the last 2 weeks were high intensity intervals, the difference it made to my cycling was way more than I could have achieved by cycling an hour a day for the same period.
I have had a couple of weeks off due to work/family/holiday but I am looking forward to doing another 6 week block at the gym!
Not true in the slightest I'm afraid, you easily can do that cycling. The problem is that most people have no idea how hard they need to go on the hard days. And end up just ruining every day by going slightly too easy on hard days and too hard on easy days.
You may be right in that an hour is well spent on a static machine. Which is why people ave turbo trainers.
Thanks again for all of the tips... it's all making sense now and after a couple of rides at the weekend I understand it's about 'being in the saddle'.
I managed 86 miles over 2 days - neither day was easy but straight after the ride I was back to normal life and not collapsed in a heap... but they were tough at the time. So my recovery time is ok, and I 'just' need to get used to sitting in the saddle for long periods... then speed will come.
I managed 86 miles over 2 days - neither day was easy but straight after the ride I was back to normal life and not collapsed in a heap... but they were tough at the time. So my recovery time is ok, and I 'just' need to get used to sitting in the saddle for long periods... then speed will come.
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