Training routine
Discussion
I'm planning to do 60 mile rides on 10 consecutive days in the coming summer. Now, I have a bike and a turbo trainer and want to start training. I'm not the fittest and don't want to get injured, so am looking for a smart way to train.
To some this may sound pretty easy, but with my girly legs it will surely be a struggle.
Ideally I'll do this 2 or 3 times a week until the weather improves so I can go out in the evening and/or begin commuting to work, 20 miles each way.
Has anyone done anything similar? Or have expertise in this sort of thing?
Thanks.
To some this may sound pretty easy, but with my girly legs it will surely be a struggle.
Ideally I'll do this 2 or 3 times a week until the weather improves so I can go out in the evening and/or begin commuting to work, 20 miles each way.
Has anyone done anything similar? Or have expertise in this sort of thing?
Thanks.
I found TT's good for a maximum of 30 minute intervals, after that I was bored and very fed up of the noise. I invested in a night light and started doing proper night rides.
If your set with your TT though do what you can on that but try to get out proper at least once a week. I've found the best training for me has been tackling big hills, my CV fitness has improved and my leg muscle strength and stamina has improved no end. My advice, plan a local circuit which will take up to 1 hour to complete, but pack it with as many hills as possible, ride the circuit as many times as your legs will stand.
If your set with your TT though do what you can on that but try to get out proper at least once a week. I've found the best training for me has been tackling big hills, my CV fitness has improved and my leg muscle strength and stamina has improved no end. My advice, plan a local circuit which will take up to 1 hour to complete, but pack it with as many hills as possible, ride the circuit as many times as your legs will stand.
so you are planing 600 miles in ten days? whereabouts? UK? Europe? the only reason i ask is that the UK doesnt have many hills of note but Europe certainly does and they are bigger and longer thus interval training might be a useful addition (high mileage at a low resistance, low miles at a higher resistance)
really, you just need to put the miles in, its not a case of anything special. just endurance trainnig, spin a reasonable cog and get on with it!
i would imagine your biggest problem will be the route but if you know this in advance you can prime yourself a bit better to deal with it. eg if the first day is 60 miles flat and the last day 60 miles up big hills, you will need to focus on endurance rather than speed...
really, you just need to put the miles in, its not a case of anything special. just endurance trainnig, spin a reasonable cog and get on with it!
i would imagine your biggest problem will be the route but if you know this in advance you can prime yourself a bit better to deal with it. eg if the first day is 60 miles flat and the last day 60 miles up big hills, you will need to focus on endurance rather than speed...
Thanks for the advice.
Regarding the route, it'll be through France, I haven't yet looked into hills, etc. I'm not really fussed about speed, 10mph average is fine and I hope very achievable.
We're actually planning to do 4 days on, 1 day off, 4 times. The aim is Calais to Valencia. Obviously this involves the Pyrenees, but we may cheat a little if we're not up to it, but the aim is to cycle the whole way. Firstly it's a fun holiday, but it'd be nice to really feel like we'd achieved something too.
My understanding of hills is you just keep your legs going round at the same tempo (cadence?) and drop the gears as necessary.
Granted the turbo trainer can be boring. I just chuck it in front of the TV when there is something on I want to watch, the longer the better.
I do have lights, and (un)fortunately there are some fair size hills not far away, but they are on fairly narrow NSL lanes. I'm not the yet the most confident rider in heavy/fast traffic.
Regarding the route, it'll be through France, I haven't yet looked into hills, etc. I'm not really fussed about speed, 10mph average is fine and I hope very achievable.
We're actually planning to do 4 days on, 1 day off, 4 times. The aim is Calais to Valencia. Obviously this involves the Pyrenees, but we may cheat a little if we're not up to it, but the aim is to cycle the whole way. Firstly it's a fun holiday, but it'd be nice to really feel like we'd achieved something too.
My understanding of hills is you just keep your legs going round at the same tempo (cadence?) and drop the gears as necessary.
Granted the turbo trainer can be boring. I just chuck it in front of the TV when there is something on I want to watch, the longer the better.
I do have lights, and (un)fortunately there are some fair size hills not far away, but they are on fairly narrow NSL lanes. I'm not the yet the most confident rider in heavy/fast traffic.
Using a turbo isn't a bad idea, there's no point going out in the dark on icy roads just to get miles in. The important thing is to go hard enough on a turbo because with no speed or traffic it's easy just to cruise along & think you're working hard. When I used turbos over winter I'd vary the sessions. One day I'd do 45mins at a steady (but hard) pace, next day I'd do 30 minute interval training where you basically go flat out for a minute, your heartrate soars & then have a minute to recover, then back again. 3rd option was doing a 6x5 minute intervals, lower effort per interval, 5 minute recovery between but overall much harder to do.
Turbo training should have you feeling very wobbly when you get off, I often used to end up sitting down in the shower. If you're feeling fine after a session, you're not going hard enough !
I also used an old personal CD player & made up a CDR with fast paced music that gets your andrenalin going. I know some folks do use the telly as a boredom beater, but you need concentration to get the best out of a turbo session and after all it should only be 40-60 minutes including warm-up/warm-down.
Finally - get a bike with a triple chainset - it makes life so much easier and practical for touring. I think your expectations are very realistic and I'm sure you'll get there.
Turbo training should have you feeling very wobbly when you get off, I often used to end up sitting down in the shower. If you're feeling fine after a session, you're not going hard enough !
I also used an old personal CD player & made up a CDR with fast paced music that gets your andrenalin going. I know some folks do use the telly as a boredom beater, but you need concentration to get the best out of a turbo session and after all it should only be 40-60 minutes including warm-up/warm-down.
Finally - get a bike with a triple chainset - it makes life so much easier and practical for touring. I think your expectations are very realistic and I'm sure you'll get there.
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