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Training - less is more?
With all the recent wet weather, and because I don't have a road bike, I decided to supplement my training over the last couple of months by going to the gym. I've been doing spin bike sessions including high intensity/ interval sessions. I also do some strength training like squats and leg presses once or twice a week. I still manage to get out for a 3-hour endurance ride at least once each week, but overall my volume of riding has been way less than in previous months.
So today I went out and did some hill repeats on a steep local hill, and to my surprise I got my first, second and third best times on one of the climbs. My training program hasn't been very scientific, and certainly is not as good as it would be using a professional coach, but it seems that I'm training less hours but more effectively.
Actually I really should give credit to this forum because after reading a few posts on training, especially comments by Antsonline, I cobbled together my own program, and it seems to have helped. I'll have to see how I go in my next race (the three ring circus). But perhaps less really is more?
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I much prefer to do high intensity, shorter workouts than long steady kms..
Although I try and ramp up the distance leading up to a Marathon or longer race.
Its the first rule of training. Get as far as you can on as little as possible.
Good luck at 3Ring JP - I reckon you'll surprise yourself!
Gazza - good point, ramping up distance closer to the event.
Ants - thanks, I'll post a report. Not expecting to break any records, but top 10 in my category would be nice.
Is really important, hence I tend to do some very high intensity work on the turbo, even of it is dry. Normally they hurt like hell but it's worth it.
I agree Logans comments. Spin classes work well. I set my best times around the Dam without feeling like I was working very hard when I was doing two a week. I've been struggling to work out how to fit them in with my new role
Time to get some spinervals dvds.
I find I still need to do at least 1 ride a week longer than 2 hours at close to "race pace".
Good point Logan, it hurts. I once read an article by Jason English saying many mtbers plateau because they don't know how to hurt. After all the spin sessions, I now know what he meant. I think the difference yesterday when I beat my PB times was that I wasn't afraid to push a higher gear and accept that it was going to hurt a bit. But try explaining this to a non-cyclist and you get some very strange looks...
Hawkeye - I found a local gym that's open 24hours and has "virtual" classes on demand - makes it much easier to fit in around work and family.
If you don't have much time to train but need to get fit for a race, do some club races or even get a road lisence and do some weekend crits/ road races.
There's no hurting like the hurt of a race.
I've turned up at Heffron before and looked at overweight blokes on the start line that obviously don't train as much as me but they've completely smoked me in the race. Why? Because they're racing once or twice a week in the summer months.
I've refined the less is more theory down to the point where I don't actually have to do anything.
is it actually possible to do less than nothing?
I think we might have to write a book about that.....
on second thought.....thats too much effort....we'll start loosing fitness
Second your comment re: antsonline helping out.
I've also found that rest is critical. Work out hard, but let your body recover before you punish it again. I try to ride hard on weekends with cruisy commuter rides/gym work as rest days during the week.
Spin is great for endurance. Knowing you can punch out at 85-90% max bpm for x minutes is great to know.
I read lately that people who train can tend to ride too hard on their recovery rides and too easy on their training rides. Food for thought.
Its my pleasure - the little bits I share I've learnt from amazing coaches much much more qualifed than I, and from my own reading and experience coaching elite riders. I've been lucky to have spent a lot of time surrounded by both great coaches and riders.
@Hoa - you make two fine points.
1. To please the posters above (no training is good) its important to remember that training itself makes you slower. People forget that so easily. Training is damaging. It breaks your muscles. Literally tears them up. Its REST that makes you faster. Rest is the only way to improve. Of course, you have to rest from something...
2. 99% of people I ride with or have ridden with go too hard on easy rides, and too easy on hard rides. Everything becomes one pace, and they are always slightly fatigued, with no real improvements past the first plateau.
OK, that sounds a lot like me - I did build 2 rest days into my program but inevitably I get tempted to go for an easy ride on one of those days, then an easy ride gradually turns into another smash fest as ego kicks in and I try to catch someone ahead of me on the trail. So yes, always a bit fatigued and no doubt slower than I should be on the planned hard rides.
So I've learned something else today. Today will remain a rest day, despite the tempting sunshine I can see through my office window right now...
the tempting sunshine through the office window sounds good ,but by the time I get on my bike it's already night time! so hard to find time for quality training.
You have to make time, I have a 4 month old, work some long hours at Macquarie and generally put 10 hours in a week. It's all about 5am starts on the bike.
Yep. My alarm is set for 4:30am for 4 days a week.