Track Training?

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Ok, I've been riding about 6 mo. and I want to race sprints and kerins on the track. I have road raced in the past. But have know idea what to do to train for the track?
I can ride and hold a line well on the track, I just do not know what to do when I get to the track. Just riding laps is getting old.....any help?

Originally posted by veloboy
Ok, I've been riding about 6 mo. and I want to race sprints and kerins on the track. I have road raced in the past. But have know idea what to do to train for the track?
I can ride and hold a line well on the track, I just do not know what to do when I get to the track. Just riding laps is getting old.....any help?

Start replicating the races you want to do e.g. flying 200's, jumps in small and large gears, leadouts, short intervals, standing starts, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1 lap efforts. Be explosive like the sprints.

Practice the skills too; like looking behind you for a whole lap of the track, standing up and sitting down, responding to stimuli (a rider overtaking or a whistle.

Hope this helps.

2lap, man thanks, so far you've given me the best information so far (i've been looking for months).
One more question, since the winter weather is coming on shortly ( I'm in Portland OR -usa) any Ideas on weight lifting. Right now I can only turn pertty small gears 76-82. I would like and feel I need alot more power. I've got good cadence, I spin naturally around 100-120, but no power yet. Any ideas
thanks

Given that you want to do sprint events, you will no doubt need to train with weights (its a different story for the endurance boys and girls). If its your first winter of weights, concentrate on technique and all round strength. This will help you lift bigger weights later.

Many people get this wrong - its not the size of the weight that matters, but how you lift them. Try and find a good strength training coach that understands the demands of sprinting on a bike and listen well. Ultimately, you need to be producing high forces in the gym in exercises that are 'similar' (joint angles and speeds) to cycling. Riding a bike in the warm up and cool down at the gym will help increase transefer (low resistance/high cadence).

As sprinting is all about power, you also need to start working on your cadence. Although 100 to 120 is good, but track sprinters have peak cadences of around 200+ (depending on gears) and I have seen 300+ from a rider pedalling against no resistance. Start developing this with little resistance (even down hill) and then add resistance later. On a track bike your speed is directly related to how fast you pedal (no gears).

Originally posted by veloboy
2lap, man thanks, so far you've given me the best information so far (i've been looking for months).
One more question, since the winter weather is coming on shortly ( I'm in Portland OR -usa) any Ideas on weight lifting. Right now I can only turn pertty small gears 76-82. I would like and feel I need alot more power. I've got good cadence, I spin naturally around 100-120, but no power yet. Any ideas
thanks

Even for the sprint events (e.g., kilo, 200-m, etc) you still need quite a good base of aerobic training. Having a good base will allow you to train intensely and recover from big sprint efforts.

Recovery from sprints etc., are entirely dependent upon aerobic metabolism, and also, events such as the kilo are ~ 40% aerobic.

To compete well in specialist sprint events you'll need to weight train, and do some pretty intense work. there's also a lot of skill required as 2Lap mentions.

A coach will help for these specialist events (as they would for endurance training too). Give me a shout if you need any advice,

Ric

Thanks for the info, I'm starting to get an Idea of what it's going to take.
2lap, you mentioned that it's not the weight but how you lift them??? Are talking explosive type lifts instead of high weight/low reps- low weight/high reps?
As for cadence, I can max out at around 202 with no resistance, how do I work on that. Can I spin giong down hill in the biggest gear that still allows me to spin at a high rate?
Ric, thank you for your input. I will definetly continue to build my aerobic side of things. As for a coach, I'm going to have to go the coarse on my own for now. Money is not somthing that seem to flow my way right now. Plus I've just begun to do this, heck I have'nt even raced yet. I could get on down the road and find my knees are'nt going to let me do this (20yrs of soccer- I may begin to pay for it).
Would doing hill sprints help bring up my power until the winter sets in. I hope so because for some reason I like to do them. If so, should I use a gear that allows me to spin high and then keep gearing down (over time) if I can still hold a high cadence in that new gear?
Anyway thanks for the advice for know, I'll have many more to come. Like I said anything you have to say will be useful- Thanks again.
Dave

Originally posted by veloboy
2lap, you mentioned that it's not the weight but how you lift them??? Are talking explosive type lifts instead of high weight/low reps- low weight/high reps?


Simply, its not lifting bigger and bigger weights, but instead the technique thats used (e.g. velocities, joint angles, specific exercises, etc). But don't worry about that at the moment, when starting you need to become stronger all over. Being strong all over will help you with bigger weights and with better technique latter. It will also help you control your bike when sprinting. So start in the gym with reletivly general program, paying a little more attention to cycling muscles and your 'core'. From there work on hypertrophy and finaly explosivness, building onto this year by year.

Originally posted by veloboy
As for cadence, I can max out at around 202 with no resistance, how do I work on that. Can I spin giong down hill in the biggest gear that still allows me to spin at a high rate?


You have to apply a training stimulous as with any training. That means reaching higher peak cadences and acheiving higher average cadences. Spinning down hill is a good way of acheiving both of these. Also people get motor paced on the track to allow them to hold high cadences for a long period (this is also good for your aerobic endurance).

Originally posted by veloboy
Ric, thank you for your input. I will definetly continue to build my aerobic side of things. As for a coach, I'm going to have to go the coarse on my own for now. Money is not somthing that seem to flow my way right now. Plus I've just begun to do this, heck I have'nt even raced yet. I could get on down the road and find my knees are'nt going to let me do this (20yrs of soccer- I may begin to pay for it).


If you've not raced, do some timed sprints now so that you can monitor your performance over the up coming months.

Originally posted by veloboy
If so, should I use a gear that allows me to spin high and then keep gearing down (over time) if I can still hold a high cadence in that new gear?


This is great for training, but instead do some under gear sprints and some over gear sprints. As you get closer to the season bring the gears closer together until you reach race gear on race day.

Sprint training is all about going fast, so when sprinting have long rests between efforts and don't sprint when fatigued. For 200 mtrs racing maximal sprints of less than 10 seconds in duration will be most important. Remember you are trying to maximise your peak power (acheived in about 2 to 4 seconds) as you will be sprinting for <20 seconds and not your average power (say over 1+ minutes).

2lap, dude this is the stuff I've been looking for, thanks. I now have enough info to put somewhat of a training plan together. Really, at my level anything I do will be a benifit. I'll work on this stuff and get on the weights with in a few weeks ( I start a sesonal second job that will take up 6-7 days a week of the next 3 months. so I'm off the road and track till it's nice and rainy here- Dec. in Portland Or.......nice and wet!). I have a trainer that I'll spin on and work intervals on during this time and then get back on the road as much as possible come December.
Thanks again, Dave

Originally posted by veloboy
Ok, I've been riding about 6 mo. and I want to race sprints and kerins on the track. I have road raced in the past. But have know idea what to do to train for the track?
I can ride and hold a line well on the track, I just do not know what to do when I get to the track. Just riding laps is getting old.....any help?

you mentioned that this is your forst year lifting weights? If it is, then when you start lifting weights, stick to basic movements. These would be squats, bench presses, rows, hamstring curls, and some light deadlifts. the deadlifts will develop your whole body and the other exercises will work on specific sites. try to stick to free weights as much aas possible and stick to a tempo of 1-1-3, 1 sec work phase, 1 second pause, and a 3 second release. this will ensure that you don't end up overdoing the weight. make sure that you r movements are controlled and stay away from explosive weight work for now. For the first month, just stick to basic bodybuilding exercises that isolate certain muscle groups, like leg extensions, tricep kickbacks, arm curls, leg curls, etc. These are single joint movements, and they will work on developing your tendon strength. after this 1 month period, move into the free weights and use compound, mulit-joint movements whenever possible. These burn the most calories, promote the most muscle growth, increase your hormonal levels better, and will give you the best returns in the strength department. after every weight workout, spin on a bike for 15-20 minutes at 120 rpm with a few bursts at about 180. this will remind your muscles that spinning in circles is their main job.
to develop explosiveness, the hill sprints are good, but do not do them in a light gear. depending on how steep the hill is, 78 inches should be a good gear. work on i minute intervals, and don't neglect yoru aerobic training.
this shouls get you set for the coming track season