4 week training program

[Sando]

I am competing in a 50km event in around 4 weeks time. I would like to be in the best possible shape for this event.

I currently ride approx 20km per day, commuting to and from work and know i could improve if i lost 5 or so kgs...

Can someone help me with a training schedule that will assist me with my goal?

thank you

 

[NomadVW]

I am competing in a 50km event in around 4 weeks time. I would like to be in the best possible shape for this event.

I currently ride approx 20km per day, commuting to and from work and know i could improve if i lost 5 or so kgs...

Can someone help me with a training schedule that will assist me with my goal?

thank you

First, I'd say 5kg in 4 weeks would be too fast a weight loss for me. I'd want to be at my goal weight a week before the event so I can resume normal intake that week, and 5 kg in 3 weeks is pretty darn fast.

The standard answer from most of us is going to be "no one training plan fits all." Most of us have a coached plan or a plan that meets our goals, so we'd only be regurgitating something you can read from a book and get a lot better personalization from.

I'll be the one to say that you're not likely to improve your overall fitness a huge amount going from no training plan to a training plan in 3 weeks. You can't count the fourth week as a fitness increasing training week really, because, IME, the fatigue you'll generate will be more detrimental to your performance than the fitness you gain.

What you might be able to do is get some work in at your threshold, doing 2 days of 2x20's each week. If for no other reason than to train your mind what your limit is, and what it feels like. That way in the event you'll know when you reach it and have a good gauge of how long you'll be able to stay there.

You're already riding 20km a day, so 50km shouldn't be a vast change. I might throw in 2 days over the three weeks of 40+km rides if you're not used to going that far.

 

[sooray02]

What kind of event is it?

 

[Sando]

What kind of event is it?

It's just a fund raising event but I would still like to perform the best i can...

 

[sooray02]

Make sure you eat & drink before, during, and after the event.

 

[TiMan]

I am competing in a 50km event in around 4 weeks time. I would like to be in the best possible shape for this event.

I currently ride approx 20km per day, commuting to and from work and know i could improve if i lost 5 or so kgs...

Can someone help me with a training schedule that will assist me with my goal?

thank you

Sure.....

NomadVW had some good advice too.

Here is an actual day to day training program to follow.

You need to do threshold work++. Weight loss might help you sustainable power to weight ratio but it may not if you are already very thin.


Try to choose a route to work that has the fewest lights/stops/slow downs. It's really important that you do not drop the intensity at any time during your ride...even for a minute.
Go around traffic light stops on the cross road and then do a U turn.
Try to find a course that is at least 30 minutes long.



I think you can make good gains in threshold power in 4 weeks IF you do what I suggest to the T.

First.
Your threshold power/speed'/heart rate is just below your 50-60 minute ALL OUT TT pace.

I assume you work 5 days a week in a row. You don't have a lot of time each day.

Warm up first every day for 5 minutes....ramping up the intensity to threshold.
Day 1....fast threshold...at your 60 minute all out TT pace. If it is 30 minutes to work then you do a 5 min warm up 20 minutes at threshold and then 5 minutes cool down. If it is longer then do 2 X 20 at threshold with 5 minutes easy between.
Day 2....drop the intensity slightly but still keep it in your threshold range
Day 3....same but for 5 minutes less
Day 4....ride very very easy to work
Day 5....do the same
Day 6... do 2 X 20 minutes at threshold in the am. 5-10 minutes really easy between efforts. Day 6 of week 2 do 3 X 15.....day 6 of week 3 do 3 X 20.
Try to ride again this day in the afternoon for an hour..with 30 minutes high endurance and 30 minutes tempo, just below threshold range.
Day 7...OFF

Do the above starting NOW.
Try to do a slightly longer course to work every week. The idea is to increase your time at threshold. If you can't that's fine too...you'll make great progress.

The above is hard work but you need to do it.

Then 6 days before your TT take a 6 day recovery week as follows.
Day 1 ...really easy to work
Day 2...same
Day 3....Drive to work...no bike
Day 4....commute easy but do 10 minute at threshold, the rest at endurance.
Day 5 ...easy commute
Day 6....tune up ride...60 minutes at endurance pace. 1 X 60 seconds HARD
then 10 minutes threshold after doing 5 minutes really easy...the n do another 60 second HARD...then ride really easy. DONE

Use a sports drink if riding longer then 40 minutes....drink one per hour at least.

Day of event.
Drink 16 OZ of very strong coffee 1-2 hours before the event.

Warm up VERY WELL before the start. Do a couple hard short efforts and a little threshold work. This should end 1-10 minutes before you start the TT.

If the course is flat and there isn't much wind then hold it at your threshold heart rate/intensity/power. If the course has hills then ramp it up SLIGHTLY for the hills...like 5%...then back off SLIGHTLY on down hills. Same for head winds/tail winds.



BE SURE to get some carbs and a little protein after each session. Drink plenty.
EAT and drink when you get to work.

Good luck

 

[Sando]

Sure.....

NomadVW had some good advice too.

Here is an actual day to day training program to follow.

You need to do threshold work++. Weight loss might help you sustainable power to weight ratio but it may not if you are already very thin.


Try to choose a route to work that has the fewest lights/stops/slow downs. It's really important that you do not drop the intensity at any time during your ride...even for a minute.
Go around traffic light stops on the cross road and then do a U turn.
Try to find a course that is at least 30 minutes long.



I think you can make good gains in threshold power in 4 weeks IF you do what I suggest to the T.

First.
Your threshold power/speed'/heart rate is just below your 50-60 minute ALL OUT TT pace.

I assume you work 5 days a week in a row. You don't have a lot of time each day.

Warm up first every day for 5 minutes....ramping up the intensity to threshold.
Day 1....fast threshold...at your 60 minute all out TT pace. If it is 30 minutes to work then you do a 5 min warm up 20 minutes at threshold and then 5 minutes cool down. If it is longer then do 2 X 20 at threshold with 5 minutes easy between.
Day 2....drop the intensity slightly but still keep it in your threshold range
Day 3....same but for 5 minutes less
Day 4....ride very very easy to work
Day 5....do the same
Day 6... do 2 X 20 minutes at threshold in the am. 5-10 minutes really easy between efforts. Day 6 of week 2 do 3 X 15.....day 6 of week 3 do 3 X 20.
Try to ride again this day in the afternoon for an hour..with 30 minutes high endurance and 30 minutes tempo, just below threshold range.
Day 7...OFF

Do the above starting NOW.
Try to do a slightly longer course to work every week. The idea is to increase your time at threshold. If you can't that's fine too...you'll make great progress.

The above is hard work but you need to do it.

Then 6 days before your TT take a 6 day recovery week as follows.
Day 1 ...really easy to work
Day 2...same
Day 3....Drive to work...no bike
Day 4....commute easy but do 10 minute at threshold, the rest at endurance.
Day 5 ...easy commute
Day 6....tune up ride...60 minutes at endurance pace. 1 X 60 seconds HARD
then 10 minutes threshold after doing 5 minutes really easy...the n do another 60 second HARD...then ride really easy. DONE

Use a sports drink if riding longer then 40 minutes....drink one per hour at least.

Day of event.
Drink 16 OZ of very strong coffee 1-2 hours before the event.

Warm up VERY WELL before the start. Do a couple hard short efforts and a little threshold work. This should end 1-10 minutes before you start the TT.

If the course is flat and there isn't much wind then hold it at your threshold heart rate/intensity/power. If the course has hills then ramp it up SLIGHTLY for the hills...like 5%...then back off SLIGHTLY on down hills. Same for head winds/tail winds.



BE SURE to get some carbs and a little protein after each session. Drink plenty.
EAT and drink when you get to work.

Good luck

Thank you very much for your help... I'll get onto it!

 

[watts4speed]

Weight loss might help you sustainable power to weight ratio but it may not if you are already very thin.

I don't want to hijack the thread here but I have a related question. Is there another thread where finding the optimal weight is discussed? I'm at a point were I'm trying to raise my threshold, have implemented a strict weight control program loosing a lot of weight in the fall, and one of my options is to raise my weight if it might raise my threshold.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

..... I'm at a point were I'm trying to raise my threshold, have implemented a strict weight control program loosing a lot of weight in the fall, and one of my options is to raise my weight if it might raise my threshold.

There was a post a while back with weight per inch of height for TDF riders and other pro cyclists. It works out to 2 pounds for inch of height for climbing gods and 2.2 pounds per inch of height for rolleurs. Here's a paper that looks at BMI for pro riders which is just a more sophisticated version of height to weight relationships:http://www.afpafitness.com/articles/BodyMassIndexpracticalApplication.htm

It doesn't tell you anything about the percentage of body fat they're carrying and emulating full time pros may not be smart but at least it sets a lower bound for how light you should get.

Whether your power to weight ratios will be better if you're a bit heavier or lighter...well that's harder to predict.

Good luck,
Dave

 

[watts4speed]

Whether your power to weight ratios will be better if you're a bit heavier or lighter...well that's harder to predict.

Well I'm right in the middle of the pack between Tony Rominger and Frankie Andreu. If only I could generate the same power .

 

[TiMan]

I don't want to hijack the thread here but I have a related question. Is there another thread where finding the optimal weight is discussed? I'm at a point were I'm trying to raise my threshold, have implemented a strict weight control program loosing a lot of weight in the fall, and one of my options is to raise my weight if it might raise my threshold.

You have to be careful with this. If you are under weight.....ie: very thin for your height, then the addition of a little muscle mass(not fat) can increase your threshold power . If you drop weight too much you will reduce your threshold power IF you loose muscle mass in the legs and get too thin generally. Being "too thin" will have a negative impact on your immune system and you'll be fighting colds, flues etc etc and will have less energy and time to train and recover.

You can get down to about 6% body fat, without steroid or testosterone use, without too much difficulty and no muscle weight loss if it is done slowly.
Anything below 6% is a **** shoot and many guys simply lose a bit of power to weight ratio no matter what.
This has been my experience from racing and coaching.

Also, if too thin your anaerobic work capacity will drop and this does contribute to some of your power up to about 40 minutes of 100% threshold power.

My general recommendation is to not drop below 6% and get a body fat test done. Do this by increasing L2(endurance) hours, while still training the same amount of threshold hours...watch your power/speed at threshold though as a lot of L2 can impact this. Also, never eat after 7pm, unless you are training at night. Just "watch" your simple sugar intake and saturated fat intake....just try to eat in a healthy way.
I find that taking an essential fatty acid(omega 3 and 6) actually helps weight loss as these fats "stoke" the metabolic fire. NEVER "diet" as diets do not work, PERIOD, as they do not teach you how to eat properly and for the long term.
Never drop your carb intake low while training either. Most of your calorie reduction should come from saturated fat ie: animal fat.

Unless you are stage racing or a hill climb specialist you will get no real overall cycling benefit from dropping below 6% body fat and you might go backwards.

So IMHO 6% is the ideal body fat percentage.

 

[cyclonut2007]

I'm doing the Paris to Ancaster 60K race this April. There is a pretty good, but basic training program on there that you can download.

Go here: http://www.parisancaster.com/

 

[frenchyge]

It's really important that you do not drop the intensity at any time during your ride...even for a minute.
Go around traffic light stops on the cross road and then do a U turn.

I don't really think it's that important to maintain intensity for every minute. Better to observe the traffic laws and not take those kinds of risks during morning and evening commutes.

There'll be plenty of time for flouting the traffic laws and pissing off the motorists if Sando ever decides to get into racing.

Sando, do you have the opportunity to take a longer route to/from work, or possibly incorporate some indoor or weekend rides into your routine? Have you worked up to 50km distance before?

 

[SolarEnergy]

I agree with Frenchy here.

TiMan, you don't want to hear that one of your riders got killed trying to follow one of your advice do you?

There's a difference between acting as a rider who gives advice, and acting as a coach. If you want to belong to the latter category, always put health and security issues at the very top of your list, well before NP and TSS and lactate threshold.