Help Needed With A Training Programme

Hey,

I'm new to the forums and relatively new to cycling in a sense. Since I was really young I have loved to cycle. I used to ride everywhere. Now I am 16 and have revitalised my interest in bikes. I've been interested in mountain biking, trails biking, dirt jumping and road biking (so pretty much everything) and still am. I recently purchased a Onza T-Pro trials bike to jump about on and have a cheap saracen dirt jump bike which i ride for general use at the moment. However, I am interested in taking a more serious interest in cycling as a sport.

Due to the fact that even though i claim to be knowledgeful about bikes, I'm not. I am wondering if improving in one aspect of cycling, for example, mountain biking or trails biking, will restrict my ability at say, road biking?

Now to the main topic at hand. I have started going to the gym and taking up more regular exercise since finishing my exams and wish to know how would be best to improve my fitness for cycling.

If anyone would be kind enough to tell me what kind of work outs i should be doing that would be much appreciated (how long/many times i should go free-riding, what type weights i should do if any etc). Any tips on a cycling-improving exercise plan would be great.

Thanks.

 

Being 16-years-old, I would recommend nothing but riding. Ride until your tires fall off. Replace tires, and repeat. Find a local training race and stay with the pack. If you get shot out of the back, wait for them to come around and jump back on. Riding in groups is always better for training purposes.

For an older guy, like me, I do spin class in the winter followed by minimal leg strength-training. By March, I am ready for long base-miles, by April I am ready to race.

 

Exlporer, would you care to expand on the "minimal leg strenght-training." I'm trying to get an idea for the off season. This spring was my first year on the bike and I really need to improve my power in the off season.

 

With leg strength training what muscles would you suggest i focus on, or all of them equally? I've got a gym membership so i might as well use it and it'll take me a while to find and settle into a club before the end of the summer.

 

Let's see, I will do squats, leg extensions/curls, inner and outer legs (you sit and squeeze your legs together, or apart on a machine, don't know the name of it). I also do another exercise that I don't know the name of ... you lay (tummy down) on a tummy height table extending your legs up (it works your glutes). I focus more on spin though, as this is the best exercise out of all that I do. Spin class ranges from an hour to an hour and twenty minutes. Hope this helps.

 

I'd recommend you to read the sticky "Gyming to improve power" thread before starting heavy leg exercise programs... OTOH, if there in the gym is a stationary bike with power display, take a full advantage of that, and try to find what are the power levels you can hold for eg 1-2-5-10-20-30 minute duarations. Although not necessarily on the same session. Or, I suppose, with a little search you can find many more articles how to train, like the SO's thread.

 

I would say, at 16, unless you're on the thinner side, you should more than have the strenth to be a good cyclist. You can increase muscle tone (long-term endurance) in the gym, but a better way is to get out and ride distances. I am also an endurance runner, and through the last couple years in high school I found myself lifting maybe 5 times, because I have more than enough muscle mass (strength), I just needed to gain the endurance by just getting out and running.

I'm also a big believer that training at your sport (i.e. hard sprints or hills) will improve you more than the equivalent lifting. And it trains your cardiorespitory system at the same time more than most people do when they lift, which is a huge bonus (this is one of the most important things especially as you get better).

 

Well its been a few weeks now and ive been to the gym almost every other day. I manage to bike for about 20 minutes on the stationary at level 10 (i think the machine goes up to 18) whilst occasionally jumping up to 12 for a few minutes usually nearer the end and then finishing with level 14 for the last minute as a kind of final sprint. This usually keeps my heart rate at over 175 which I'm told is about right for cardio training at my age. I've also been rode 25 miles the other day and have been trying to ride casually on the days where I'm not at the gym. At the moment I'm trying to get hold of a cheap bike to train with as my Saracen is seemingly too heavy for what I want to do with it (I'm massing a large collection of bikes ) and due to the fact im sick of seeing other riders whizz past me on their ultra-sleek racing bikes!

Would you this current riegeme would be improving me cycling or should alterations be made?

 

adduction and abduction i believe. ask at the local health club for them to point you in the direction of those machines. i'd even suggest lower back and abdominal training also in the offseason

 

call me stupid but i dont seem to feel my abdominals coming into action too much whilst riding is this something to do with the seating position on my bike?

 

Don't quote me on this, I could be completely off, but i think youre still using your abdominal muscles on your bike whether you actually feel it or not. I don't think you should feel any kind of strain on your abs I believe that would be a sign of something wrong, not the other way around).

Someone please either confirm or refute this.

 

you may or may not feel it. i just suggested it so you don't become off-kilter because of only training your lower back and not abs. i agree, i don't feel too much abs either. i just don't want to end up looking like i have lockjaw or something weird

just suggested for a balance between back and abs

 

Abs are important so to are all the core body muscles. You need a strong body core because as your legs pump up and down the hips should not rock from side to side they need to be kept stable that takes core strength. The best way to train all these area 's is to ride and at 16 just ride, don't use to big a gear. But if you insist on pumping iron, do weights that are 1/2 your maximum lift and 20 rep or more because you want endurance more than strength. I've heard that you only push 7kg per stroke of the pedal but you do that 90 to 100 times a minute for hours.

As for get a lighter bike just keep training soon you will be able to stay with rides on their lighter bikes. When you can do that think about getting good bike. I still use a MTB on the road to train for that reason then when I get back on my race bike I fly.

 

Thanks for the help everyone, as soon as I build a bit more base muscle ill try improving my endurence. That's all the questions i have for now