Mt Biking benefits and how to incorporate into a winter training plan?

[speedysniff]

Hi, I was just finalizing my winter training plan and was looking for some opinions... Also, I got a SS Karate Monkey a couple of weeks ago and I have been enjoying the technical Single track riding, so I decided to ride the Mt bike as much as possible until its too cold to ride outside in IOWA

My original plan was to ride the trainer 3-4 times per week for 1 hour. The main set is 1x40 at around 85% FTP with avg HR around 148.. IF HR stays low I bump up the watts on the computrainer but try to keep HR<150 (Dr Maffetone philosphy.) Anyways, the 4th day would b a hilly group gravel ride were we punch it on short steep hills and I avg about 0.75IF.. If no outside riding then back on the trainer instead..

So now I'm still gonna use the trainer but also Mt biking for skills and just the pure exhilarating feeling I'm getting from it!

Monday/Tuesday AM trainer 1x30 at ~85% FTP ~50TSS
PM 90min Mt Biking with HrTSS ~100

Wed PM 2hs Mt Biking with HrTSS ~130

Thurs Group gravel ride 3hrs and ~150TSS

Fri OFF
Sat Trainer 1x40 at ~85 ~65TSS
Sun OFF

I plan on skipping the Mt Bike and doing 1x40 on mondays and tuesdays if the weather sucks.. I work weekends and off M-TH

Thanks in advance, and I appreciate any input!
Rami

 

[vspa]

thats your weekly planning, now you need a monthly planning increasing the duration and the intensity and then allocating 2 or 3 active recovery weeks in between months or in between blocks of training, i would also add general and core strength excercise days in the gym, to answer your main question i think that a MTB is great, you can do L3 and L4 workouts in a fun way climbing hills on easy gears,

 

[speedysniff]

Thanks man! I am really enjoying the Mt biking.. It's been unseasonably warm in Iowa this winter so I'm on the mt bike 3-4 times a week! Your right about having to think about a monthly plan. I think that's my limitation and where I would need a coach. I can plan weeks but I'm still having a hard time planning a month or a season.

Just to give an update. I found out that doing two workouts a day was too much for me so I stopped. However the one major benefit I found was that I lost 10lbs!?! Can anyone expand on that? how come I lost weight when my volume/intensity decreased? my diet is the same and kinda bad this time of the year but I'm still able to maintain the weight loss.

Thanks in advance!
Rami

 

[vspa]

excercise and weight loss don't have a perfect direct relationship, i have found from experience that you lose weight as far as a week after a hard week of training, maybe 3 to 4 days after it really, nutritionists also recommend you to hit the scale on a fix day every week and not get crazy with weight fluctuations for a yearly plan checkout Greg Lemonds complete book of cycling and jump directly into the charts outlining the plans, if you find it reasonable then read those chapters, it really gives you the big picture that many cyclists seems to be lacking, finally find a way to blend it with what you have learn from modern training methods,

 

[davereo]

Get yourself the proper kit to deal with your enviroment and ride your bike. Keep your eye open this site gives kits away.

 

[speedysniff]

VSPA, I will check out that book for sure. You right, I do struggle with the big picture as far as training and its hard to find like minded people to train with. Seems like everyone has their own program.

davereo, I learned a lot lurking on this forum. Some very knowledgeable guys that are willing to share their expertise so that newbies like myself can learn and become much stronger on the bike in as little as 1 season!

As for the weight issue, I agree I do seem to fluctuate but the basic trend over the last 3 years have been down from a high of 240# down to 175#
I like the idea of just getting on the scale once a week! Thanks for the tip!

Rami