need to lose a little more, or do i?

[macca1234]

im 55kg's and almost 5 foot 7, i know tahts skinny but i feel i could lose another 2kg's and i would feel the benefits. I need to tone my body into more of a cyclists so i need to gain muscle and power and still lose weight. im only 15 and train about 550-650km's a week now. How can i increase time trialling power and still cut down on any ecxess weight so i can use my new found power when the road tilts upwards. interval training on hills, sit ups any ideas? my coach has got me onto a faster cadence yet i still feel im more of a power cyclist even though im pretty light, now i feel weak and sluggish up hills. Or is thsi just overtraining.

I know there are a few questions here but im really confused as to what my next step is to improve as a cyclist.

PS:im in australia so the season is starting to hot up now.

Pss: i time trialled up my local hill in 15:31 on big gears, when spinning i only managed 16:14.

a dilemma i know!!!

 

[frenchyge]

Remember that the higher cadence stuff that your coach has prescribed is a 'drill' and not a 'new way of riding.' What I mean by that is that drills influence our normal riding through muscle memory by isolating certain parts of our technique. They're not meant to replace our old way of riding with a new way. Some examples of this would be 'bounding' or 'high knees running' as drills for foot sprinters. To say "But I run faster my way" would be missing the point, which is to slightly influence your normal form through the use of the drill. The coach wouldn't expect you to 'high-knees' run down the track at a track meet, you'll run your normal way but your legs will naturally remember to punctuate the upstroke during the race.

Anyway, sorry about the analogy, but the point is that it doesn't matter that you're slower in practice at higher cadence. The purpose of the drill is to help smooth your pedal stroke for when you're riding in your normal style during the race.

Is this a school coach? Someone you're paying? Can you get a new coach? I only ask because you should trust your coach enough to talk to him about this stuff before you start getting second opinions from internet people. If you don't trust your coach to know what he's doing then I'd suggest finding another coach instead, if that's an option.

 

[macca1234]

hes a top bloke, just does it for free. i just wont be able to see him until next tuesday so i thought i would ask u guys. hes very experienced still does masters comp's etc.