Proper training? - Where am I going with this / tips?



SUBIEspecial

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Jul 21, 2010
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Hello.:D

Ive just recently picked up the passion of cycling, at a higher level (I've always loved riding bikes as a kid and somewhat in my teens). My only problem is I am currently overseas in IRAQ, and so I figure with all the time I have available to me over here, I would start training now and getting into proper shape. I'm also taking the alloted time to pick out what bike I'm going to get when I get back, equipment, etc... (2010 Fuji ACR 1.0 Rouxbaix :) )

The dining facility here offers great choices in healthy food so I have been eating very proper taking in plenty of proteins and carbs and also HYDRATING like crazy (very hot over here).

So anyway, I was on the bike last night and I did.... random for... 60 minutes on resistance level 10. I'm 22 years old and I had my heart rate at about 155-160 for the entire hour (On the bike it listed at 80% it would be 160). My final results after riding for 60 minutes was.... 19 miles, 500-600 cals burned, and my cadence was a consistent 95-100 RPMS (even on the hills). After riding I felt really good, legs burned a little right after but then subsided, but I felt really good. I've been riding for about a week now, and started turning up the intensity. (Ive been riding six days a week on the stationary, except on Mondays. Mondays is the off day. Also after every training session I take a protein shake with 1 scoop (about 52 grams of whey protein) with about 12 ounces of chocolate milk (delicious) and the next day I feel great and not soar at all. (Is this a good recovery drink?)

What I'm trying to find out is whether or not this is a good standard to follow for the next 2-3 weeks while I build my "base". Now, after my base, where do I go from their? (hills plus, flat sprints, etc...?) I have a lady here who I worked with and she is one helluva cyclists and she is going to train me when we get back from the deployment. But I figured I'd get some feedback and train while I'm deployed.

Any tips, concerns, or questions would be greatly appreciated. I cant wait to get back and see where the passion for cycling takes me.

BTW: I am 22 years old, 5'8, 152 lbs.
 
SUBIEspecial said:
Any tips, concerns, or questions would be greatly appreciated. I cant wait to get back and see where the passion for cycling takes me.

If your training in Iraq, just remember to keep yourself alive, there is nothing more important than that.
 
oh trust me, it is top priority, not "too" much or it gets to you and you get very stressed out.
 
SUBIEspecial said:
Also after every training session I take a protein shake with 1 scoop (about 52 grams of whey protein) with about 12 ounces of chocolate milk (delicious) and the next day I feel great and not soar at all. (Is this a good recovery drink?)

Chocolate milk seems to be the rage for recovery.

Chocolate milk for Recovery
 
Colorado is just worlds apart from Iraq for cycling & training. You just couldn't get two more extremes.

Hopefully your still alive & staying clear of the hundreds of improvised explosive devices.
 
yup im still here. :)

ill definitely stay in contact with you and let you know I'm ok. I have this weeks training schedule all written out and should be pretty good.

When I get back ill also have to post pics of the bike I am getting and the rides, etc...

looks like I made a friend on the forums.
 
Read the first several pages at least of "it's killing me but...." 2x20s are our friends, especially when stuck on a stationary trainer.

It sounds like your post ride drink has more than enough protein, one thing I notice is my legs get restless while I'm sleeping if I have a huge calorie defecit after a hard ride. So if you are trying to lose weight while training remember, your effort is wasted if you don't recover, you can't recover if you're body is starving.
 
im not necessarily trying to lose weight. I am pretty skinny/defined as it is. I actually just got done talking to a guy who is going to train me and he said for the first few months I should just take it nice and easy and just stay in the general aerobic area. He also said good luck with staying motivated for that long on a trainer. lol. :p

anyway, thx for the tips and ill check out that post.
 
Keep doin what you're doin and you should be in good shape when you get back home. 6 days/week on a stationary is plenty enough. Try to keep track of your workouts as far as distance/time/cadence/speed, and slowly increase it.
 
SUBIEspecial said:
im not necessarily trying to lose weight. I am pretty skinny/defined as it is. I actually just got done talking to a guy who is going to train me and he said for the first few months I should just take it nice and easy and just stay in the general aerobic area. He also said good luck with staying motivated for that long on a trainer. lol. :p

anyway, thx for the tips and ill check out that post.

You're pretty skinny for the general population but 150+ for 5'8" is a bit on the weighty side in you plan on going uphills unless you can generate a fair amount of power.

I'd plan more than a couple of weeks out at a time if circumstances allow.

As mentioned the generic but massively effective 2x20 (or whatever reps of long interval you desire) ridden hard will get the job done if ridden properly.

The trainer is also a good place to work on your position because you don't have that nice 'cushion' of air helping to support you like you do riding out doors at 18+mph. Most people have a hard time riding on the drops because they either don't spend enough time riding in the drops or the bottom of their bars are about half a foot too low to be of any use. If you want to rided fast on the flat and be comfy - acquire that skill.
 
As mentioned the generic but massively effective 2x20 (or whatever reps of long interval you desire) ridden hard will get the job done if ridden properly.

The trainer is also a good place to work on your position because you don't have that nice 'cushion' of air helping to support you like you do riding out doors at 18+mph. Most people have a hard time riding on the drops because they either don't spend enough time riding in the drops or the bottom of their bars are about half a foot too low to be of any use. If you want to rided fast on the flat and be comfy - acquire that skill.[/QUOTE]

well last night i took her nice and easy for 45 minutes and kept my heart rate at about.... 130-140 (gerneral aerobic fitness) -- and I stayed in the drop for almost the entire session).

few things though..... on these... 2x20 intervals.... so 2 sets of going 20 minutes, but how hard should I go?

Ive just started to get into the technical side to cycling and so what is the L1, L2, L3, etc... and how do I find these numbers?

I pretty much have been basing it off of my heart rate (generic equation to find my different levels). But I know the other night I had my heart rate up at around 150+ and then it just dropped to like 130. I dont know if I am in good aerobic shape but I find it hard to keep my hear rate up but I mean damn, im going 95-105 cadence @ lvl 10 resistance.
 
The L's or 'Levels', also called 'zones' are based either on power or your heart rate. First you would need to do a threshold test to see where you are. To do the test, basically go as hard as you can for 20 minutes, but not so hard that you burn out. After finish, see what your average power or HR was.
( I'm not sure if you have to do this formula with HR, it's really for power, but I'll tell you anyways and hopefully someone can correct me if need be.) Take that 20 minute av.HR number and multiply by 0.95 then subtract the answer from the actual HR number, so (A x 0.95 = B, A - B = threshold). The answer represents your FTP functional threshold power or FTHR (functional threshold heart rate?).

From what I see you're going by your HR so:

L1 = <68% of your HR
L2 = 69-83% HR
L3 = 84-94%
L4 = 95-105%
L5 = >106% HR

Usually 2x20's are commonly done in L4, which is around your FTP. If you have the power displaying on your bike, that's even better than anything else IMO.

Let me know if this makes sense, (and I'm sure someone else will say something different :D).

-Greg
 
gman0482 said:
The L's or 'Levels', also called 'zones' are based either on power or your heart rate. First you would need to do a threshold test to see where you are. To do the test, basically go as hard as you can for 20 minutes, but not so hard that you burn out. After finish, see what your average power or HR was.
( I'm not sure if you have to do this formula with HR, it's really for power, but I'll tell you anyways and hopefully someone can correct me if need be.) Take that 20 minute av.HR number and multiply by 0.95 then subtract the answer from the actual HR number, so (A x 0.95 = B, A - B = threshold). The answer represents your FTP functional threshold power or FTHR (functional threshold heart rate?).

From what I see you're going by your HR so:

L1 = <68% of your HR
L2 = 69-83% HR
L3 = 84-94%
L4 = 95-105%
L5 = >106% HR

Usually 2x20's are commonly done in L4, which is around your FTP. If you have the power displaying on your bike, that's even better than anything else IMO.

Let me know if this makes sense, (and I'm sure someone else will say something different :D).

-Greg

no no, this makes sense. Ill hit it up... sunday. However, one other concern is cutting some weight. I weight myself last night naked at 152 pounds (maybe should do it in the morning) anyway..... I wanna take off about 4-5 pounds and get me to 147-148.. maybe 145.....

should I cut down on my carb intake a bit and increase the protein intake? I am starting to become more defined but i wanna be a nice high 140's and really cut. (obviously I wont see results right away, only been on the bike about 2 1/2 weeks) but its all time I guess.
 
Yea I don't know much about weight loss as I was always trying to gain weight and muscle back in my lifting days. I am 6'4" tall and used to weight 170 pounds of skin and bones. Ever since I started cycling I've gained almost 10 pounds and my BF% is still around 14%, but my legs that used to be twigs got a little fatter.

Iwould imagine that you should just eat as much carbs and calories as you burn, so your energy will be there, but do not go over what you dispose of I guess. Check out the http://www.cyclingforums.com/cycling-training/471583-weight-loss-challenge.html thread.
 
ill have to tinker around with stuff. i mean, im only in my 2-3 week so.... i think i can do it easily.. ill give updates.
 
Hey- It sounds like you have access to some kind of trainer bike so that should be enough. I would recommend doing L4/Threshold intervals to start with. By that I mean that you want to work on increasing the amount of power you can do for an hour at a time.

The best way to do this is to warm up (10-15 minutes not too hard) and then do either 1x60 at about 90% (not 100% because if you go as hard as you can all the time you will mentally wear out), or do 2 or 3 x 20 minutes at 95-100% with 5 minutes rest in between, or variations on this, e.g. 85% for 75 minutes or 4-5 x 10 minutes at 100%, etc. So basically long intervals.

Do this for a few months and you'll have a pretty good base, at which point you can add in some shorter stuff (start with 3x4 with 4-5 minutes in between or 2x3x4 with a longer rest between sets).

Good luck!

Edit: one more thing. Start slow and ramp up. Eventually you should be able to do a good workout 5 days per week or so.
 

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