I am 23 years old and I have been doing strength training in the local gym here for 2 months now and also training on the indoor trainer (though not specialized for cycling like what I see on the internet) at campus. I have been keenly following workouts as described by Joe Friel's cyclist training bible and I have experienced some improvement. Now in two weeks time I will be through with campus and will be heading home and I'll be hitting the road with my bike. My workouts in the gym on the indoor trainer however never last for more than 1 hour as other non cyclists also want to cycle but I still manage to do various workouts in the CP zones with the maximum zone being CP60. I have never gone more than 30 miles with a bike on the road in one session. Actually this is my third month in training since I started. Now that I started out with strength training and CP zone workouts, how should I then proceed into riding my bike so I can be able to do something like 300km a week in the near future? I decided to do strength training and CP zone workouts because it is what I could easily access here at campus since my biggest limiter is the bike. In fact what I am gonna use after campus is not even a road bike but I am working hard to get a road bike soon. Any comments will be highly appreciated. --- I am in Kenya and I am a big cycling fan!
Transition from gym workouts to the road for beginner
- Thread starter sureronald
- Start date
You will need some time to adapt to the new loads on your body so start out with a plan and slowly build up the kilometres (just like progessive weight training).
I think you will need a minimum of 10 hours in the saddle per week to get decent gains in fitness. Make sure your are comfortable on your bike (saddle position, cleat position, handlebars are all correct).
Make sure you buy some decent nicks and cycling gloves with gel padding (don't be tempted to buy cheap nicks)..
Example
Week 1 (one day on one day off 30kms per ride moderate pace)
Week 2 (one day on one day off 40kms per ride moderate pace)
Build up to 50-60km per ride over the next 6 weeks (one day on one day off).
Every Saturday morning time permitting try and ride for at least 3 hours (easy pace out and moderate pace on the homeward leg of your training ride).
To build endurance it is best to training in small groups and make sure that you are doing lots of turns on the front (you want to keep turning over those pedals and not coasting).
If you have a cadence metre on your bike try and keep cadence around 90 rpm (best for fitness).
Once you have built this base of fitness (over the 6-8 weeks) and endurance you can incorporate more intense interval training into your sessions (90 sec, 5 min, 15 min efforts).
I think you will need a minimum of 10 hours in the saddle per week to get decent gains in fitness. Make sure your are comfortable on your bike (saddle position, cleat position, handlebars are all correct).
Make sure you buy some decent nicks and cycling gloves with gel padding (don't be tempted to buy cheap nicks)..
Example
Week 1 (one day on one day off 30kms per ride moderate pace)
Week 2 (one day on one day off 40kms per ride moderate pace)
Build up to 50-60km per ride over the next 6 weeks (one day on one day off).
Every Saturday morning time permitting try and ride for at least 3 hours (easy pace out and moderate pace on the homeward leg of your training ride).
To build endurance it is best to training in small groups and make sure that you are doing lots of turns on the front (you want to keep turning over those pedals and not coasting).
If you have a cadence metre on your bike try and keep cadence around 90 rpm (best for fitness).
Once you have built this base of fitness (over the 6-8 weeks) and endurance you can incorporate more intense interval training into your sessions (90 sec, 5 min, 15 min efforts).
For your cycling training i disagree with the days off, just take 1 day off a week. During the week you can do active rest days meaning an hour of spinning a low gear instead of taking the day off. At your young age of 23 and considering your high motivation and recent strength training
the first thing you want is to get used to your bike rides, it must be an automatic thing... wake up, breakfast, put on your cycling gear and go !
the first thing you want is to get used to your bike rides, it must be an automatic thing... wake up, breakfast, put on your cycling gear and go !
I had been eagerly awaiting for a reply. Many many thanks to you all! @simonetti Should I incorporate much more intense training like hill repeats after the 6-8 weeks or this should come later? @vspa I agree with you. Jose Friel's book also suggest active rest days by doing spinning on easy gear
Hill repeats, spin ups and interval training are excellent tools to increase your peak output,sprinting and threshold.
You also need to build a base level of fitness & endurance in order to get the best out of the more intense training methods.
I am being a little conservative on rest days as I don't know that much about your current state of fitness (listen to your body).
Going out for a very light spin is beneficial (especially the morning after a very hard ride).
Like VSPA I train everyday but I have built up my fitness, strength and endurance over years (I would only ride fast maybe once or twice a week if racing).
It will take 3-4 seasons of solid training to become a good cyclist so you have to be committed.
Be creative, develop a plan that works and feels right for you.
You also need to build a base level of fitness & endurance in order to get the best out of the more intense training methods.
I am being a little conservative on rest days as I don't know that much about your current state of fitness (listen to your body).
Going out for a very light spin is beneficial (especially the morning after a very hard ride).
Like VSPA I train everyday but I have built up my fitness, strength and endurance over years (I would only ride fast maybe once or twice a week if racing).
It will take 3-4 seasons of solid training to become a good cyclist so you have to be committed.
Be creative, develop a plan that works and feels right for you.
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