I've done a lot of personal (un-trained myself) training programmes for friends for general fitness and reckon i know enough about cycling training that i could help you with some tips i reckon
As Stijn said it depends on what you are trying to focus on. TTing, climbing, sprinting, all rounder, etc etc.
for TT-ing learn to ride at a high and constant speed, training on taking your corners. a fitness is good place to start , or on a bike with meter recording your speed. start with 20 km at a constant speed of 20-22 km/h. then 20 km at a constant speed of 22-24. when you reach a constant speed of 30-35 km/h (if you keep increasing your average speed everytime) you should switch ( this is very short explained)
for sprinting. train on your endurance in the sprint and your acceleration (duh ). sprint ,rest sprint,... train your legs on bursts of power and you should be fine. also train on maintaining that burst for some time.
for climbing I don't know. around here there aren't much mountains.
like laready siad, you should have a basic weekly milage
Edited by Stijn_vranken on 27-04-2008 22:07
prevent hangovers --> stay drunk
pozzato, basically the most stupid cyclist around
First of all, one thing is important to keep in mind : endurance. Sprinting after 60/150/150 km is not the same thing as sprinting on a track. Same foes for climbing, you may climb better than somebody who's a better climber than you after some km if your endurance is more important than his (or worst if you've got less endurance).
There are not thousands of ways to better endurance : ride, ride, and ride again (and of course keep refueling the engine with water, energy drinks, food, etc.) during a race.
Sprinting well requires lots of power and explosivity, training regularly on the track with a track bike is a good way to improve it. Otherwise, if you have no track nearby, climbing hills several time with a too big gear, and a bigger gear every time will increase your strength. Pedalling very very fast in descents (too small gears) will improve your max velocity, and of course, sprinting frequently will also help.
TT depends a lot of your Cx, which comes from your position on the bike. Work on that. Weigh is the key to climbing, work on that too, if you can.
Using a heart monitor is also very handy when it comes to TTing or climbing mountains (and hills, to a lesser extent). Basically, highering your upper threshold will increase your TTing abilities, or your climbing ones. If your endurance is good enough, and your VO2 (max theoretical power) too, working on intervals will be the key to highering that threshold. Shorter intervals for climbing (20 seconds "pushing" 20 seconds "resting", longer ones (2, 3, 4, 5 minutes "pushing" and 2 or 3 minutes "resting" in between each interval). Such things...
True Aquarius. I can beat a lot of guys on a climb after 1km, I even rode against some amateur riders and we started fresh, without any real km before on the Cauberg, I beat them!
However, after 20km they are already better then me. After 70km, I can't even climb at a reasonable pace anymore. After 100km, I'm dead, there is no talk of climbing, it's just trying to get up
Considering its a free-speech forum heres my take:
Before considering even undertaking specialised training in a certain area, its much more effective at amateur level to just develop a high aerobic threshold and train your endurance. As many cyclists know, the body does not get fully used to the continual pressure and strain of cycling many many miles for endurance for a good 3-5 years depending on how hard you are going. Each year as you do more, your body gets more adjusted to the repetitive strain put on it. A good mileage per week in the off season (for Europeans this spans from Oct/Nov - Dec/Jan) for 2-3 months depending if you have the "month off" or not, depends on where you are, but its always good to start at a manageable target. Something tough to make you work, but something do-able. So for me now in my 3rd seriousish season, this winter i'll be looking to do 200 miles in a week (320km). For my past 2 years i haven't done any serious other specific training, and you do do alright. Its possible to get to quite a good level purely just having a high endurance and good solid base under your season. Jan-Feb however is the time to start decreasing mileage slightly and increase intensity. Maybe substituting the 60 mile saturday ride for a 40 mile ride at the next level up of heart rate banding (get a coach to tell you yours). March and onwards is of course race season and races alone can get you fit enough, but a lot of work is done on intensity/intervals etc.
TT training
To be honest, this stuff bores me to death. I dislike ITTs like an illness, but with a 2-up or TTT its more fun because its like a mini chain gang!
To train for this, you are looking to have a high aerobic base, but also having high leg strength. You need to look at getting 2 days a week at least in the gym doing weights sessions as this helps a lot, cut it down to 1 a week during the "race season". Weights help with the strength endurance to keep a high gear turning in tough head winds etc. Also you need to tailor some of your jan-feb sessions into turning a bigger gear than normal when riding the type of terrain you'd normally TT on. To practice the TT, whats better than to go out and actually time yourself on a course you know, or have made up. Comparing times is always good as it lets you know how you are getting on.
I'd just like to point out at this point again, that once you've got to a suitably good level of fitness and racing, you soon figure out what you go best on. For me it happens to be slight uphill sprints/drags. I like breakaways as well. But on a steep hill the climbing runts of the pack will just leave me dead.
Climbing
Lets face it, if you weight more than 70kg you're going to struggle up those climbs when some skinny, under-eating, carbon fibre riding, pale, dumb, retarded 50kg guy goes up them. But if you are just looking to be able to get over those middle-of-the-course hills to get to that sprint than you need to look at hill intervals, or drastically loosing weight. And i know which is easiest...
For me i vary what i do. I have a short climb (1 min 20secs) to climb on a good day, or it takes me 1 min 40 secs to do on a bad day, which isnt too steep, and isnt too flat to not be called a hill. I do sprints up that, started at doing 6 in a session, then moved upto 8 so far. And i mean full out 100%, race effort style sprints, but because you are doing it up a hill it means you get a lot stronger for it, hills don't look nearly half as bad when you go up them in a race, and both aerobically and your strength develops. I then have about 4 minutes recovery between each interval, so yes i feel ill still by the time i hit the next interval. Not nice doing them at all.
For the longer climbs, or those who want to specifically focus on climbing (not a bad approach for those wanting to win GC's of a stage race, or a fair few races in the UK), its the same kind of training. But instead of short sprints, id recommend finding a longer 5 minute climb and wearing a heart rate monitor if you have one. Work out your max heart rate (220-age) and go up at 90% of your max. (Warning: may not be medically safe for the unfit). Do this 5 times, and build on that so you can end up doing more and more in each session. You need a longer recovery between efforts, and 10 minutes would be more than enough. I prefer to just find a 10-15 minute climb however and just do it 3 times with about 20 mins recovery between each effort. You want to train at the high intensity with a lot of lactic acid in you, but trying to spin a gear more than you would normally.
Sprinting:
A sprint is a lot about positioning. Like in PCM, you can follow a strong riders wheel all the way to the front and during the sprint as well if you can't get past them. But to develop sprinting its good to also practice lead outs as well. That helps develop the high intensity endurance you will need to hold your position at the front. Find a km stretch of flat road/slightly uphill and do intervals on that - seated ones to develop power. Make sure you can maintain the same pace for the entire length and really push in the final 200ms. Once you start to do that a few times you can really feel the power whenever you do little sprints in rides for fun. To train for the actual kick, i heard that seated efforts from near stationary upto 30mph on the flat helps develop that explosive power. Get in a high sprinting gear like you would be in at the end of a sprint, and wind it up as fast as possible to your maximum speed. Time each effort and repeat lots! Also copying a sprint up a hill for 1 min 20 seconds more than helps for that maintained power output.
I'm merely cycling for the fun of it, and have only been riding for a couple of years, but still, here's my two cents.
If you're starting out, remember not to go too hard. Make every other session a light session, where you go maybe at 65-75% of your max heart rate. Your endurance will not increase optimally if your body is fatiqued. Nowadays, an effective training includes a heart monitor. Endurance and recovery is everything.
A standard very simple beginners schedule could look like this:
Three sessions a week.
First session: Short and intense. Intervals where you go full out, and then rest down to 65% heart rate. Heavy gears during workout, light during recovery. An hour of training.
Second session: Tempo. Do two hours at 80% heart rate. Also work on technique like how to breath and practice to pull up. Not just pushing your pedals.
Third session. Distance. Three hours at 65-75% heart rate. Meditation.
All sessions should include a 15-20min warm up and cool down, where you go easy with high surplesse.
Training is however a very personal project, and what works for some, doesn't work for others, and as rjc_43 points out, going to your max really isn't healthy if you're not reasonably fit or if your body is fatiqued. A simple way to monitor your recovery, apart from just feeling how you feel, is to measure your resting heart rate in the morning. If it's higher than normal, then take it easy that day.
The hard thing about pulse training is getting passed by tourists when you're resting. Most recreational cyclists go as fast as they can all the time (80-90% heart rate). This is not optimal, and it will take longer to reach equal fitness level compared to those doing varied training.
The most important advice though, is to have fun. Reaching a higher fitness level, first of all requires patience and continuity and then some more patience, so having fun while you're working out, is of utmost importance.
Ruben wrote:
True Aquarius. I can beat a lot of guys on a climb after 1km, I even rode against some amateur riders and we started fresh, without any real km before on the Cauberg, I beat them!
However, after 20km they are already better then me. After 70km, I can't even climb at a reasonable pace anymore. After 100km, I'm dead, there is no talk of climbing, it's just trying to get up
See how your argument about Wielinga being the most powerful rider in the peloton is irrelevant when I'm talking of wattages at the end of tough mountain stages in grand tours ?
and what's the best if you have a really good condition which is far better than your legs are? My legs are always tired while I am far from... (not training very long yet)
I have started to do interval trainings but I don't know if anything if better.
Edited by Mulopeza on 28-04-2008 20:29
I am actually a biathlete, but have cycled a couple of miles....I have focused on climbing.
The most important thing is endurance. I think it is important to have many long trips at 2 and a half hour and upwards to 6 hours. Of course it depends on your shape before you start training seriously. It is important that your heart rate is not more than maximum 72-75% of your maximum heart rate. If you are training these long trips at an higher heart rate over longer time you will be bone-tired and not be able to train for a long time.
Climbing: Have many sessions at a heart rate of 82-88% of max heart rate. At these sessions you can have working periods of 7-20 minutes, and then have a rest time of 2-5 minutes. (This does also depend on your fitness before training.) When you are training these sessions (1-4 each week) you are training your body to cycle faster without producing lactic acid.
When you then are in March and April, cut down some of these sessions and replace them with higher intensity, (90-98% of max. heart rate.) cut down the working period a bit, but keep the rest period on the same time.
But, keep in mind those long trips are the most important trainingthe climbing training are if you want to be good in climbing.
You need base fitness and mileage before you can start specialist training. Intervals are good for nearly everything and if it's climbing just find the biggest local hill and then ride tempo up it, do intervals up it or random accelerations to simulate a race. Then go flat out up it
and what's the best if you have a really good condition which is far better than your legs are? My legs are always tired while I am far from... (not training very long yet)
I have started to do interval trainings but I don't know if anything if better.
To be honest you don't need to do anything different. Just keep on starting to do longer miles - these will help make your legs feel less tired.
I find that by the end of a race i am not tired, but my legs may well be close to cramping a lot. its usually cos i havent eaten enuff, so maybe eat more on a training ride, see if that helps. I was told when i started that i should be eating a cereal bar, or something equivilant once an hour on a ride, ive learnt now that that isnt even close to how much i need - once every 30 mins for me - so maybe its just that. Or a combination of both!
The share of endurance in your training compared to specific training depends of the kind of races you're preparing. If you're a junior your races won't exceed 3 hours most of times.
Making 6 hours long rides is just ridiculous in such a case. If you're a pro that's another story of course...
Basically, training about 30 minutes longer than your races is enough for endurance rides.
). sprint ,rest sprint,... train your legs on bursts of power and you should be fine. also train on maintaining that burst for some time.
they are already better then me. After 70km, I can't even climb at a reasonable pace anymore. After 100km, I'm dead, there is no talk of climbing, it's just trying to get up 
