How to improve bike time on limited time

Triathlon Forum
1

Okay, looking for the best bang for the buck way to improve my bike training and times based on having to work a full time job and all the family issues I have. So, clearly putting more time on the bike could be an easy answer, but, I just do not have it. Now, I have heard from one person who said their coach stated that you could ride tons, but, the first input he had was the correct time of gym work first.

So, if you could only do an hour a week more training for improving the bike, where should I put my effort.

Dave

2

10 min warmup at L2/3

2x20 minute intervals at L4, with 5 mins L1 recovery in between

10 min L1 cool down

= 60 mins

Enjoy!

3

You need a good stationary trainer. Riding outside is fun, but a trainer will allow you to maximixe the limited time you have. I like my Kurt Kinetic, and have only ever heard good things about the 1-Up. I douby very much that you could go wrong with either.

4

This one is too easy!!

Joe Friel…

Nuff said.

5

I second Joe Friel.

6

Who says you actually need to put in that extra hour? Maybe you may just need to alter the frequency, intensity and volume. Reading Friels book, although a good book, may not provide the answer you search for.

7

There are some things you might want to try to create even more time to train. The best trick is to commute to work by bike. I drive to work then bike home one night and bike back to work the next morning. It’s 35 miles to work by the shortest route, which takes me about 1:40 on my tri bike. It’s 45 minutes or more to drive that distance during rush hour. That means I ride for 90 minutes but it only costs a net 45 minutes out of my day.
-Marc

8

Dave, not knowing your history ,what are your limiters, and what races are you training for?

Assuming short course triathlon (although not my forte), for the cycling portion, you will want to concentrate on building your muscular endurance, which means riding extended intervals at a level just below to just above your lactate threshold (L4). This will only get you so far, you will need several other workouts to get faster as well (force, anaerobic endurance, power, speed skills, endurance). Base all this in a well thought out, periodized schedule, based on your primary (A) races, and you can likely achieve better results than unstructured training.

Here is a typical week for me in the early perios of the year:

Mon: rest, light running or cross training of some sort, or light ride at L1

Tue: force intervals, 6-7 minute climbs at L4, varied

Wed: speed skills or endurance ride on the trainer on the TT, or Tri bike, maybe some running

Thu: muscular endurance of L4 2x20/5 on the TT bike on the road, unless a race weekend, then endurance ride on the TT or Tri bike

Fri: recovery ride, easy L2’ish in the trainer on the Tri bike

Sat: competitive group ride of 4 hours, working L2-3, L4 and L5-6, or a race

Sun: group endurance ride, with L4 work on the climbs, 6-7 hours total, or a race

9

Oh, if that was too complicated (believe me, it hurts my brain to learn this stuff) then just hire Desertdude or SAC and get on with it. It will take you an hour a day of research, reading, and experimentation to get a solid ATP down, not to mention all the damn books, and powermeters, so it is probably just cheaper to get a coach. For me, I decided to learn things that hard way for next year.

Never know, maybe it will work?!

:wink:

10

I don’t know about h2ofun but yours are the type of response I was looking for. Thanks.

11

Hey Gary, may I ask for related advice?

I really suck at the bike at sprint triathlons (20k), but then at olympic distance I’m as fast as folks that beat me by 3-4min at the sprint. I ride the same speed in both distances, but that’s my max, I don’t go any faster for the 20k than for the 40. Is that mainly an LT problem, or should I work on more power/accelerating?

12

Hi Ziva,

You should be 3-5% faster over a 20k time trial than you are over a 40k. If you are using the same level of heart rate or percieved exertion to pace during your races, your 20k speed may be the same as your 40k. Does this make sense?

Do you do any anaerobic endurance training?

  • Gary
13

I second this one, and have started as of this week. Depending on the route, 13 miles to the vanpool in the morning and 13-50 in the afternoon on the way home.

Next weekend I’ll test the 41 miles each way to work and will try to incorporate that 1-2 times a week.

Good luck,

14

10 min warmup at L2/3

2x20 minute intervals at L4, with 5 mins L1 recovery in between

10 min L1 cool down

= 60 mins

Enjoy!
Excellent advice, but I’d do no more than 2-3 minutes recovery between. Make sure you don’t go too hard on the first interval; you want to be toasted but maintaining power at the end of the second one. These are hard, but will increase your power at threshold like nothing else can.

15

Thanks for adding that Ken, yes, for the second interval you want to be fully recovered

For me, this workout is best done with a powermeter, on either a course with few stops or a fluid trainer, Computrainer works well also

I have not done this in 3 months however, I am working on force and endurance right now, not focused on building ME other than group rides, this is pretty much the off season for the most part, I skipped USCF Nationals, so that’s it, last A race of the year
.

16

A question for you: is there any issue with mixing your L5 and L4 workouts in the same week? I thought that a better way was to do a block of L4 workouts (say, 8 weeks), then a block of L5 (a couple of weeks?) to raise the VO2Max, then back to L4.

17

That’s one way I suppose. If that works, then yes. My L5’ are only done during group rides, breakaways, sprinting and such. Done pretty much weekly, however I vary the frequency of these, and the duration. My Sat and Sun group rides I am not focused on power, just riding fast or long.

18

That’s one way I suppose. If that works, then yes. My L5’ are only done during group rides, breakaways, sprinting and such. Done pretty much weekly, however I vary the frequency of these, and the duration. My Sat and Sun group rides I am not focused on power, just riding fast or long.
Sorry, I saw that you did 6-7 minute climbing intervals, and I thought “L5”, when you said they were L4 intervals. Why do such short L4 intervals?

19

Ken, I do L4 nearly year round, only cutting the reps/time down for “A” race peaks and a very short offseason. At the same time, I’ll add L5 workouts for 4-8 weeks before an A race. I think the key is to remember the fundemental…when you increase intensity…decrease overall volume…so right now, as I’m in the 8 weeks out from long course duathlon nationals…my cycling volume is dropping from the 200-220 range to 170-180…as I add an L5 workout of no more than about 20 miles (4-6x5min) while dropping a mid-week 40-50 miler. L4 workouts remain at a cycle of 4x10/2x20/1x40/2x20 four week cycle. Also, I drop the L5 (and the track run workout as well) workout during the week 4 weeks out when I’m doing a race rehearsal on the weekend.

Anyway…that’s what has worked for me, at least this year…we’ll see how it goes for the next 8 weeks…and on race day.

20

Hey Gary

I do probably settle into the same pace in both 20 and 40k, which would of course explain the equal average speed in both. That’s exactly my problem: I feel I can’t go any harder. I can hold that speed longer, I just can’t go any faster.

I don’t do any anaerobic training anymore. I was a rower till about a year ago, so I did plenty anaerobic work for 10yrs, but I suppose none of that is transfering over to the bike?