Are you using Trainerroad? They’ve got multiple base training plans that would probably fit well for you, or if you wall harder stuff, they’ve got those too. I just mention them because it really makes the planning/TSS layout brainless and easy, as since you’re already indoors, it seems like a good easy solution.
I have been doing a cycling focus this Winter, unfortunately due to an injury which prevents me from running. No swimming yet, just 6-7 days a week of 60-90 minutes on the trainer as hard as I can. I have been mixing it up with intervals such as 10x2:00 with 1:00 rest, 6x5:00 with 2:00 rest, 30:00 time trial, 30x30x30 all out, etc. I am trying not to have any easy rides on the trainer, but after a few hard days in a row my legs are tired and it is tough to push as hard during the intervals.
I’m curious as to how many hard days per week is recommended during a cycling focus. My goal this year, assuming I can run again by Spring, is to race sprints and Olympic distance only, no long course racing. I currently train by using RPE only, no PM. I do have a HR monitor and just bought a Timex 2.0 cycle trainer, so I should probably be using at least HR to gauge the intensity levels of the workouts.
I think that you’ll hear that as long as you can handle the stress, keep doing the hard stuff…That being said, it sounds like you’re doing too much. If your legs are tired and you’re fatigued, then it’s prob not a bad idea to replace one or two of those hard rides with something a little easier. Maybe a few rides in the sweet spot or tempo range doing something like 3x15 or 2x20 or even up to 3x20.
Reduce the intensity of some of those rides so you can do them day in and day out and you might not feel as tired.
Good luck!
TR doesn’t need a always-on wifi connection. If you can download the latest TR software,you can run it without wifi for the workouts, and it’ll have the workouts on it. (You’ll stillhave to reconnect to wifi/internet to get your data uploaded online.)
Make sure you are doing some drills as well to improve your efficiency. One legged drills, high rpm (low resistance) drills, high load, low rpm. Long periods in arrow, drink from arrow, stand in arrow. Standing drills (high and low rpm).
You may just need to upgrade your router…worked for me.
Make sure you are doing some drills as well to improve your efficiency.
What do you mean by this? Using a single leg makes my cardiovascular system more efficient?
ya, go do some single leg stuff on an indoor trainer. hard as crap if you arent used to it
Just because they’re hard doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll make you faster, or more efficient (whatever was mean’t by that). But now we’re getting into PC territory.
Anyway, I’m still curious about the efficiency comment and what it meant.
If I were riding only, I would probably go with a schedule like this:
M - Rest or easy
T - Quality
W - Easy
Th - Quality
F - Easy
S - 2-4 hours - mix of zone 2/3
S - 2-4 hours - mix of zone 2/3
Depending how hard I went on Tuesday and Thursday, I might make Saturday a quality day too and follow that up with a long ride Sunday and then rest on Monday. My easy rides on the trainer are usually around 70% of FTP so not super easy, but not hard.
That’s basically the schedule I’m on now for triathlon, except the Thursday hard ride is a hard run. Basically I do 2-3 quality sessions per week between cycling and running. I swim masters M/W/F so those tend to be pretty good quality, but I recover quickly from those.
My hard days are pretty hard and they leave me looking forward to an easy day.
Remember, the body gets stronger on rest / recovery days. Without rest and recovery there is no progress, only burnout and staleness. You must incorporate easy days into your training plan.
I’ve been riding 6-7 days a week the last 3.5 months. Just riding…
Most of my M-F miles are commuting (about an hour each way) but within those rides I throw in some intensity. I find that something like what Supersquid proposed works best for me, but right now I’m not as structured. I ride easy when my legs feel crappy, and I ride hard when they feel a little better. Generally though it amounts to 2 hard weekdays, and 3 easier weekdays. Then a hard group ride Saturday, and Sunday I normally ride on my own based on how I feel.
When I was training for tris, it was a lot more manageable to ride hard everytime I got on the bike…but that was because I was only riding 3-4x a week, about 5-7 hours. Riding 13-17 hours a week needs to be supplemented with a lot more easy miles.
Make sure you are doing some drills as well to improve your efficiency.
What do you mean by this? Using a single leg makes my cardiovascular system more efficient?
Single leg drills should make your stroke more efficient. The smoother your stroke (pedal round), the more efficient you are (more of your energy is turned into forward motion). Think of it from the extremes of pushing straight down on each pedal as compared to initiating your stroke earlier by angling and then pulling through and up on your stroke. You’ll start to reduce the BDC and TDC dead spots. Also, helps you when you are starting out on your bike and have one leg clipped in but the other one isn’t, you can keep momentum up until you get the other clipped in, especially when going uphill. Finally, it breaks up the monotony of trainer rides.
Make sure you are doing some drills as well to improve your efficiency.
What do you mean by this? Using a single leg makes my cardiovascular system more efficient?
Single leg drills should make your stroke more efficient. The smoother your stroke (pedal round), the more efficient you are (more of your energy is turned into forward motion). Think of it from the extremes of pushing straight down on each pedal as compared to initiating your stroke earlier by angling and then pulling through and up on your stroke. You’ll start to reduce the BDC and TDC dead spots. Also, helps you when you are starting out on your bike and have one leg clipped in but the other one isn’t, you can keep momentum up until you get the other clipped in, especially when going uphill. Finally, it breaks up the monotony of trainer rides.
Conflicting information here…http://www.roadbikerider.com/cycling-science/perfect-pedal-strokes
Martin cited 1991 research by Ed Coyle, et al, involving regional level competitors and elite racers – pros and U.S. national team members. Coyle found that elite cyclists pushed down harder and pulled up less than the less-accomplished riders.
Surprisingly, the elite riders were more efficient even though they were pedaling less smoothly. They had a higher percentage of endurance-loving slow-twitch muscle fibers than the regional riders and Coyle theorized that may have skewed the data regarding efficiency.
To find out if Coyle was right, another study examined 8 different riders with similar muscle fiber makeup pedaling with 4 different techniques: (1) their normal, preferred technique; (2) concentrating on pedaling circles; (3) pulling up on the backstroke; (4) pushing down hard. Pedal forces and metabolic costs were measured.
Pulling up was significantly less efficient than the riders’ preferred technique. The study indicated that the muscles that flex the leg and allow pulling up the pedal on the backstroke are intrinsically less efficient than those that push down.
If you’re doing intervals every day, I’m willing to bet that you aren’t going hard enough to make them effective. You should cut back on the hard days and mix in some easy recovery days that leave you fresh enough to really crush it on the hard days.
Make sure you are doing some drills as well to improve your efficiency.
What do you mean by this? Using a single leg makes my cardiovascular system more efficient?
Single leg drills should make your stroke more efficient. The smoother your stroke (pedal round), the more efficient you are (more of your energy is turned into forward motion). Think of it from the extremes of pushing straight down on each pedal as compared to initiating your stroke earlier by angling and then pulling through and up on your stroke. You’ll start to reduce the BDC and TDC dead spots. Also, helps you when you are starting out on your bike and have one leg clipped in but the other one isn’t, you can keep momentum up until you get the other clipped in, especially when going uphill. Finally, it breaks up the monotony of trainer rides.
Conflicting information here…http://www.roadbikerider.com/cycling-science/perfect-pedal-strokes
Martin cited 1991 research by Ed Coyle, et al, involving regional level competitors and elite racers – pros and U.S. national team members. Coyle found that elite cyclists pushed down harder and pulled up less than the less-accomplished riders.
Surprisingly, the elite riders were more efficient even though they were pedaling less smoothly. They had a higher percentage of endurance-loving slow-twitch muscle fibers than the regional riders and Coyle theorized that may have skewed the data regarding efficiency.
To find out if Coyle was right, another study examined 8 different riders with similar muscle fiber makeup pedaling with 4 different techniques: (1) their normal, preferred technique; (2) concentrating on pedaling circles; (3) pulling up on the backstroke; (4) pushing down hard. Pedal forces and metabolic costs were measured.
Pulling up was significantly less efficient than the riders’ preferred technique. The study indicated that the muscles that flex the leg and allow pulling up the pedal on the backstroke are intrinsically less efficient than those that push down.
Like a lot of things in life, there are conflicting studies. We haven’t even talked about cadence yet! And I’m not surprised that they were less efficient when they changed their stroke. When you first unlearn bad habits you usually regress.
I think that the various drills do a number of things for me. They break up the monotony, they let me focus on a particular aspect, they let me develop additional skills. The same is true in all 3 sports. And I know that I use a different pedal stroke on a 15% grade than I do going down a 5% grade. It’s good to figure what works best for you in each situation which is the idea behind some of the drills. And, one legged drills mean that I, personally, have a better chance of getting going uphill on a steep grade by allowing me to pedal with one leg for a couple of strokes while I attempt to clip in. It’s the same reason I practice bunny hopping - so when I need to I can.
I have been doing a cycling focus this Winter, unfortunately due to an injury which prevents me from running. No swimming yet, just 6-7 days a week of 60-90 minutes on the trainer as hard as I can. I have been mixing it up with intervals such as 10x2:00 with 1:00 rest, 6x5:00 with 2:00 rest, 30:00 time trial, 30x30x30 all out, etc. I am trying not to have any easy rides on the trainer, but after a few hard days in a row my legs are tired and it is tough to push as hard during the intervals.
I’m curious as to how many hard days per week is recommended during a cycling focus. My goal this year, assuming I can run again by Spring, is to race sprints and Olympic distance only, no long course racing. I currently train by using RPE only, no PM. I do have a HR monitor and just bought a Timex 2.0 cycle trainer, so I should probably be using at least HR to gauge the intensity levels of the workouts.
Regarding interval training. You will find this thread interesting
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?do=post_view_flat;post=4931310;page=1;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;mh=25;