Training

What kind of weekly mileage/hours does it recommend during that buildup period? A buildup plan based on 12-15 hr/wk, should not simply be scaled-down and followed at (e.g.) 6-8 hr/wk. If you don't have time to follow a pro-level plan, then I'd suggest increasing the intensity somewhat to make up for a lack of hours. Also, consider that riding hard on the turbo is pretty doable, whereas riding for long periods may not be.

Modify the approach to fit your personal constraints and goals.

frenchyge said:

What kind of weekly mileage/hours does it recommend during that buildup period? A buildup plan based on 12-15 hr/wk, should not simply be scaled-down and followed at (e.g.) 6-8 hr/wk. If you don't have time to follow a pro-level plan, then I'd suggest increasing the intensity somewhat to make up for a lack of hours. Also, consider that riding hard on the turbo is pretty doable, whereas riding for long periods may not be.

Modify the approach to fit your personal constraints and goals.

Thanks for your reply. The plan recommends building up to a total mileage week where you can do as much mileage as what you thought realisticly possible for yourself at the beginning of the schedule. So in my instance it would be about 80 miles per day for the week. Then followed by a week of easy training followed by the speed workouts over lets say four weeks. So the workouts mileage in the off season are set out by counting back from the total mileage week starting at a point were a ten percent increase in workout mileage will bring you up to the total mileage week. But for me it sounds better for a Tour rider as the mileage seems very big. For a guy like me doing one day races i don't really think that massive mileage should really be a concern. After all even pro's seem to train for an event duration. cheers

nath1 said:

So in my instance it would be about 80 miles per day for the week.

Ok, so 560 miles per week, or about 28+ hrs per week (assuming 20 mph since this is building and no speed work is allowed). If that's realistic for you, then I'd agree that speed work would not really be necessary during that build period. There's no way I could sit on the turbo for 4 hrs a day, so I couldn't follow that plan at all. Make sure you give the plan a reality check before you do all the work setting it up and committing to it.

frenchyge said:

Ok, so 560 miles per week, or about 28+ hrs per week (assuming 20 mph since this is building and no speed work is allowed). If that's realistic for you, then I'd agree that speed work would not really be necessary during that build period. There's no way I could sit on the turbo for 4 hrs a day, so I couldn't follow that plan at all. Make sure you give the plan a reality check before you do all the work setting it up and committing to it.

Hi , sorry i think i may have got my description wrong. The eighty miles per day would only be for one week the total mileage week. I think i could realisticaly do that 560 for the one week. All training builds up to that one week effort. I thought i could fit in in on a holiday week aroung feb. cheers

nath1 said:

Hi , sorry i think i may have got my description wrong. The eighty miles per day would only be for one week the total mileage week. I think i could realisticaly do that 560 for the one week. All training builds up to that one week effort. I thought i could fit in in on a holiday week aroung feb. cheers

Maybe I did misunderstand, but doesn't that mean you're looking at 560 miles (28+ hrs) one week, 500 miles (25+ hrs) the week before, 450 miles (22.5+ hrs) the week before, 405 miles (20+ hrs) the week before, etc., etc.?

My biggest problem with the conventional wisdom regarding building fitness without intensity is that it takes more time than most amateur cyclists have available. Again, just be sure to reality check to plan before getting frustrated later.

No you are right🙂 . Oh well i don't think i will be able to put that kind of weekly mileage in. Back to the drawing board for a more realistic aproach. Do you have any suggestions from your experiance? Cheers

nath1 said:

No you are right🙂 . Oh well i don't think i will be able to put that kind of weekly mileage in. Back to the drawing board for a more realistic aproach. Do you have any suggestions from your experiance? Cheers

For me winter training consists of 3/4 x 90 minute speed/power interval workouts on the home trainer in the evenings after work, and maybe a race simulation effort (see my trainer crit workout on the power forum for example) indoors too. If the weather is not too filthy on the weekends I will try and get one or two three hour rides outdoors done. Or maybe 2 hours moderate outdoors and then an hour of intervals on the trainer afterwards to warm up again. This is a great way to build fitness for longer races in the spring.

I'll also mix in some press ups, sit ups etc plus some other sports like swimming or even running.

I just finished my season, so after a few days rest I will put the bike on the trainer for a few days and measure my best efforts powerwise for 1min, 5min, 20 min, 1 hour etc. Once a week/ fortnight during the winter I will test myself again and compare myself to these values. By the time spring comes around I intend to be at the same level or better. I also sometimes do an incremental increase test - start at 100w, add 40 every 5 mins or something. It's a great way of seeing where you're at fitness wise. Above all I have to make the trainer sessions interesting - more than 2 hours and I'm dying of boredom.

I am sceptical of amateur riders with limited time being able to put in 20hr weeks of "base" training over the winter. If you're a professional and can go away to warmer climes for weeks at a time then fine, but I prefer to use the time I have by training shorter, harder and less frequently than I do in the summer. In March I'll try and get out for a few weeks of longer rides, or maybe take a week's training vacation in Tenerife (great location) or something, but december and january I'm pretty much only looking to keep the power up for the shorter efforts and keep the cardio ticking over. Some of my most intense efforts of the last year were on the trainer over the winter in fact.

nath1 said:

Do you have any suggestions from your experiance?

I take a similar approach to what BullGod described, since I really can't manage more than 8-10 hrs/wk between work, family, and other hobbies. In the winter I mostly ride the trainer during the evening hours, which means more frequent, slightly shorter (1-2 hr) rides a few times during the week, and somewhat longer (2-3 hr) rides on the weekend. For shorter rides, the intensity will need to be higher in order to produce the same training benefit, so I end up doing longer (20-30 min) intervals during the week, and more moderately paced rides during the weekend. I had a lot of success racing Cat 5/4 this year, so I have some confidence in that approach for amateur racers.

If you're expecting to be time-limited (like me), you might get some ideas here or here.

I know elite riders who don't do much more than 6 hours a week over the winter.

I tend to look at the winter as "damage limitation" - there are no races so I cannot reliably simulate the stresses of racing. What I can do is use the numbers on the trainer to make sure that psychologically at least I don't feel as though I lost form over the winter.

Do you take a break at all at seasons end? Right now I feel as though I should take a couple of weeks off but the weather is still mild and I still want to ride. I have to say I'm also reluctant to take a break for worry of losing sharpness.

Thanks for that guys, thats much more realistic and much more sensible. Do you record your training in a log to see were you are, i often think it could be useful? cheers