Cross Training

where exactly in Los Angeles are you?

roadhouse said:

where exactly in Los Angeles are you?

I am located in Glendale. I am currently in Seattle for about a 3 weeks (already been here for 2). Aargh I hate the rain and that bikes cost $300 a week to rent.

kausbose said:

I am located in Glendale. I am currently in Seattle for about a 3 weeks (already been here for 2). Aargh I hate the rain and that bikes cost $300 a week to rent.

cool. i've resided in Glendale right across from the red lion? ale house on glendale blvd, i think it was. mainly in Silverlake next to Echo Park for a few years, worked in Pasadena.

and what's a little rain and cold weather? i went out for a run in the freezing cold rain the last two days. do you run?

and do you own a madone or are you renting it? you're confusing me.

roadhouse said:

and do you own a madone or are you renting it? you're confusing me.

I own the madone. It's in Los Angeles. I am in Seattle. I am not able to ride here that's why I am running and don't like doing it that much. I pushed myself to a 2 miles @ 7.5 min/mil and hurt myself. So got upset and wanted to see what everyone here does for cross training and if I am doing something wrong. I do ride a lot down in an around the Glendale/ Eagle rock/ Pasadena area. I try to do about 45- 1 1/2 hours each day and a long one on Saturdays. I haven't fancied running down there yet. Haven't felt the need to. I could train indoors when it was raining!

kausbose said:

I am located in Glendale. I am currently in Seattle for about a 3 weeks (already been here for 2). Aargh I hate the rain and that bikes cost $300 a week to rent.

Cross train on gym trainers or drop in on the Wed and Fri indoor TT series here: CycleU.com: Learn Fast, Ride Smart and rent one of their bikes for the session.

FWIW I use gym ergs either in hotel gyms or at places like Gold's with their drop in day use fees all the time when on business travel. Around Seattle both Gold's and Mieko's fitness: Mieko?s Fitness | Edmonds | Lake City | Bothell | Mill Creek | Magnolia | Seattle have decent indoor bikes and drop in fees, Mieko's also has spin classes with decent spin bikes.

Any of that is better and more cycling specific training than running.

FWIW, I've managed to stay dry four rides out of five in the past few months here in Seattle, yeah it rains for part of many days this time of year but it's not raining all day every day...

-Dave

daveryanwyoming said:

Cross train on gym trainers or drop in on the Wed and Fri indoor TT series here: CycleU.com: Learn Fast, Ride Smart and rent one of their bikes for the session.

FWIW I use gym ergs either in hotel gyms or at places like Gold's with their drop in day use fees all the time when on business travel. Around Seattle both Gold's and Mieko's fitness: Mieko?s Fitness | Edmonds | Lake City | Bothell | Mill Creek | Magnolia | Seattle have decent indoor bikes and drop in fees, Mieko's also has spin classes with decent spin bikes.

Any of that is better and more cycling specific training than running.

FWIW, I've managed to stay dry four rides out of five in the past few months here in Seattle, yeah it rains for part of many days this time of year but it's not raining all day every day...

-Dave

Thanks for the info Dave. I will indeed look into the Incycle thing. It looks promising. Are you based in Seattle or Wyoming. How did you get a bike here in Seattle if you are from Wyoming? Do you know of a cheap place to rent?

kausbose said:

... Are you based in Seattle or Wyoming. ...

I moved to Seattle for work last summer after a decade in Wyoming but haven't found a graceful way to change my screen alias without simply creating a new account. I lived in Seattle in the mid '90s and while in Wyoming did a lot of consulting work in Seattle so was back and forth quite a bit.

I brought bikes out when I drove from Wyoming but didn't usually bother when flying out. I've flown bikes other places and it's not very difficult although it's gotten more expensive over the years as airlines typically hit you with hefty baggage fees for bikes. You basically have to break down and box the bike removing the major components like seat post, loosen and rotate the stem and bars, remove the pedals and wheels and it's a good idea to protect and or remove the rear derailleur so it doesn't get slammed in transit. Then you box it in either a used cardboard bike box with some extra padding which you can get from almost any bike store or you get a custom padded bike hardcase which can be rented (Montlake Bikes in Seattle rents them and also rents very nice road bikes) which is preferred for expensive bikes like your Madone. Then of course you have to pack the right tools to reassemble your bike or take it into a shop to have it put back together. I've flown bikes to events or for longer bike vacations maybe a dozen times over the years, it's not a big deal, you check it and pick it up at the oversized baggage claim area like you would skis or golf clubs.

I'm doing CycleU's ICE course right now which is awesome L4/L5 work in programmed CompuTrainer erg mode two nights a week and self paced long courses on one weekend day. I haven't done the normal InCycle courses but they're larger groups on the Tacx trainers led by a trainer with a lot more specific short drills stuff folks really seem to like them. Last season I did some of the Wed and Fri night CT TT series when I was out on business and they're really good training, especially if you sign up for two per evening and get two solid long L4 intervals. Anyway they've got a lot of good programs going over there and with their newly opened West Seattle facility and shop have some nice bikes available for rental.

There are a ton of rentals available in Seattle, short term may be tougher but I see signs everywhere up around Greenlake, Wallingford, Freemont, Ravenna, U-district, etc. Craig's list is the place to check out rental listings if you don't want to drive around and look for signs.

PM me if you want info on good local rides.

-Dave

This year, I don't train on the bike during winter. I perform all my volume on a LifeFitness 9500HR Stepper just like the one shown on the link below
Stepper -- Life Fitness Remanufactured 9500HR Next Generation (Refurbished-LIFEFITNESS-9500HR-NG-STEPPER)

For me, level 17 gets me to burn 1200 KCal / hour. When I hit the roads on the bike, I usually begin at around 210-220 watts FTP, only 30-40 watts away from my usual summer FTP value.

Important rule, don't cheat. Stand up, hold the HR handle and don't do like female (90% of the clientele using this machine) who usually unload a lot of their body weight by holding the side bars.

Finally, in the world of triathlon, not sure how much of it is true and how much is cliché, but Cycling is believed to have a beneficial impact on running, but not the opposite. If you don't like running, stay away from it. And anyway, run training has some implications like for instance consulting a specialist to know if you need corrections in your shoes in order to straighten your legs. This is to avoid ankle/knee/hip related injuries as well as back spine deviation etc. Very few people actually do this.

i beg to differ cause i run to exact my spinal alignment issues which is all i know is that it's off. nothing like running to heal all ailments but be careful and listen to your body, if that makes sense. it should.

Thanks a lot for your testimony. First time in 15 years I hear about someone that uses running as a cure for severe posture issues.

Good to know that it has worked for you.

Of course, as a running coach I can not blindly recommend this approach to all, since it is generally better to fix those posture issues prior committing to a high impact activity such as running.

Thanks again.

SolarEnergy said:

Thanks a lot for your testimony. First time in 15 years I hear about someone that uses running as a cure for severe posture issues.

Good to know that it has worked for you.

Of course, as a running coach I can not blindly recommend this approach to all, since it is generally better to fix those posture issues prior committing to a high impact activity such as running.

Thanks again.

you're a running coach? what grade?

i don't believe that there is a real reason other than personal abuse to my body and neglect of it that has caused me to have any issues and so that is reversible. it was some years ago and it is now. and i can feel my core when i'm running, the roll of my feet, the rythm of my stride and can target and align my own equilibirium through listening to what is taking place within myself as needed all of which derives back to me not being born like that is where i'm coming from. plus i've been here before though so i have a bit of experience in this and i ran for about a year after the inital four or five months it took to self medicate and i flew but you are right, it may just be me, i have a personal grudge against being weak. funny, i think Big Lance used a bicycle. yup, he did...eh.

kausbose said:

Alright guys:

Here's my situation. I was shipped out of my house and am located away from home, away from my bike 🙁

I have started to run on a treadmill to see if I could run (which I had a mind block for). I can run but do not enjoy it at all, I have injured myself once already by overdoing it.

So here I am asking for what running or other forms of cross training have you guys done? Let's start a talk on that!

I don't like to run because it is just too hard on my back/knees/shins/ankles/feet ( would've been quicker to list the parts it doesn't hurt 😉 ) and I don't like riding my bike on a trainer much either.

So I use an elliptical trainer ( Orbitrek ) with the arms in the stationary mode. It's sort of cross between cycling and low impact running.

It's not as good as riding a regular bike for cycling training, but it won't beat you up and will give you a good cardio workout.

roadhouse said:

but you are right, it may just be me, i have a personal grudge against being weak.

What you may have experimented so far, is what I'd call rehab training.

You commit in an activity, in this case we're probably talking about light jog right? Or stated differently, long stead distance ran a low endurance pace. You do so whilst having a radar somewhere in your brain that is fully aware about all feed back (good and bad) you received from your body.

I strongly believe that this is the best way of teaching your body how to stay away from injuries. The fact that you could make your way to this sort of attitude, as a self coached athlete (if it's your case) is exceptional.

Now the OP's question pertains to how to retain the best possible level of fitness whilst being off bike. LSD running may not be his best option. Activities that allows the OP to train near or at threshold should be favored instead.

And while getting into threshold training very early is perfectly suitable in cycling training, it's a no-no for anyone that begins as a runner.

SolarEnergy said:

This year, I don't train on the bike during winter. I perform all my volume on a LifeFitness 9500HR Stepper just like the one shown on the link below
Stepper -- Life Fitness Remanufactured 9500HR Next Generation (Refurbished-LIFEFITNESS-9500HR-NG-STEPPER)

For me, level 17 gets me to burn 1200 KCal / hour. When I hit the roads on the bike, I usually begin at around 210-220 watts FTP, only 30-40 watts away from my usual summer FTP value.

Important rule, don't cheat. Stand up, hold the HR handle and don't do like female (90% of the clientele using this machine) who usually unload a lot of their body weight by holding the side bars.

Finally, in the world of triathlon, not sure how much of it is true and how much is cliché, but Cycling is believed to have a beneficial impact on running, but not the opposite. If you don't like running, stay away from it. And anyway, run training has some implications like for instance consulting a specialist to know if you need corrections in your shoes in order to straighten your legs. This is to avoid ankle/knee/hip related injuries as well as back spine deviation etc. Very few people actually do this.

Thanks for your thoughts Solar Energy. As you know by now from peoples ranting here is that gyms in the US are usually run by a bunch of corporate douchebags and they are in it just for the money. So getting into a gym is easy but getting out is next to impossible. And I am not going to suffer that pain because I am here solely for two weeks. Thus I am limited to a treadmill and a elliptical that my building provide. I ran today, the injury seems to have improved and paying a little attention to my running posture will go a long way I think. Dialled the knob down a bit so that I am not UP there in terms of my workout level because I don't think that my legs can match my heart in terms of capabilities. So let's see how this round goes.

It's a BEAUTIFUL day out here in the Pacific NW btw. Just the perfect day to ride.

Cheers fellas and a HAPPY WEEKEND!

kausbose said:

I ran today, the injury seems to have improved and paying a little attention to my running posture will go a long way I think. Dialled the knob down a bit so that I am not UP there in terms of my workout level because I don't think that my legs can match my heart in terms of capabilities. So let's see how this round goes.

Glad to hear about your running improvement.

If you run on a treadmill, sometimes, setting a slight incline (just a very slight one) will prevent some of the typical injuries some may get in running on those machines. Besides, it help reaching an intensity level that is closer than what your heart would allow you to reach.

Also, and it's quite important, being based up north, at this time of year outside it's around -20deg. But you mentioned being based in California I think didn't you?

There's a very simple and inexpensive activity you can try in replacement of cycling. Inline Skating. Again here up north, every body can skate (Ice Hockey being our national sport right?). I don't know about you though.

We have a female athlete by the name of Clara Hughes who for instance can achieve podiums at both summer and winter Olympic games. She just alternates between Skating and Cycling all year round.