How long to know genetic potential?

That's pretty good my last 40 mile ride on rolling hills was 16.3 mph but I would agree that isn't club riding speed. I don't think any one can answer your question as good as you can.

There's no way to answer this question based on the speed over a rolling course (unless your avg speed is, say, 20+mph). How much are you training (e.g., hours per week on the bike)? How are you training (e.g., steady pace rides, intervals)?

i dont think one ride can determine an answer to your question. i can really tell your enthusiasm towards cycling is high, which is very good. but i dont think anyone can really know their genetic limits without significant testing and when they just cant improve anymore (i.e. a years worth of training for a very small amount of wattage). but, they can improve in tactics, so really, the sky is the limit sort of

At this stage you should just concentrate on enjoying the rides. Genetic potential only comes into play at the high end of competitive cycling; it would be very unusual for genetics to be a barrier for the recreational cyclist. Also, you've only been riding for about 1/2 a year, and your body will continue to adjust to the specific loads of cycling for quite a while; there is something of a "rule of thumb" that it takes about 3 years in any sport to become good.

RapDaddyo said:

There's no way to answer this question based on the speed over a rolling course (unless your avg speed is, say, 20+mph). How much are you training (e.g., hours per week on the bike)? How are you training (e.g., steady pace rides, intervals)?

Probably 10 hours a week on the bike and only steady pace rides. Still awaiting my hr monitor before I start my interval training. Plus I have my first event(a century ride) coming up so I've avoided the intervals for now, instead I'm just trying to log good base miles so that I can survive the event. The first 50 miles of the ride is flat but the last 53 has some very significant climbs.

THanks for the replies guys. Guess I'll just have to wait and see how my improvment goes. I've got a pretty busy work and family schedule so I have to keep my expectations reasonable. Either way I've finally found a form of exercise that I really enjoy.

tdl123321 said:

Probably 10 hours a week on the bike and only steady pace rides.

That's enough time on the bike to make good progress. But, if you do all of your rides at a steady pace, you will not increase your power significantly. You'd make more progress if you would ride for, say, 15-20 mins about 90% as fast as you can ride that distance, then ride for 5-10 mins at a slower pace to recover, and repeat. The point is that you need to create enough physiological stress to force your body to adapt. You won't do that by riding for hours at a steady pace.

in answer to the original question of the post- how long until your genetic makeup becomes a limiting factor....

i cant answer that in a cycling format- but before i came to cycling i was a runner- my whole life. it wasnt until end of college, having competed for almost 10 years... and training for the nationals marathon (running between 100 and 150 miles a week (seriously)) that i noticed a gap between myself and others in the field.

after stress fractures, and all sorts of attempts to bridge that gap- it became apparent that i wasnt born to be the next Hailu Negussie.

so- in answer to your question... it can take years, if not a decade or so to get to the end of what you can push yourself to do. so dont ever use it as an excuse this early in the game.

one cool thing that was elluded to in an earlier post is- cycling rewards the smart as equally as those who are strong. use your head, be aware of what's going on- and putting yourself in the right place, at the right time will always beat out someone three times as naturally gifted as you.

so dont look so far ahead for some limiting factor. train hard, have a great time doing it, and get smart about it.

my $.02

For most people, a VO2max of 70 is not unreacheable.

Whatever your genetic potential, you should always try your best. Even if life gets in the way and you get to 90%, that's fine. It's difficult to lose your fitness if you keep exercising. Enjoy the small victories and enjoy the ride.

kuan said:

For most people, a VO2max of 70 is not unreacheable.

Hard to really establish what the average person is really capable of because the average person would never be motivated to try but last I heard there are pro cyclists that can't hit 70 VO2max, so I think that is overstating the case by about 20 points.

mises said:

there are pro cyclists that can't hit 70 VO2max, so I think that is overstating the case by about 20 points.

I would agree with that; a Vdot of 70 equates to roughly a 2:23 marathoner - that's elite status by any standard. I always thought anyone who could crank out a sub-3 hour marathon was gifted with some strong genetics, and that's a Vdot in the mid-50's.

In response to the OP, check out Joe Friel's "Training Bible"; his experience is that some athletes can require up to 3 - 5 years before their genetic potential becomes apparent. So in the meantime, enjoy the ride... 😎

tdl123321 said:

I'm just trying to log good base miles so that I can survive the event.

I'm beginning to think that 'base miles' are just a myth... I've had to cut a lot of my miles back lately due to work, kids and weather. So, I hop on the windtrainer for 2 - 3 sessions a week, between 40 mins and an hour at a time. Because I'm only riding for about 3 hours max a week I go totally balls out fast...

I went on a ride a few weeks ago and thoought I'd struggle but completely blasted the other riders out of the water. They all claimed to do at least 10 hours in the saddle a week and wanted to know my 'secret' and training. They didn't believe me when I said 2-3 hours a week in the living room... 😕

do a 10km TT tell us what time you get? These workouts (intervals) will improve your speed more than just steady riding.

mezzinator said:

I'm beginning to think that 'base miles' are just a myth... I've had to cut a lot of my miles back lately due to work, kids and weather. So, I hop on the windtrainer for 2 - 3 sessions a week, between 40 mins and an hour at a time. Because I'm only riding for about 3 hours max a week I go totally balls out fast...

I went on a ride a few weeks ago and thoought I'd struggle but completely blasted the other riders out of the water. They all claimed to do at least 10 hours in the saddle a week and wanted to know my 'secret' and training. They didn't believe me when I said 2-3 hours a week in the living room... 😕

Now that is some encouraging news. Especially sense my time is limited. Howe ve, if base miles are a "myth", I would still think that a new cyclist such as myself probably benefits much more from them than a someone that has been cycling for several years.

mezzinator said:

I'm beginning to think that 'base miles' are just a myth... I've had to cut a lot of my miles back lately due to work, kids and weather. So, I hop on the windtrainer for 2 - 3 sessions a week, between 40 mins and an hour at a time. Because I'm only riding for about 3 hours max a week I go totally balls out fast...

I went on a ride a few weeks ago and thoought I'd struggle but completely blasted the other riders out of the water. They all claimed to do at least 10 hours in the saddle a week and wanted to know my 'secret' and training. They didn't believe me when I said 2-3 hours a week in the living room... 😕

Ive had notihng but bad luck since trying to restart riding last week, but already in that short time I have had to bail out of multiple long rides (pinch flats on brand new bike, family). So Ive had to resort to a short warm-up, intervals around my heighborhood (Big gear sprints, like 53x15 from 5mph on a flat till spun out.

my last two aborted rides I was rolling the start of my rides 4 gears higher than my first ride already and feeling stronger.

I have always maintained intervals are what really makes the miles worthwhile.

Ray

tdl123321 said:

Now that is some encouraging news. Especially sense my time is limited. Howe ve, if base miles are a "myth", I would still think that a new cyclist such as myself probably benefits much more from them than a someone that has been cycling for several years.

When your feeling your worst do you try pushng for more? For example when your on a hill and you think your legs cannot go anymore, do you ever stand up, pick up the cadence and start again? Maybe, just maybe the pain you feel is masking what youve really got in your legs? Again-me-broken record, I am only a few rides into this training season and I have already about hit the wall on two climbs and I just sat and spun and when I was about ready to give in-I stood up and pushed for more. I am already seeing big improvment in such a few rides.

mezzinator said:

I'm beginning to think that 'base miles' are just a myth... I've had to cut a lot of my miles back lately due to work, kids and weather. So, I hop on the windtrainer for 2 - 3 sessions a week, between 40 mins and an hour at a time. Because I'm only riding for about 3 hours max a week I go totally balls out fast...

I went on a ride a few weeks ago and thoought I'd struggle but completely blasted the other riders out of the water. They all claimed to do at least 10 hours in the saddle a week and wanted to know my 'secret' and training. They didn't believe me when I said 2-3 hours a week in the living room... 😕

You win many races? :p 😉 Didn't think so.

tdl123321 said:

Probably 10 hours a week on the bike and only steady pace rides. Still awaiting my hr monitor before I start my interval training.

Personally i've found an HRM utterly invaluable; even for steady state. Infact I would even say 'steady state' is impossible for me without one as i find hills & wind randomize things so much. Time on a bike WITH an HRM is so much more valuable.

I've been riding for about 3 years and feel i'm still improving. I read it was 10 years to fully reach your own potential.

I suspect the Miguel Indurains and Lance Armstrongs of the world are genetic rarities.
Take a leaf out of Mike Mentzer's book: Use your intelligence to structure your training so you can develop your potential to the max. That means eating properly, adjusting and experimenting with your bike, using scientific training methods and, above all, developing a positive mental attitude.
Myself, I don't think I have particularly good cycling genetics at all.

tdl123321 said:

So, I just started cycling (or any aerobic exercise for that matter) this Spring. I'm 30 years old, I've lost 20 lbs and have approached ideal body weight. I'm having a great time but I am still slow on the bike. Avg. 16.5 mph on rolling hill 50 mile ride. About the same speed for 25 mile rides. I really struggle to keep up on the group rides and often get dropped. Is this poor genes or am I just too new to the sport? Doesn't really matter as I am getting fitter and enjoying the bike. I guess my question is--- Am I destined to be slow???????

What shocks me is that TDF cyclists often average 35 mph and close to 40 mph during time trials. I find it tough to stabilise at 27 mph.