Training and how much, how serious

The "It's killing me but" thread seems to answer alot of these questions and then some. I am concentrating on the low end of L4 (91% FTP) 2x20 or 3x20 if the energy is right.

oroden01 said:

Ok, so i am done with soccer (football whatever who cares) and am in pretty good hape, not good enough though. i have been doing 2 rides per week of 35 miles and some upper body weight lifting (i know i am not supposed to do that but i'll get to it in a minute). So here is my quesiton, where should i got from here??????? should i ride every day? every other day? everyone has a different opinion and since i am no professional i have no idea and see every option as possible. i also want to lift some weight since my whole life i have had these legs that are wayyyyy too strong compared to my upper body, i think i max out on the benchpress at 100, if i had my leg strength in my upper body it would be compared with lifting 300lbs (i think, just trying to make a point), and i am 6'3" 185 lbs. does anyone have a good idea of what i should do imrpove my cycling from this point? should i try to shave off some legs and gain endurance? anyway, annnnnny suggestions would be great.
thanks,
Omri

oroden01 said:

... should i ride every day? every other day?

I've been in and out of race fitness a number of times in the last 25 years, life, jobs and priorities change but I've never completely put the bike away. One thing I've found is that my fitness changes dramatically based on just training frequency and then additionally by focusing my training to particular training "zones" or "levels". In other words in the early going I get the biggest bang for my buck by just committing to 5 or more days of riding per week. Even with fancy power meters and heart rate monitors two days a week doesn't get it for me. It might help me maintain for a while but doesn't build fitness. I'm not suggesting 5 days a week of hard high end workouts, just getting on the bike 5 or more days with some of those real easy, some steady rides, and as fitness builds some of those transitioning to focused workouts(LT, anaerobic endurance, sprints, etc). During times when work got busy I found just bike commuting on weekdays did wonders for my cycling fitness that I couldn't get with just a couple of intense workouts per week. Anyway based on a non scientific sample of one (me, that is) I'd suggest increasing your days on the bike (or other similar cross training) before you start loading up all the zone specific high end stuff you'll read about on this forum.

I'm not necessarily suggesting tons and tons of miles, there's differing opinions on how much that helps, just adjusting your lifestyle to get good cardio work more than twice a week. While you're doing that you should peruse these threads and start to figure out what you want from cycling, how much time and energy you want to commit to improving and see what kind of focused plan you can put together that targets your goals. If it's basic fitness you'll probably differ from some of the training suggestions on this forum, but if you want to race or ride long fast rides with quick groups you'll benefit from a lot of training threads found here.

Quoted post said:

... should i try to shave off some legs and gain endurance?

I wouldn't jump to that conclusion just yet. Get some good base in and make a plan before you start focusing on specific body changes. Perhaps your large legs are a big asset to your cycling, perhaps they're too big right now (kinda like when Eric Heiden moved from speed skating to winning the sprints jersey in the Giro d'Italia and dropped inches from his quads to make it over the hills). Hard to say, and if you are really serious about cycling you should consider an experienced coach who can help direct your efforts. But I'd start by increasing your workout frequency and building some base and you might find that your body adjusts accordingly.

Good luck,
Dave