Training blog - comments and advice welcomed

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training last night on 18/12/2013
resistance leverl: n
front small gear, rear 8th cog
30mins

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no soreness after last night exercise
tonight extended it to 35 mins
resistance level : n
front small gear, rear 8th cog
lets do another 35 tomorrow if no soreness

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bought a fk arione saddle tonight
wanna try it out so instead of doing trainer thing i went out for a tempo
the saddle is ok
have a rest tomorrow and then will go back to the trainer

21/12/2103 was a rest day

22/12/2103

did a brief ride this morning
repeat the training on trainers again
HR large increased, from zone 3 jumped into zone 4, performance slightly decreased
i guess i am not fully recovered from the tempo ride
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Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Molala2
22/12/2103

did a brief ride this morning
repeat the training on trainers again
HR large increased, from zone 3 jumped into zone 4, performance slightly decreased
i guess i am not fully recovered from the tempo ride

I'd have thought an increased HR would be an indication of you either being well rested or having consumed to many stims like caffeine.

When i'm tired, I find it harder to increase my heart rate.

2 days after the tempo ride
i changed from mashing in 70 rpm to riding at around 85 rpm
used to have prolonged soresness
but not anymore now
very happy about it.
I am thinking if i use a even large ger ratio then i and do tempo run every alternative day.

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23/12/2013
Higher AV RPM tonight
PE is a lot easier
could have done 35 minutes but the saddle was really uncomfortable
but to think about this issue
i think i can continue tomorrow night

Do you ride in competitions ?

Very consistent training, nice. I'd say you need a bit of variety in your training though, because riding in a consistent range of 150-160 bpm may cause burnout. You'll likely yburn out without a rest/easy block of training or a really big endurance base, or doing some interval work. e.g, in October I did 3 workouts that were essentially ramped tests to maximum power, and the third workout I burned out.. took a few days off and only at 85% intensity and then I was able to easily break my previous PB. Riding 30 minutes at near maximum power is more taxing than riding 4x3 minute intervals at near maximum aerobic power and within a longer ride of 1.5 hrs at 60% of 1 hr power. Riding 1 hr at 1 hr power is extremely fatigueing, really you should only let it all out maybe 4-5 times a year.

If your above training isn't anywhere near maximum workload, then you can disregard my burnout comment.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by cyclightning
Do you ride in competitions ?

Very consistent training, nice. I'd say you need a bit of variety in your training though, because riding in a consistent range of 150-160 bpm may cause burnout. You'll likely yburn out without a rest/easy block of training or a really big endurance base, or doing some interval work. e.g, in October I did 3 workouts that were essentially ramped tests to maximum power, and the third workout I burned out.. took a few days off and only at 85% intensity and then I was able to easily break my previous PB. Riding 30 minutes at near maximum power is more taxing than riding 4x3 minute intervals at near maximum aerobic power and within a longer ride of 1.5 hrs at 60% of 1 hr power. Riding 1 hr at 1 hr power is extremely fatigueing, really you should only let it all out maybe 4-5 times a year.

If your above training isn't anywhere near maximum workload, then you can disregard my burnout comment.

Thanks for posting
My legs muscle was not sored after the workout, as i only spin against very light resistance
but it does concern me that if anything bad will happen if i keep my heart bumping everynight at over 150bpm
Maybe i need to sign up with a coach for professional advice

24/12/2013
I have received a lot of temper and unfair comments from my boss today
I have in a completely bad mood today
plus today is xmas eve in hk
moreover it is really cold outside
so i think i would take a break tonight
to make the break tonight meaningful
i will do a tempo ride tomorrow night with heartrate tracking.

30 minutes at 150bpm everyday doesn't sound like too much for a young or middle aged healthy adult, especially with one or two days rest. Depending on your age 150bpm can mean very different things (our maximum heart rate decreases with age).

Of course check with a doctor if you have concerns, but just because your boss may be an [censored] doesn't mean you are training too hard. [censored] irritate me everyday but I am nowhere near my maximum training load. One of the signals you are training too hard is having an elevated pulse in the morning when you wake up, another is loss of enthusiasm but your posts seem to indicate just the opposite.

Whenever I am in a bad mood I find some time on the bike is actually good for helping me de-stress.

Btw, my personal advice would be to add more time instead of adding more intensity (harder gears), at least until you are managing an hour or more each workout. Like cyclightning mentioned it is good to vary intensity as the easy stuff actually creates different adaptations in the body compared to the hard stuff. I get the best results from a mix of easy, moderate, and hard days on the bike, with the main key being consistency and rest when needed.

Every rider has a different ideal cadence, but somewhere between 85-105rpm is a good range to start with. Looks like you got that all sorted out.

Check the tilt of your saddle before investing in a new one, maybe just a degree or two each way. Sometimes we replace the saddle finding the new one is just as (or more) uncomfortable than the old one. Unfortunately there are no easy solutions to that problem, it's trial and error.

Merry Christmas.

Edit: you may find this page helpful regarding intensities and the adaptations they create - http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/power-training-levels

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by danfoz
30 minutes at 150bpm everyday doesn't sound like too much for a young or middle aged healthy adult, especially with one or two days rest. Depending on your age 150bpm can mean very different things (our maximum heart rate decreases with age).

Of course check with a doctor if you have concerns, but just because your boss may be an [censored] doesn't mean you are training too hard. [censored] irritate me everyday but I am nowhere near my maximum training load. One of the signals you are training too hard is having an elevated pulse in the morning when you wake up, another is loss of enthusiasm but your posts seem to indicate just the opposite.

Whenever I am in a bad mood I find some time on the bike is actually good for helping me de-stress.

Btw, my personal advice would be to add more time instead of adding more intensity (harder gears), at least until you are managing over an hour each workout. Like cyclightning mentioned it is good to vary intensity as the easy stuff actually creates different adaptations in the body compared to the hard stuff. I get the best results from a mix of easy, moderate, and hard days on the bike, with the main key being consistency and rest when needed.

Every rider has a different ideal cadence, but somewhere between 85-105rpm is a good range to start with. Looks like you got that all sorted out.

Check the tilt of your saddle before investing in a new one, maybe just a degree or two each way. Sometimes we replace the saddle finding the new one is just as (or more) uncomfortable than the old one. Unfortunately there are no easy solutions to that problem, it's trial and error.

Merry Christmas.

Edit: you may find this page helpful regarding intensities and the adaptations they create - http://home.trainingpeaks.com/blog/article/power-training-levels

Thanks for dropping by. My age is 36 and my MHR is 183. I am hooking up with a physician specializing in heart matter for an opinion. The original plan was really just to keep it at 100 rpm for 1 hour, with increasing resistance, a method introduced by my technician in my local bike store. However, i do plan to extend beyond that, like i would like to do some tempo riding, and some resistance training.

I am in a really bad mood now. I am so sad that i lost a night for cycling. And i cannot call up with friends to chat as they are busy with their Christmas eve.

No sure how this training thing will end up, but i am very very sure that i will do my best for it.

Thanks for dropping by again. Merry xmas to you and your family.

26/12/2013

Merry xmas and happy new year

switched back to an old saddle from my MTB. Feel quite ok with it tonight in my tempo ride.
PE is a bit easier this time. Any difference in speed? i am not sure.
Think i need more endurance.
Hope can do 60 minutes on trainer

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I would suggest buying some Sufferfest videos and watching those while you're on your trainer. Apart from reducing the boredom their workouts are better than just sitting on your trainer and pedalling constantly which some of your workouts appear to be. For endurance I would suggest their Blender video. It's my favourite and the one I do most in winter if the weather is too bad outside. It's almost 2 hours long so you can do one part one day and the rest the next day if you can't manage the whole thing. It's a mixture of intervals and tempo rides. I usually do the whole thing. The other one I like to do is ISLAGIATT, another 2 hour endurance video with about 3 big climbs (lower cadence / higher load).

I would suggest cutting back to 5 workouts a week. 6 when your new is too much. I only do 5 rides a week and I've been training for a couple of years. With 6 days I wasn't giving my time to recover although I'm 52 and us old farts need longer to recover.

One thing I'e noticed with indoor trainers is although you might be working really hard your heart rate can be 10 - 20 bpm lower than doing the same effort out on the road. I've come across others with the same issue. No big deal just so long as you're aware of it. Today for example I was out on the road doing hill repeats and my heart rate got up to 165 (Max 170). I can't get much past 150 inside on the trainer.

Re saddles. I've had a lot of problems finding comfortable saddles and been through a few and tried a few sample ones from shops. Best so far is a Specialized Avatar. I've got one on both my road bike and mountain bike. I still get a sore butt but not nearly as bad as before. Standing up on the pedals regularly helps. Some of the Sufferfest videos get you standing up.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your training. I've lost 21kg since I started cycling again a couple of years ago.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by Nigel Doyle
I would suggest buying some Sufferfest videos and watching those while you're on your trainer. Apart from reducing the boredom their workouts are better than just sitting on your trainer and pedalling constantly which some of your workouts appear to be. For endurance I would suggest their Blender video. It's my favourite and the one I do most in winter if the weather is too bad outside. It's almost 2 hours long so you can do one part one day and the rest the next day if you can't manage the whole thing. It's a mixture of intervals and tempo rides. I usually do the whole thing. The other one I like to do is ISLAGIATT, another 2 hour endurance video with about 3 big climbs (lower cadence / higher load).

I would suggest cutting back to 5 workouts a week. 6 when your new is too much. I only do 5 rides a week and I've been training for a couple of years. With 6 days I wasn't giving my time to recover although I'm 52 and us old farts need longer to recover.

One thing I'e noticed with indoor trainers is although you might be working really hard your heart rate can be 10 - 20 bpm lower than doing the same effort out on the road. I've come across others with the same issue. No big deal just so long as you're aware of it. Today for example I was out on the road doing hill repeats and my heart rate got up to 165 (Max 170). I can't get much past 150 inside on the trainer.

Re saddles. I've had a lot of problems finding comfortable saddles and been through a few and tried a few sample ones from shops. Best so far is a Specialized Avatar. I've got one on both my road bike and mountain bike. I still get a sore butt but not nearly as bad as before. Standing up on the pedals regularly helps. Some of the Sufferfest videos get you standing up.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your training. I've lost 21kg since I started cycling again a couple of years ago.

thanks for dropping by.

Great to know that your still exercising at 52. I have also lost 3 times after i have started to do this anaerobic things, i guess it is water loss associated with glycogen loss. Happy new year to you. Ride on!

27/12/2013 was a rest day

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29/12/2013
resumed my training on trainer despite my bad mood because of my job
avg heart rate decreased 3 bpm at 151 bpm
avg cadence increased 1 rpm at 106 rpm
cannot sit more than 35 minutes because of saddle discomfort.
need to think of a way out for this.

For the saddle issue, i think if i cant sit on it for more than 35 minutes, later i will do 2 set of 35 minutes with a 15 minutes break to rest my butt. As to the intensity, i think i will increase the resistance trainer when my heartbeat goes down to 140 and rpm reaches 110.

Hope it will work.