training tips

My guess is that this issue (training motivation) is a highly personal issue and that you'll have to find out for yourself what works for you. But, FWIW, here's how I have kept myself motivated. My first choice is to have a key race or fitness benchmark event coming up in the near future. This gives me a specific purpose for my training. If I don't have a key event coming up for a few months (e.g., in the middle of winter training), I "invent" challenges for myself such as increasing my 10-min max power by 5w or being able to spin at 150rpm for a certain number of seconds (something beyond my current capability). I'm not a good one to advise you on when you "need" to take a day off for physiological recovery because I have never taken a day off after a hard effort (although I take a day off or spin ~1 hr very easy before a hard effort). For example, I did my first century a couple of weeks ago and rode 50 miles the next day -- felt fine. Chances are that if you feel you "need" a day or two off that you should take it because otherwise you're turning cycling into an obligation instead of a voluntary, fun form of exercise.

malbs04 said:

hey all,
i have have been training very hard durning the past month or so and doing about 50 miles a day, 7 days a week whilst i am doing this amount of K's i am also juggling yr11 at school. i am finding it hard to keep motivated to keep training and i figured that maybe i should have this week off. I am just wondering what you guy thik is the problem and what i should do and any tips would be welcomed. many thanks

PS: Ivan Basso wins next tour $30 bet

Oh well, I'll have to disagree with RD! First, 50 x 7 = 350 miles/week which is a huge amount of miles (i.e. none of the cat3s I ride with puts in that much). And you mention yr11 at school - if you're an 11th grader, that makes you 17 years old? Huge miles for a junior suggests potential burn out. Here in the Northeast we are at the end of the racing season, so it would be a great time to take some time off the bike and do other things, just to recharge your love of cycling. Also, my coach would never let me ride 7 days a week, he insists on one rest day (and actually a 2nd easy day), so I have 5 real "work days" per week of training) - if anything he would be stricter with a junior (if that's what you are). Also, my yearly schedule almost always has 3 hard weeks followed by an easy week. The point made in many training books is that the real "muscle growth" (my words, probably technically incorrect) occurs during the rest period, not during the hard training (it is a compensating mechanism). So if you train hard all the time, you aren't leaving any time for the compensation to occur.

Agree with Palewin's comments. 350 miles a week is huge, particularly for a teenager. I know a few very senior Cat 1 racers and ultra-distance riders who do that kind of mileage, but they are certainly the exception.

I'll guess you're training on your own, without the guidance of a cycling coach. Most people training on their own do too much volume and too much intensity day-in and day-out. Without allowing time for the body to adapt and grow stronger, the result is a slowing or reversal of performance and burn-out.

Definately take a week off. Then, when you start riding again, I'd go for perhaps 4 times a week, but not more than 150 miles total. You can mix shorter rides of higher intensity together with one longer endurance ride each week, and have a couple of very easy recovery rides also. Idea is to do the minimum training that will allow your various energy systems to improve, not to find your breaking point.

palewin and dhk, I have to disagree, based on several years of personal experience. When I was in my late 20s and early 30s, I trained 60 mi/day x 5 days plus a race each weekend of 50-100 miles, average ~350 mi/wk. This was the schedule for not only myself but about a half dozen of the top racers in my state, from April to September. I don't think there is some magic number of miles at which one burns out. I think this is a psychological issue and not a physical issue. At his age, I have few doubts he can handle the mileage physically, the issue is whether he "feels" like he needs a break.

Just because a person can ride 350 miles a week for seven days a week doesn't mean they should ride that much. Ahhhhh, the folly of youth. At this point nobody even knows what kind of event he's training for or has in mind. Double centuries or perhaps 25k Time Trials?

It certainly is amazing though how the young can recover so quickly. I sure could use a dash of that.

hey all i want to be the best rider i can be i want to make my first national Australian U19 team next year so i figured that if i train hard i might be able to get there. I am actually only 16yrs old an 17 at the end of next month, i have decided to have a week off with an exception to race day on saturday. My coach said to me i am at my strongest both mentally an physically when i am 18ys old so i suppose i have to look forward to, many thanks all and if u still have any hints or tips i would love them.
ps: i want a web coach so if any riders out there would like to make me a training program an help me out would love it imesally as at the moment i have no caoch cause he oved away... many thanks

malbs04 said:

...

My coach said to me i am at my strongest both mentally an physically when i am 18ys old so i suppose i have to look forward to...

The first thing I'd do is fire your coach. Lance Armstrong was a significantly better rider and more mentally diciplined at 33 than he was at 18. It takes years of hard work and dicipline to peak in cycling, otherwise all of the champs would be under 20 years old. They aren't. Your coach is stuck in the dark ages.

my coach is left that is why i am looking for someone on here to guide me and take me under there wing to help me out an become the best i can be any takers ???

malbs04 said:

my coach is left that is why i am looking for someone on here to guide me and take me under there wing to help me out an become the best i can be any takers ???

Your biggest problem is that you're young and impressionable, so you may not be able to work out which is good advice and which is not.

Do you just want someone to give you a program to follow, or would you like to also understand why certain things are recommended and others are not (such as not 'training hard' 7 days a week)?

Dr M posted this link in another thread: home.hia.noexphys.htmOpen ↗ which is well worth a read. There's a lot to read there. It doesn't matter if you don't take it all in, but it may help you to understand why certain things are important, like recovery and proper hydration & nutrition.

i want a program analso contact with the person via email and stuff sothat he can help me out so that i can become a more roundered rider. i really would like some one to help me cause i wanna make it in the big time.

RapDaddyo said:

....average ~350 mi/wk..... I don't think there is some magic number of miles at which one burns out. I think this is a psychological issue and not a physical issue.

For a 16yo? 😕
One thing you learn when you are in charge of a team, RD, is to never use your own self as an example to set everybody else's program🙂 Could be very missleading.

That being said, maybe 350 mi/wk is good for this kid. Who knows, It depends on the balance within the program, and most important, it depends on passed experience.

But kids with that level of passion usually don't think of taking a week off. And when they do, you gotta look at all the potential causes for that lack of motivation. Your assumption is a potential cause indeed. But overtraining is one also. Problem with school and this and that are also potential causes.

Bottom line, this guy should talk about it to his coach, or join an other club.🙂

malbs04 said:

....My coach said to me i am at my strongest both mentally an physically when i am 18ys old....

Hummm, not sure 😕. What a stupid thing to tell to a kid anyway. Relax man, you are just at the begining 😉