# Training with a full time job



## robmac (Dec 7, 2009)

I am new to working full time (9-5) as I recently graduated from college. How do you guys train and more specifically work in rides around your schedule and still race at a high level? I know a lot of people do it. I work in a lab so my job is pretty flexible. I have unlimited riding time on the weekends. How do you guys make it work?


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## bmxhacksaw (Mar 26, 2008)

Quality instead of quantity.


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## EDUC8-or (Jan 2, 2009)

bmxhacksaw said:


> Quality instead of quantity.


What he said. I rode less this year but had a stronger season than I did last year. I had a good plan and rode smarter this year.


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## ElvisMerckx (Oct 11, 2002)

Or you could commute by bike to and from work. I regularly get in 250miles a week and I can mix up the terrain, efforts, intervals, etc. Unfortunately, I've grown obsessive about commuting so I'm racing less -- because it interferes with my training. Go figure.


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## Hank Stamper (Sep 9, 2009)

Finding the time isn't a big problem. Having that time coincide with daylight and decent weather can be though. So depending where you live you might need a trainer to really keep up with any fairly serious routine.


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## Wookiebiker (Sep 5, 2005)

Either ride outside/trainer before work or after...focus on quality workouts (i.e intervals that are very hard) in the 1 - 1.5 hour range during the week.

On the weekends get in a good hard 3-4 hour ride one of those days and a 2.5 - 4 hour ride on the other.

I have multiple teammates that get up and ride their trainer at 5am before heading off to work. I usually ride after work and watch TV on my trainer during the witner months and head out for rides after work during the summer when we have more sun light and it's warmer (i.e. not raining).


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## stover (Apr 24, 2010)

robmac said:


> I am new to working full time (9-5) as I recently graduated from college. How do you guys train and more specifically work in rides around your schedule and still race at a high level? I know a lot of people do it. I work in a lab so my job is pretty flexible. I have unlimited riding time on the weekends. How do you guys make it work?


When in was racing mtb I would get up uber-early and ride the trails, the trainer or do a spinning class 3x-4x a week. At one point I was doing 40-50miles on the road before work. If you want to train hard you'll find a way and the time.


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## oroy38 (Apr 27, 2010)

Buy a Powermeter, Carmichael's Time Crunched Cyclist, and Coggan's Training and Racing With a Powermeter.

Apply concepts.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Given the hours, this is where a good trainer and rollers would come in handy. My 9-5 is more like 7-6. Regardless, I think you'll find that most of your local racers have a 9-5 and a family, so it can be done. 

A nice training plan, race DVDs and interval DVDs along with a good fan will help you get the job done.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*& hour schedule*



robmac said:


> I am new to working full time (9-5) as I recently graduated from college. How do you guys train and more specifically work in rides around your schedule and still race at a high level? I know a lot of people do it. I work in a lab so my job is pretty flexible. I have unlimited riding time on the weekends. How do you guys make it work?


From Basic Training for Roadies (www.roadbikerider.com/bt_excerpt.htm) by Fred Matheny: here's a 7 hours a week, weekly schedule that works for many riders:

Monday: Rest day with 15 minutes of resistance training.
Tuesday: Ride 1 hour with 3-8 sprints or other short, hard efforts.
Wednesday: Ride 1 hour at a steady, moderate pace.
Thursday: Ride 1 hour including about 20 minutes of any type of hard effort.
Friday: Rest day with 15 minutes of resistance training.
Saturday: Ride 1 hour at an easy pace.
Sunday: Ride 3 hours at a varied pace. Group rides or hilly courses are good choices.

Remember, intensity is one key to this program. If you could ride 200 to 400 miles per week, sheer volume would guarantee a high level of fitness. But you can't. If you have more hours you can expand the time each day.


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## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

I get up at 4:30 or 5am so I can get in a 2-3 hour ride before work. That also leaves time for breakfast, feeding the cats, making lunch, and a fairly long commute. Longer rides on weekends. Even with a silicon valley tech job I can get in about as much riding as I can handle. I've been riding 550-600 hours a year for the last five years.

If you want to do it, you'll arrange your life to make it happen. But something else (like social life or sleep) may suffer.


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## Alaska Mike (Sep 28, 2008)

If it's solo or small groups, morning rides if at all possible. The longer you wait in the day, the more chance life has to intrude and the easier it is to make excuses. If you know you're going to be up for riding the next day at 4:00AM, you're less likely to stay up late and lead an otherwise unhealthy lifestyle. You structure your life around getting good sleep and being properly fueled for your early rides, you start your day with an endorphin rush.

Just my 2 cents.


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## pmt (Aug 4, 2009)

We have a dedicated group ride each morning from 0530-0700, all year long, even in winter. Nothing maintains fitness like consistency.


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## DMH1721 (Aug 30, 2010)

deleted -- double post


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## DMH1721 (Aug 30, 2010)

I would concur with what everyone has said. I went from part-time job/full time racing to law school (where I had actually had lots of time to train) to a pretty demanding job.

I find it pretty easy to get in 1.5-2 hours a day on the weekdays (whether trainer or outside depending on the season) abd 6-9 hours on the weekends. That's about 12-15 hours/week.

Although about 5-10 hours less than I used to train, I think my training is much better now with lots of good quality. I have not raced in a while (5 years) due to an injury, I am going to race next year and I think this is plenty of training for master's racing. I don't forsee doing any p/1 races unless it's a crit, and very few master's road races are over 2.5 hours so I am not really worried about doing super high hour weeks. Of course, I have a pretty good base (about 5-7 years of training 20-25 hours/week) to start from.

Good luck! I don't have a family and my GF lives in CA right now (in grad school) so I don't have many other commitments, which makes it a bit easier for me. Ask me when I am married with kids and working 50+ hours a week and I might be singing a different tune 

ps: I used to train in the early AM as well and miss it, but found that my quality was better when I had a full day of food in my tummy.


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## Undecided (Apr 2, 2007)

DMH1721 said:


> Good luck! I don't have a family and my GF lives in CA right now (in grad school) so I don't have many other commitments, which makes it a bit easier for me. Ask me when I am married with kids and working 50+ hours a week and I might be singing a different tune
> 
> ps: I used to train in the early AM as well and miss it, but found that my quality was better when I had a full day of food in my tummy.


Time management is very important, and depending on your job, some flexibility and perseverance is also important (don't let yourself get thrown off your long-term schedule because of some short-term interruptions). 

Any transition can be a challenge, but absent other considerations not shared with us, I don't see how a 9-5 job (as in the OP) is a serious limiter. Depending on what kind of commute you have (and your weather, depending on your stomach for the trainer), getting in 90 minutes before work, longer sometimes, shouldn't be so hard (as in, I did it for years, although my "typical" day ended more like 7:30).


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

Weekends, commuting, mtb night rides, lunch rides (which are fantastic if you can stretch it to an hour and a half and make up the work in the evening), after work in the spring and, god forbid, the trainer.


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## numminummi (Oct 18, 2010)

EDUC8-or said:


> What he said. I rode less this year but had a stronger season than I did last year. I had a good plan and rode smarter this year.


..and what did you do?


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## aengbretson (Sep 17, 2009)

I'm also a recent college grad and I get an hour in the mornings, them bike to work (they have showers!). Now that it's getting darker after work I don't have time to ride then, but during the summer months I'll often do a second ride in the evening, often an interval workout. Weekend rides are usually comprised of a recovery ride Saturday and a long steady ride Sunday. Basically I've taken my training plan when I was a competitive runner and adapted it to cycling.


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## Doctor Who (Feb 22, 2005)

I do my weekday training on my commute Tues-Thursday, with my mornings dedicated to hard intervals and my ride home at a very easy pace. At the minimum, it's a 10 mile flat ride (Chicago). Saturdays and Sundays are dedicated to long rides with the team or racing. Monday and Friday I usually run 2-4 miles and do core workouts. Or nothing at all if I'm tired.

I usually get in 1.5-2 hours a day during the week and 2-5 hours a day during the weekend. 

I work 40 hours a week, have a girlfriend, a social life, and plenty of time to do other things. The secret is using commuting time to train. I carry my necessities in a small backpack, leave my dress clothes at work, and pack lightly. It's easy -- and lots of other racers in Chicago do as I do.


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## dgeesaman (Jun 9, 2010)

stover said:


> When in was racing mtb I would get up uber-early and ride the trails, the trainer or do a spinning class 3x-4x a week. At one point I was doing 40-50miles on the road before work. If you want to train hard you'll find a way and the time.


How early is uber-early?

David


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## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

Lots of good advice here. If your job is flexible in terms of hours try to schedule a couple of days per week that give you daylight riding time. I have a unique situation that requires me to work late 2 days per week, so I make that Wednesday/Thursday and these days are key to my training schedule in the winter as I can get outside in the daylight for 2-3 hour rides mid-week.

Another piece of advice, as an old guy who has raced at the P/1/2 level and worked a full-time job for many years now: set goals and choose races wisely. If I am training 12 hours per week, working full-time, and have any other commitments in life that is probably on the edge of what is reasonable in terms of time, training and recovery. As a result, I have to realize that I can be competitive in one-day races, maybe weekend stage races, but any stage race greater than 3 days at a high level (say P/1/2) is probably going to be a lousy experience. At 12 hours/wk it is just not enough training and recovery to have the kind of fitness to race a 5 day race with full-time guys.


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## stover (Apr 24, 2010)

dgeesaman said:


> How early is uber-early?
> 
> David


Anything before 10am


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## malanb (Oct 26, 2009)

u can wake up at 5 am like i do and go to bed early. 1 - 2.5 on work days longer on others


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