# is a training program important?



## cobra6696 (Aug 22, 2012)

ive been training for over a year now on MTB but im getting more and more into the RB scene.. loving it..

im just basicly mixing it up... i do long endurance rides, hill climb repeats, threshold training 3x20 and mix it up in the weekend but its not a fixed schedule sometime i do hill repeats on mondays and sometimes i do it on Wednesday sometime threshold on monday or tuesday depends how i feel like it.. becuase i dont have a training shedule.. but i do those 3 every week just not fixed on a day i mix it up..

can any one help me modify it and fine tune it?? and explain what im doing wrong and what is good??
this is a workout i kind of got on the internet and mix it up... 


*Monday * 
_*Form *_
Ability: Form 
Goal: Improve your on-the bike technique so that all fitness gains result in moving the bike more quickly down the 
road rather than being wasted effort. Develop even breathing, relaxed muscles, a fast, easy spin that accesses all 
muscle groups and generates power all the way around the pedal stroke. 
Method: Spend time on the bike focusing on your body’s movement and on relaxation. 
Test: What is your maximum cadence? How long can you hold it for? Are you the fastest spinner on your group 
rides? Can you feel yourself applying power all the way around the pedal stroke? Other than how quickly you 
can spin, this is a subjectively measured ability. 
Sample 
workouts: 
• On any indoor or outdoor ride, think of your pedal stroke as a clock face, and focus on applying power 
through each quadrant of the pedal stroke with each leg: 2-4 o’clock (down); 5-7 (back); 8-10 (up); and 11-1 
(over the top). Pay particular attention to back and over the top. 2 minutes per quadrant. 
• Ride up hills seated and in a bigger gear / lower cadence than usual, so that you can focus on the application 
of power throughout each pedal stroke. 
• On any ride, focus on keeping your face, arms, torso and legs relaxed throughout (say “Relax!” to yourself 
midway up each hill, periodically shake your arms, yawn, etc.). Focus on breathing in your belly rather than 
in your chest. 
• Pedal one legged on the road or on a trainer: increasing interval of time spent exercising each side from 1 
minute to 5 minutes or more. Concentrate on smoothing out the transitions at the bottom and top of each 
pedal stroke and applying force evenly throughout each pedal stroke. 
• Ride rollers for 20-30 minutes, focusing on a relaxed, high cadence by working on one of these exercises. 
• Ride group rides in a smaller gear / at a higher cadence than the rider in front of you to focus on increasing 
your cadence. 
• Do spin-ups on a trainer, on rollers or on the road: increase your cadence over 15 seconds to your 
maximum, and hold it there for 15 seconds. Focus on relaxing your torso, arms and legs, maintaining even 
breathing, and avoiding having your hips bounce. If your form starts to deteriorate, reduce cadence slowly 
until you regain control. 
• Ride a fixed gear to focus on pushing a big gear up hills and on spinning at a high cadence on downhills and 
flats. 
Comments: Any energy not applied perpendicularly to the cranks is wasted energy, so conserve! Good pedaling habits 
developed as a novice and maintained will serve you well as you get better. Bad pedaling habits will take a lot 
of time and effort to undo and will prevent you from fully enjoying the results of your training. 

*TuersDay* 
*Strength *
Goal: Develop your body’s ability to perform in the most demanding race conditions, such as steep climbs and 
finishing sprints. 
Method: Train maximum strength and overall strength in the weight room, while maintaining flexibility and suppleness 
with stretching and spinning on the bike. 
Translate weight room strength gains onto the bike by riding hills and doing sprint workouts. 

• Ride a hard hill 
• Hill repeats, seated or standing, accelerating over the top. 
Comments: • On the bike strength is a big separator of stronger and weaker riders. strength gains from off-season weight 
workouts are one of the quickest ways to improve your racing results. 
• There is no such thing as a free lunch however. Here, those gains come with the risk of increased injury and 
overtraining. So use proper technique, listen to your body and be careful! 
• To maximize the translatability of your strength gains, mimic your on-the-bike form when weight-lifting: 
e.g. feet the same distance apart as on your pedals, hands the same distance apart as on your handlebars. 
• Strength work should always be accompanied with working on form (on alternate days) and stretching 
(during and after strength work). Both of these will ensure that getting stronger doesn’t lead to getting 
tighter or losing your muscles’ cycling flexibility. 


*Wednesday* 
[*I]recovery[/I]*
Start out easy. Once you're at a nice, relaxed pace, take your speed down another notch. You can't go too easy, but it's easy to go too hard. Think of it as taking the bike for a walk: You shouldn't be working any harder than you would during a stroll to the coffee shop. Your power output should be 30 to 50 percent of your maximum sustainable power output, and your heart rate should not go above 70 percent of your maximum sustainable heart rate. Keep your cadence at about 90 rpm—at low speeds and in low gears, this will seem brisk—and ride for 30 to 60 minutes. A power-meter graph from a recovery ride should show a low and relatively consistent power output, a relatively high cadence and little else.





*tuesday *
_Threshold:_
Example Workouts:

Sweet Spot: 3 x 15 min ON 10 min OFF - excellent for building aerobic endurance

OR

Zone 4/ Threshold: 2 x 20 min ON (FULL GAS) 5 min OFF - specific for time trialing or hill climbing


*sunday *
*Endurance*

Ability: Basic bike endurance 
Goal: Be able to comfortably ride (at a brisk pace) distances longer than your longest race, so that when you’re at the 
start of a race, you’re thinking about whether your team is going to win, not whether you’re going to finish. 
Method: Ride as much as possible prior to the beginning of the season. Increase the length of your weekend ride to 
approximately 120% of your longest race. 
Test: How do you feel at the end of the Saturday ride: could you do another hour if you had to? How do you feel 
when you get home: are you totally useless? How do you feel the next day: could you ride the same distance 
again? If you can’t answer “Yes” to these questions, add an extra endurance workout during the week 
Sample 
workouts: 

• Steady workouts on a trainer, rollers or other cardiovascular machines. 
Comments: Over the weeks, gradually increase the mileage of your long ride. Take care to bring sufficient food and water. 
Use these long rides as an opportunity to 
• Practice form and technique. 
• Get to know teammates better. 
• Push yourself by riding with people who tend to be faster or more experienced than you. 
• Recover and help other teammates by riding with people who tend to be slower or less experienced than you, 
or who don’t know the loops. 
• Just enjoy the great outdoors.






...

This is just what i made to Fit my Lifestyle Work schedule School stuff Etc... is it a good one? or is it completely crap? am wasting my time?? ive been doing it for 3 weeks now.. still adjusting here and there


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## LatvianRider (Sep 14, 2008)

All that you wrote is good and applicable in certain situations and with certain goals. The key point is Goals. What are your goals, depending on those, your work on the bike will shift. Having a coach is the best way to move forward as it allows you to have someone manage your schedule depending on what life throws at you. At least get a 6 month plan to work off of if you don't want to pay someone monthly. PM me if you want to discuss further.


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## kamikazeDad (Sep 14, 2012)

Mix it up is the key. You have a decent schedule for a week there, but just like you have peaks and valleys during your week, you need that during the season and year as well. I would say your schedule is something I would see in the early build of my season - so now mix it up again.

1) Off season ... totally different easy and random - usually the fall unless you are a cross racer.
2) Base... usually winter focus more on long and steady
3) Build ... usually spring ... killing your self softly for the racing to come up - you can figure this out on the internet.
4) Season ... the hardest to train for and the easiest time to be over trained or just off. This is where a coach and/or good training partner is needed to help get you off and on the bike at the right time.


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## gordy748 (Feb 11, 2007)

No, a training program is not important. It is VITAL if you want to go faster.

No, your training program won't work. Great ideas, and fabulous sessions, but you will need to put them together into longer training cycles in order for them to be effective.

My 2 cents (based on previous plans for rowing and on what I have just done the past 2 weeks).
1) Follow LatvianRider's advice and set yourself goals. And objectives. Goals are amorphous things you'd like to do, like be a faster sprinter or climber, or being able to cycle further in a day. Objectives are the articulation of those goals. For me, I want to be a better climber, so I have the objective of climbing Zoo Hill in Seattle 9 times through my Base training phase.

2) Set targets. What is the point of your training? Do you want to win a state title, or just crack 10 hours for a century? Without a target, it's impossible to aim, and so impossible to stay focused. I have specific targets for 3 rides next year already, 1 in February and 2 through the summer.

3) Set macro phases (aka periodization). You need to focus on establishing a base, then building on that. Most people work on endurance initially over a 9 - 12 week winter base phase, before switching to strength and power based workouts in the spring. I'm actually reversing that, so starting with strength and power phases before changing to Endurance in the spring. My reverse-periodization plan is because I am planning to do centuries over the summer, and don't need the ability to change pace that I would if I were racing.

4) Set micro phases. Each macro phase should have 3 - 4 micro phases, each lasting 3 - 5 weeks. The last week of each micro phase should be a very light test week that you can use to measure your progress. The micro phases should be incrementally harder or longer, so for Micro phase 1 you cycle 10 hours a week, for 2 it's 11 hours, for 3 it's 12 hours. But the most important part is the last week; always rest up.

At the very least, get a good training book. I recommend Friel's Cylcing Training Bible, there are other great ones out there too. I'd also echo kamikazeDad's recommendation for a good training partner or coach; they will really help to keep you focused and on track through the year.

Good luck! And God speed...


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## onefascruzan (Dec 28, 2006)

OMG .... Just realized why I lost my spunk! No goals!! I just moved to the states and don't know anyone or any races close by so my training got very stale. I need to set up a 2013 season and hit some venues. Battenkill looks fun/challenging. Mt. Washington too. I was hoping to race some CX but don't have a bike (yet)!


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

onefascruzan said:


> OMG .... Just realized why I lost my spunk! No goals!! I just moved to the states and don't know anyone or any races close by so my training got very stale. I need to set up a 2013 season and hit some venues. Battenkill looks fun/challenging. Mt. Washington too. I was hoping to race some CX but don't have a bike (yet)!


Good for you, that's a big lesson... especially with winter setting in... It's important to have a reason to train hard and eat right, when your friends are on the couch or out drinking.


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## nOOky (Mar 20, 2009)

A training program is good, a training goal is very important. Training for a cross race is much different than training for a century.
Gordy748's post is very informative. The only thing I can add from experience is that your program and goals can get derailed quickly due to injury, illness, over training, etc. you have to continually adjust and refocus else you subject yourself to further injury or set backs.
If you are training beyond your level and are getting so tired you despise the bike, can't complete your intervals, and aren't recovering from soreness then you need to adjust. By the same token if you aren't improving you might not be going hard enough. The ability to know what is going on over time and change accordingly is what you hopefully learn yourself.
Of course this doesn't matter if you just go out and ride to ride and have no goals. Set yourself a goal, otherwise what are you training for, then it's just riding.


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