Growing legs for cycling

[Road Demon]

Hi,

Let me know if you have any questions or need clarification...

I can also suggest some good websites also, I'll check out the CTS link.

Ric Stern also has a good arguement for not to do weight training. his response is on cyclingnews.com under the training article section.

j

 

[malliotjaune]

Why do you need to weigh more for track racing?

Cycling is all about power to weight ratio. So if you weigh 20lbs less than the next guy but you lay down the same power output, you'll go faster than him. simple.

Resistance work on a static bike will improve your jump and power output. Try to do intervals of 2 minutes at 50% output followed by 2 mins at 90% After about five of these you'll hardly be able to turn the pedals but thats where the gains are made. The reason track cyclists are usually bigger than us roadies is precisely this. They need a greater power output for the shorter efforts but "bigger legs" aint a goal in itself.

Oh and I used to be a semi-pro road rider in France in case you're wondering who the f uk i am to be dispensing this!

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Hey, I'll listen to anyone's advice. I just got into cycling thinking I'd just do distance riding like RAAM. I surprised myself when I realized that I can sustain pretty good speed (I can do MPH at approx 70-75% of my MHR).

I'm not planning to go pro BUT I do want to learn more about increasing my power output so I can show off next road season during the Minnesota Ironman in April. It's just 100 miles and I want to do it without worrying about bonking after the 70 mile mark but still not taking more that 5 or 6 or so hours including rest stops.

 

[malliotjaune]

Francisco.... A 100 mile road race is gonna take 4 hours? give or take a bit, I'm not sure what the terrain or weather is like over there!

You want to break your feeding down into 3 steps. Load up the night before with pasta/rice basically loads of complex carbs.

Before the race eat cereal with milk (this is really easy for the body to digest you should feel great on the line) then about an hour in (when your body has nearly used up all the glycogen stored in the muscles) eat a cheese sandwich, this takes slightly longer to break down as it is all fats and long chain carbs.

An hour later, eat a power-bar or some fruit. The sugars will keep you rolling and the cereal/fruit flesh will be being broken own at the same time. Finally, if you can, choke down a can of coke and some sweets with an hour/ 45 minutes left... you'll FLY to the finish.

Other than that remember to taper your training for a few weeks before a goal event. You're not gonna generate any more form in the 3 weeks before, only screw up what you worked hard to get!

Need any more help, drop me an e-mail.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Originally posted by malliotjaune
Francisco.... A 100 mile road race is gonna take 4 hours? give or take a bit, I'm not sure what the terrain or weather is like over there!

The thing is that it isn't really a race. It's basically a social ride. If it were a race, I could probably do it in under 5 hours depending on the terrain.

It's going to be 6000+ cyclist of varying abilities. The route isn't completely closed either. We will be riding through several small communities and contending with all the typical driving laws in regards to stop signs and traffic signals. PLUS I'm going to be a Ride Marshall where I keep the participants in check during the ride.

My longest so far has only been about 80 miles and I had a couple of rest stops. I'm 90-95% sure that I can do a century but not having done one yet, I am slightly concerned. I feel that I am strong enough and probably light enough (5'11 and 165-170lbs) but I just don't want to bonk 3/4 of the way through.

So my concern is not losing any of my gains of this season, not slacking off and piling on weight during the winter (last February I weighed 195lbs), and finally I want to gain some strength because I'm not a great climber. I do well over the first couple of hills or so but I occasionally expend so much energy and I have a longer recovery time. Basically I want to push the pizza platter and not the granny gear.

So, what do you guys think? The Ironman is the last week of April so I have plenty of time. I would like to put together a training schedule and possibly a diet to basically maintain my form into January or February and then start building up more power. Does that make sense or should I actually start building up sooner?

Thanks again for your help guys!

 

[malliotjaune]

Francisco... e mail me @ [email protected] and we'll sort something out, based around how much free time you have, your goals etc.



I'm not a coach but i was a rider at a high level and i'll do it all free because i love cycling and want to help people get good at it!

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

BUMP. Just curious if there are still any other cyclist in the forum.

 

[bbestar]

One tip:


ASK LANCE!!!