kfl@hoxna.UUCP (Kenton Lee) (02/28/85)
xxx I think that one of the main problems biking for exercise is that loafing is too easy, whether you're on the road or on a trainer. One solution is to get a heart rate monitor and make sure you do some work. Ask you doctor what a reasonable max. pulse would be (it varies with age and physical condition) and do some sort of intervals with you max. pulse as the "on" goad. -- Kenton Lee Bell Labs - WB ihnp4!wbscc!kfl or ihnp4!hoxna!kfl
wew@mgweed.UUCP (Ed Weiss) (03/01/85)
I enjoyed reading about Becky Bates' early year ride. REALLY, 52 DEGREES!! Becky, the wind trainer should have been used during the past months.. Now is the time for LSD (Long Steady Distance) riding in the great outdoors on the road! The Cateye is a great device for training, either on the road or on the wind trainer. If you get one, be sure to get the rear wheel pickup for use on the wind trainer. Watching your speed, elapsed time, and max speed can be real training aids. Try not to let your speed drop below a certain point on a 5 or 10 mile stretch. Keep it at given speed on a hill climb. Try to do a circuit every day and cut down on the time it takes. (A log book of total miles each day,elapsed time on a circuit, max MPH, etc.is a must). Try also to do some Sprints on your daily rides..how fast can you be going by the time you pass a light pole, a mailbox, a driveway. I find little games like these either on the windtrainer(I use rollers) or on the road, create little milestones for more challange and also provide great satisfaction when you find after a ride that you beat one of your old "records" Happy biking and good luck on the Wine and Cheese Races!! Ed Weiss
kenf@tekigm.UUCP (Ken Ferschweiler) (03/04/85)
In article <468@hoxna.UUCP> kfl@hoxna.UUCP (Kenton Lee) writes: >One solution is to get a heart rate monitor and make sure you do >some work. Ask you doctor what a reasonable max. pulse would be >(it varies with age and physical condition) and do some sort of >intervals with you max. pulse as the "on" goad. The monitor is a good idea, as is the doctor, but I would strongly recommend against riding intervals at the start of one's spring training. Going all-out at your maximum heart rate before you have built up a good aerobic milage base is an open invitation to injury. (This applies to running as well.) To get going in the spring, most bikers like to spin; that is, keep your pedal cadence at above 80 and keep your heart rate at 65-85% of maximum. This keeps you from injuring your knees by pushing too big a gear before you've worked up to it. Personally, I don't think 80 rpm is really fast enough for this sort of work; racers often spin at 120-150, but most of the books say >80. Covert Bailey's "Fit or Fat" has a good guide to figuring out what your aerobic heart rate should be. Ken Ferschweiler ...tektronix!tekigm!kenf
szepesi@fluke.UUCP (Les Szepesi) (03/04/85)
I don't think there has been anything misleading said concerning training,
but there is one thing I'd like to point out. Only doing one kind of riding
(i.e. LSD) isn't the optimal way of training. LSD (Long Steady Distance),
for instance, builds up aerobic fitness and endurance, but is terrible for
speed. On the other hand, trackies who concentrate on Kilo's and sprints
aren't (necessarily) so hot when it comes to endurance.
There has been mention of including sprints within LSD rides, but there are
a few comments I would like to make:
o The "sprints" should actually be intervals, where maximal heart rate is
attained and held, followed by a relaxation to normal heart rate. The
important part is the recovery, since you should be working anaerobically
during the interval. These should be done in sets, with the relaxation
time decreasing over a period of weeks. Our club does interval work on
the track, usually 4 sets of four hard laps (1km) followed by four easy
laps. The number of easy laps decreases by one every two sessions, until
it is down to one lap. Then we start over with more sets. (Try 6 4x1's
sometime!!!) The hard laps should be done at absolutely 100% effort.
This is difficult to achieve alone, so we do the exercise as a pursuit,
with four people. This forces you to keep up. There is no reason this
could not be done on the road, assuming you have a good place to do it
away from traffic.
o *Never* do anaerobic training two days in a row. Days of aerobic training
(LSD) should be alternated with days of anaerobic training (intervals).
o Always "time trialing", which is essentially what riding a loop every day
for time is, will get you into shape, but not do anything for your "jump",
that is, the ability to accelerate quickly. Also, I have heard that this
brings you to a peak quickly, but that the peak isn't as high as what
can be accomplished mixing anaerobic and aerobic training.
o Sprint work is usually done the same day as interval training, but
concentration is usually on the "jump", strategy, and a technique
I'm not at liberty to reveal.
I haven't justified any of this. For that and more details, refer to the
book "Cycling for Sport" by Mike Kolin. Kolin has coached numerous district and
national champions, with his most illustrious pupil being Rebecca Twigg before
she moved on to 7-11 and Eddy B. (He also has a new prodigy coming along,
Renee Duprel, who has just joined the National Team...)
I recommend getting a hold of this book, rather than going on just my crude
summary...Good luck!
ps - (It also has a recommended method of calculating max heart rate.)seb@ahutb.UUCP (s.e.badian) (03/08/85)
REFERENCES: <141@cylixd.UUCP> <468@hoxna.UUCP>, <288@tekigm.UUCP> Where does one find a heart rate monitor? It's very difficult to take your own pulse while running or riding a bicycle and I'd like to monitor my heart rate with some degree of accuracy. The only monitors I can find are attached to blood pressure gauges. Not very convienant or cheap. Thanks for any info! Sharon Badian