seems like there are enough racers here for a discussion. just wondering how you guys train. do you try to plan workouts around numbers (hrm, power meter, cadence, etc…) or do you just go by feel/instincts?
i am borrowing a garmin forerunner from my brother, so i finally have a hrm for the first time. this is after starting to read a couple books i picked up for cheap at the thrift store (the lance/carmichael (sp?) book and the cyclist’s training bible). after this i think i want to just revert to my old ways b/c getting all scientific can take the fun out. plus i know there were some great riders who just train by feel (graeme obree, and i think dave zabriskie).
I think the Armstrong/Carmichael book blows! I have heard the Cyclist Training Bible is great, I actually bought it yesterday, but haven’t gotten that far in it yet.
The main thing about those books is just understanding what is happening when you are training, recovering, and fueling properly. Once you understand the principles, you can decide how much of it you want to do. You can say that there are people who “train by feel” but I bet hey have a reasonable knowledge of what is happening with their own training, Maybe they just aren’t focused on a “periodization schedule”
i don’t train for cycling
but i used to train for running
and i had normal routines/distances etc
but i never had a heart rate monitor
so i sort of trained by feel
i did have a watch and i knew pretty much
what a 730 pace felt like
and what a 630 pace felt like
i would adjust accordingly
i of course used a watch to be certain
but i listened to my body instead of relying on a HRM
[quote=“dooktruck”]i don’t train for cycling
but i used to train for running
and i had normal routines/distances etc
but i never had a heart rate monitor
so i sort of trained by feel
i did have a watch and i knew pretty much
what a 730 pace felt like
and what a 630 pace felt like
i would adjust accordingly
i of course used a watch to be certain
but i listened to my body instead of relying on a HRM[/quote]
are these rap lyrics or do you just like to hit enter a lot
[quote=“tjayk”] do you try to plan workouts around numbers (hrm, power meter, cadence, etc…) or do you just go by feel/instincts?
[/quote]
[quote=“dooktruck”]i don’t train for cycling
but i used to train for running
and [color=#FF0000]i had normal routines/distances etc[/color]
but i never had a heart rate monitor
so i sort of trained by feel
[color=#FF0000]i did have a watch and i knew pretty much
what a 730 pace felt like
and what a 630 pace felt like
i would adjust accordingly [/color]
i of course used a watch to be certain
but i listened to my body instead of relying on a HRM[/quote]
I would say you were planning workouts around numbers
sort of by feel
as far as timing miles
so for teh first mile its by feel
then you slow down or speed up
for teh next mile
and you try to stay at the same pace by feel
its not like having a HRM
theres no computer attached to my body to tell me cadence etc
i guess some people
can just got run or ride until theyre tired
to me that seems like a really bad way to train
you never achieve goals or rate progress
i think my plan is to use the hrm enough so i can get a gauge to determine effort by how i feel. then i can hopefully ditch the hrm and listen to my body with a better idea of effort than before the hrm.
Seriously though, I train “by feel.” I do intervals on the track and on the road, and I try to race up big hills (a form of interval training, I guess), but that’s basically the extent of it. I used to run, but I hate running because it’s boring and it hurts my knees. I really need to get a heart rate monitor, I’m waiting for one to pop up on Steep And Cheap again.
i think perceived exertion has always been enough for me. i tried an HRM for a while and found it was more a novelty than a training aid. like… go to bed with it on and see what your resting heart rate is when you get up. OH COOL~! 42BPM! LOOKOUT MIGUEL INDURAIN.
Perhaps i’d throw it on while sitting on the couch watching TV, trying to control my breathing and seeing how low i could get it to go. As for on the bike? I’d be totally shot at the top of a hill or after doing some big jump and see the number and go, yep… it’s beating fast. wow.
Structured training can be good if you don’t have a lot of time to train. if you can afford to be on the bike and allow yourself to ride by feel then it can work to just go out and listen to what your body says. just don’t fall into the trap of always riding as fast as you are able to on any given day…
i don’t have time to train - i figure there’s a difference between trying to get myself to do some hard efforts each time i ride, and “training” (per se), which involves a thought out schedule and plan.
but i do try to ride smart when i ride - which tends to be a lot considering that my commute is 20mi round trip and my sweetheart lives 15mi away from me. smart means putting in different types of efforts - fast and hard for several stretches on a ride; lately, a lot of midgear sprints at high rpm (using http://software.bareknucklebrigade.com/ … plet.htmlm this dealie to figure out target speeds and rpms in certain gears) - all i have is a speedometer, and that’s fine by me.
sometimes I do sprint repeats, but haven’t gotten around to it in a bit.
i think the trick is, if you don’t really want to get overwhelmed in data and training plans, is to just have a couple of goals to work for when you ride. make sure you’re riding smart, not lazy - that you’re doing things that are going to build you up. several months ago i hit a wall because I realized that riding to work, working on my bike, then riding home wasn’t doing me any good - i would just get tired, ride sloppy, and that was that. you can put in all the miles you want, there will be a limit to how much you develop.
i ride fast up hills on my tarckbike
i spin fast up them on my road bike
other than taht, how fast my training rides run
depend upon how many kitted out roadies on carbon bikes i feel like dropping that day.
it’s usually around 100.
[quote="(|)"]i ride fast up hills on my tarckbike
i spin fast up them on my road bike
other than taht, how fast my training rides run
depend upon how many kitted out roadies on carbon bikes i feel like dropping that day.
it’s usually around 100.[/quote]
my new training plan for cycling
drive to bar
drink a beer
get bike out of car
ten backward circles in teh parking
two wheelies
4 minute no handed tarckstand
drink a beer
2 over da bar skidz
2 minute one handed tarckstand
5 backward circles
drink a beer
put bike in car drive to teh next bar
repeat
[quote="(|)"]haha.
you forgot the bacward roll into a rear wheel spinny manuever.[/quote]
that was my monday workout
wednesday
drive to bar
drink a beer
get bike out of car
two jumping jacks
8 minute wheelie tarckstand
10 minute wheelie tarckstand arrospok grab
drink a beer
one jumping jack
45 180 skidz
13 whip skidz
backward roll into rear spinny manuever
drink a beer
eat some peanuts
put bike in car drive to teh next bar
repeat
