Originally Posted by
rms13
Thanks for all the advice. I'm riding a CAAD9 most of the time with 23s. I'm finishing tuning up the 1989 Centurion Ironman I bought and plan on training on that once a twice a week too for variety
I usually try to do sprints at the end of long rides. After all of my significant climbing is done and before cooling down. The last couple of rides I've also been staying in higher gears on climbs and getting out the saddle and mashing up the hills
I was a competitive distance runner for years and injuries finally got the better of me hence my change to cycling. After all of those years of training, the best way to improve your cycling (whether its running or cycling the benefits are the same) is by doing cycling intervals. And you need to do the intervals at a pace that challenges you. You can do a workout like 4 x half mile at 85-90% heart rate with a half mile rest (keep pedalling!...very important!). Another good workout would be do 8 x 1/4 mile at 95% effort. The combination of workouts like these will give you strength and explosiveness. Between intervals, during the rest it is important to keep pedaling. The part of interval workouts that some people don't understand is that you need to teach your body how to recover under stress and keeping your legs moving during the rest portion is vital to these workouts.
Interval workouts are the fastest way to improve but you need to have a solid base of long mileage over 3 or 4 months. In the off-season (winter), try to hit the weight room and work on your strength and plyometrics...plyometrics will
really help your explosiveness
Good riding....