Getting to Cat 1 with 8 hours/week?
09-10-18, 08:16 AM
#176
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Redlands, CA
Posts: 6,313
Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 842 Post(s)
Liked 469 Times
in
250 Posts
I've never used trainingpeaks so I'm not sure what that would entail.
For someone going at it on their own, I think WKO4 is a pretty good tool. That along with the WKO4 facebook group and slowtwitch helped me to do some good analysis and figure out a few things that benefited me enormously in specific racing fitness. It took a lot of toying with, and a lot of video watching and reading and research and some time going back over data (which a newer rider wouldn't likely have), but the benefits were really significant. And those are things other people may figure out on their own, or be good at naturally, but I still hadn't figured it out after four or five seasons as a 1, so it made a difference to me.
And with that said, that's not going to be totally applicable to someone with only a year or two of riding, but if you can have an ongoing analysis and a year-end review, and really start digging into your racing and what it is that holds you back, and what you did when you were successful; that type of stuff can be a big boon when you get to a point where the really talented people start beating up on you (have I mentioned I beat the recently crowned pro national rr champion in a crit this summer... ;D).
For someone going at it on their own, I think WKO4 is a pretty good tool. That along with the WKO4 facebook group and slowtwitch helped me to do some good analysis and figure out a few things that benefited me enormously in specific racing fitness. It took a lot of toying with, and a lot of video watching and reading and research and some time going back over data (which a newer rider wouldn't likely have), but the benefits were really significant. And those are things other people may figure out on their own, or be good at naturally, but I still hadn't figured it out after four or five seasons as a 1, so it made a difference to me.
And with that said, that's not going to be totally applicable to someone with only a year or two of riding, but if you can have an ongoing analysis and a year-end review, and really start digging into your racing and what it is that holds you back, and what you did when you were successful; that type of stuff can be a big boon when you get to a point where the really talented people start beating up on you (have I mentioned I beat the recently crowned pro national rr champion in a crit this summer... ;D).
I think some people need coaches others don't. I enjoy the backend of researching training, etc and like making my own training plans. That being said I'm probably losing a few watts by not being coached as I tend to do too much in the mid-low range and not enough in the top end range.
@burnthesheep I used to think Zwift was dumb and silly but I'm a convert now. Smart trainers are more efficient than riding outdoors and with workouts and races in Zwift and TrainerRoad you can get a great workout in a short time. I'm not sure if its like real life, but the fake Alpe d' Huez is a legit workout, as are the races. Now that its winter and our HC climbs will be snowed / iced over, its one of the few options to get a great workout in. The flats around here just have too many stop lights / signs so workouts are very inefficient; same with group rides (although I think its important to ride in a pack to stay sharp).
Also since I hit a beer bottle at about 30 mph descending at night I'm a bit leery to train out in the dark. Held it up though, more luck than anything.
09-10-18, 08:33 PM
#177
commu*ist spy
Thread Starter
i had a kickr for a while. used it about a dozen times. It was miserable, so I sold it.
maybe I was setting the IF too high, and just got burnt out. But if done correctly, I can see the smart trainer being a huge help actually.. get training done, and listen to some useful podcast. almost makes me want to buy another kickr..
maybe I was setting the IF too high, and just got burnt out. But if done correctly, I can see the smart trainer being a huge help actually.. get training done, and listen to some useful podcast. almost makes me want to buy another kickr..
