JohnKScott

Hi guys. I've been thinking (dangerous I know) of a change up in training for a while. I'm curious what you think.

I believe that due to being a fatty and lazy for 20 years and then losing almost 100 lbs almost exclusively on aerobic exercise I have not done my general and athletic health any favors. I have a plan. I read "You Are Your Own Gym" https://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Your-O.../dp/0345528581 and was intrigued. I am convinced (even before reading this book) that if I become a better rounded athlete overall (ex. stronger core, better muscle balance and better flexibility) that I will be healthier over all and eventually faster on the bike and able to enjoy it longer.

So here is my plan. I am going to use this body weight training and follow the programs. These seem very appropriate for my lack of strength and flexibility in much of my body and I can continue to work my way up in difficulty. They also have an aerobic aspect to them sort of like circuit training. That's about 4 days a week for 40 minutes or so. I also am going to add running to my regimen a couple times a week for 30 minutes or so slowly adding distance or speed as it is effective use of time to get a reasonable aerobic workout and can fit my schedule better than cycling. Especially during my daughter's basketball season. And running in the cold is not as unpleasant . Then I will do one 2 hour bike session on the weekend (likely Z2-3) either outside or on the trainer so I don't totally forget how to stay on a bike longer than a cat 4 crit. I will optionally add one one hour bike workout to do something maybe a little more intense or technique or something like that. I intend to do this as kind of an extended base period as I usually don't do early season races. Of course, as race season gets closer I will swap out in favor of more bike time vs running and start increasing intensity accordingly.

My over all goal is just to be plain more fit over all and maintain a healthy amount of lean muscle mass. Secondarily, I would like to try to translate some of that to become faster as well. I value your opinions. Just curious what y'all thought.

Yeah...I'm gonna have to eat a little better too.

zandoval 

Wow - This sounds like a life changer... Just don't get worn out...

hammy56

my $.02-

"unorthodox" or not, if youre convinced by your methods, and thus motivated to exercise it will pay off for you, especially if it makes you feel good/better /more comfortable on the bike. I think too many people get caught up in thinking the need to stick to certain 'training plans' when, as we all know, many different things work for many different folks...go for it and see what results it brings.

carpediemracing 

Frankly I think that any kind of normal overall body fitness benefits a bike racer. This may not apply to the pros or the climbing waifs but for normal folk (like me anyway) I try not to lose too much overall body fitness. I used to be waif-like but age changed that

I found that lifting didn't really benefit me other than strengthening my core/back. So, okay, yes, I could ride my bike further and train more and such, but it hasn't necessarily made me "faster". My sprint speeds have declined steadily for about 15 years while I've gotten significantly more powerful off the bike - in 1999, the end of my waif like physique, I struggled to bench 100 lbs, now 160 lbs is kind of normal and 200 lbs is a struggle. 1999 I was still in the 150s, in 2000 I was in the 160s.

caloso

I agree with CDR that unless you're a hillclimb TT specialist, all-over fitness is good for a bike racer. And, FWIW, I just started Week 3 of the First Class program.

merlinextraligh

Stretching, core, resistence training are all good, but it's questionable if it will make you much faster. But as long as its not time of the bike, it definitely won't hurt.

The running bit is where you loose me. Running off season will help with bone density, weight control, and general aerobic fitness, but its not a substitute for cycling.

As you get closer to your season, I'd DC the running.

rkwaki

"HULK SMASH"...

Makes me faster...

Fat Boy

So that makes you, me and someone else on this forum who has that YAYOG book. I've found it to be good in general, but I don't agree with some of the guy's philosophies. He seems to think that strength and cardio fitness are interchangeable. They're not. They do compliment each other, but they're different beasts.

I've found the strength training to be good while I'm traveling with work and short on time/bikes. It also got me pointed in the direction of more work with weights, which has been a good thing. I think the core and leg work is definitely an advantage. The training plan in the book hits arms too much for one of us. I've swapped the 2 'arm' days and 1 'leg' day a week to make it more applicable. The core work is good. I'll do a planks at the end of almost every workout. The core strength really shows up as stability on the bike when you're pushing a big gear. Does it make you faster? Hell, I don't know. I think it probably makes you more efficient, so that has to be an advantage.

Don't completely stop riding. That will hurt you in the spring. Try to keep your 'work time' the same as it's been. If you follow the YAYOG training plan, then you'll only be spending 3-5 hours a week working out. You should be able to get on a trainer for another couple hours a week. Even if you're just doing zone 2 stuff it'll help with weight gain and cardio over the winter.

That's my thoughts.

JohnKScott

Yeah thanks. I intend to observe proper "rest" periods during all of this. It will probably take a little trial and error since this is not the type of training I am used to.

JohnKScott

Thank you sir. Those are my thoughts. Also, since I so far have not really proven to myself to be especially physically gifted toward bike racing it seems I can go from an fairly untrained FTP (for me) of about 200 to about the highest I've gotten (about 230) relatively quickly. And it seems that that 225-230 range will at least keep me in a 30 minute cat 4 crit without being pulled . So no huge penalty for me to take a few months and do something else as long as I'm pushing myself physically one way or another.

JohnKScott

Agreed. Especially since I feel that I'm below average in core strength and general fitness. This certainly isn't going to hurt my anemic sprint power. Also my 12 year old daughter thinks she can kick my arse in chin ups. So I need to nip that one in the bud right now

JohnKScott

Awesome! Go get 'em. I'm going to take the test to see where I should start. I am not confident that I will make the First Class I ordered a chin up bar to hang low in the door frame to make the let me ins and let me ups a bit more convenient. I'm afraid of ripping the door off the hinges using the door nobs

I'll be watching you in the training thread to see how you are progressing. I'm interested to see how this goes for me. I dislike strength training and I'm hoping that this program along with the Android app helps keep me interested and motivated long enough until it becomes more like second nature.

JohnKScott

Yeah. I intend to do less running and more cycling as the spring approaches. I have found, however, that the running seems to be doing wonders for my breathing. I was having (and still am to a lesser degree) lung and chest pain and tightness It seems since I started running this has improved and the cycling tends to feel easier. I am going to be careful to not over do it though. I would like to keep my knees healthy as well.

JohnKScott

Interestingly, many of the exercises in this program seem to do similar things to the program I saw that you posted up a few days ago. Maybe not quite as advanced in the beginning levels (which is probably good for me as I feel weak in the core and upper body). But many of the concepts are similar. I found that interesting. Maybe you should write a book?

JohnKScott

Thanks all of you. I appreciate the feedback.

I agree with you FB. Mr. Lauren hints in the book that if you are training for endurance events you will need to target training toward that but it really is just glossed over as he talks about excess aerobic exercise eating away muscle which leaves an endurance athlete on their own to try to piece together something that works. That's why, as you suggest I am keeping 2-3 hours of on bike workouts a week (more as race season gets closer). Then hopefully keep doing some maintenance level YAYOG stuff during the season to stay strong (general wisdom is that us old guys are supposed to keep some strength training in the menu anyway).

I do think that for the general populace not training for something specific, his methodology would be quite sufficient. That said, I guess for a few months I want to worry more about general health, fitness, flexibility and body composition than being fast. I really don't care if I win any cat 4 races next year. I believe that (as long as I stay healthy this year) since I probably won't start racing until May, that if I start a late base and target peaking in about July I can probably hang out and have some fun in the field all summer. Which incidentally is no better or worse than I have done in the past .

Racer Ex 

It would certainly help you to your primary goal. Will it make you faster on the bike as a stand alone? That would depend on your starting point. Where you're at now...probably not much as a stand alone program.

TMonk

I think that, over a sufficiently long time period, it will make you faster.

The key is to establish that basic fitness and health long before you even start base training, and then to do minimal maintenance work continuously afterward while focusing on the bike. If you feel like you are lacking in basic things like muscle balance, core strength and flexibility, get those established. It may take a while for you to feel healthy and balanced. Perhaps look at this coming year as a general fitness/bike year and maybe next winter focus on spending all available time on the bike with only sprinklings of maintenance off the bike workouts here and there.

mattm

I think that to get better at riding bikes, you should ride bikes. A lot.

Which is not to say weights are bad - just saying I wouldn't focus on them to get better at bicycle riding.