How to get faster

ric_stern/RST

Sprinting power is increased with weight training when hypertrophy occurs, there's little discussion about that. However, that increase in power would occur and likely cause a decrease in endurance performance (anything over about 90-secs) due to a decrease in mitochondrial and capillary density, decreasing O2 transit, and an increase in mass. Sprint power is also increased with (bike) sprinting, which wouldn't lead to a decrease in endurance cycling performance.

Just because he coaches people doesn't mean he's correct. The peer reviewed evidence, and looking at first principles shows that weight training is unlikely to be beneficial and/or possibly disadvantageous in trained cyclists who race for more than ~90-secs.

Ric

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lyotard

thx for the prompt response. so this is what a team mate, district champ track 'n crit guy, meant when he told me re muscle mass
"you gotta oxygenate that Sh*^"

what is the claim of decreased capillary based on? would not this vary across diff riders, esp considering the variety of cell to fiber to capillary densities found in different riders in various states of conditioning?

i know, i may sound presumptuous to broach this, just been a big fan of what i see as the
long lasting
effects of being able to have my way in road sprint conditions, as a result of lifting.

ric_stern/RST

there's lots of discussion on this in the http://www.cyclingforums.com/f49-cycling-training.html forum

yes, it varies, which is why i said that trained riders it will likely happen and conversely untrained riders will possibly get an increase. as muscle cross sectional area increases there's a relative decrease in capillary density as it stays the same or increases at a slower rate than the cross sectional area. this leads to a relative decrease, and a greater diffusion distance for the O2 leaving the capillaries.

ric

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lyotard

what, please, is your view on the benefit of quad-specific lifting for the
kilo-mode rider?
the classic efforts by Rory O'Reily were fueled by years of lifting, and his record stood a while.
the kilo is a bit longer than 90 sec at this level, and seems a deciding factor in many race defining efforts.
Thanks again for your input.

ric_stern/RST

not sure who Ro'R is?

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lyotard

oops, the kilo is shorter than i realized at Rory's level.
a former usa nat'l and olympian, he set the World and USA Kilo at one min. and a little change. stood for about ten years. in '98 he did a 1:14 kilo as a 40-44 age group. still held onto a USA record in '99,
a sub-29 sec 500m set in the 35+ age group.
he was known for squatting. 500 lb.

anyway on the subject of kilo specific weight lifting, would it not make sense to train with quad specific weight training for road since the kilo is such a crucial element in terms of practical use in making breaks, lappin the field, positioning when it counts, and final sprint performance?

i know when one is in kilo-mode the above factors are contested effectively.

ric_stern/RST

the kilo as an actual event bears no resemblance to a RR or endurance event. if it did, riders like Chris Hoy would win the TdF, or do well at it, which of course they don't.

Just because you may have to ride hard for a kilometre in a RR doesn't make a kilo TT specific training suitable for RRing. more details and lack of an effect of strength/weights on endurance performance can be seen here http://www.cyclingforums.com/t12613...rove-power.html
and http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?id=strengthstern

ric

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Chipotle

"Ride lots" Eddy Merckx

Wanna get faster and you don't think you have time to train? Commute to work - as fast as you can.
I have a friend who does this. He is a retail manager and he finds a way to manage the hygene issue. Anyway, the friend is wicked fast on a mountain bike. I have another friend who also commutes ( architect - no excuses about nice clothes and appts, please). He mearly rides at a comfortable pace. Guess which one is 100 time faster?

Archibald

Christine,

to increase your speed round the track/along the trail you'll need to know one thing: Speed = economy of motion.

to illustrate my point, there was mtb skills clinic done locally here about 2 weeks ago.
the promise by the instructor was that he'd improve eveyone's time over a 1km course by at least 10 seconds by the end of the day.
sure enough, by the end of the day people did the course far better than 10 seconds better than their original time.
a week later, in the following mtb xc race one of the course goers slaughtered his race times by a couple of minutes.

if you can find a clinic or skills coach, or some other riders to help you with your technique then go for it. this will be your biggest help to yourself as a newbie to increase your speed.
"smooth is fast"
endurance will come later as you ride more...

e0richt

one way is to build up some base milieage (which seems ok for you because of the spin classes). then from there you want to do some intervals where you try to go much faster for shorter intervals... you might also want to add some weight training such as the leg press, leg curl, and calf raise. A stronger muscle is a faster muscle... (thats why sprinters do weight training...)

ric_stern/RST

apart from sprinting, stronger isn't faster (i.e., for the majority of a race). it's also likely to be detrimental. please see the threads in the cycle training forum.

Ric

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li0scc0

Ric,
I don't understand. If I can currently do, say, XXX Watts for 30 minutes, and in three months I can do XXX+20 Watts for 30 minutes, wouldn't I be faster by getting stronger?

e0richt

I agree with you.
In order for you to go faster on a bike, you have to try to go faster on a bike.
so practice is your best bet in order to build that "efficiency" needed in terms of cadence, cycling skills and muscle necessary to go fast... however, once that is acheived, a stronger muscle will last longer anaerobically than a weaker muscle... Also you must lift a certain way to build the muscle strength without building alot of bulk (which would tend to slow you down...)

also remember, I am not a coach or anything, but I remember that olympic sprinters training regimens included weight training... I would think that whats good for a sprinter is good for a sprinter type of cyclist as well.

ric_stern/RST

you'd be 'faster' (technically, more sustainable power) because your aerobic system has gotten fitter. It's unlikely you've gotten stronger - and in fact may have gotten weaker (aerobic machinery replaces contractile proteins).

if you think about it in basic terms, how many weight lifters do you know who could beat cyclists in an endurance (>90-secs) race? Likewise, i've yet to see the very strong cyclists such as Sean Eadie, Jason Queally, etc, win any stages of the Tour de France.

ric

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