Breathing..

[TRDean]

Here is one for the experts...maybe this is common, but I don't know. Anyway, I ride with my son. He is 13 years old...when we do interval training together I am completely wasted at the end of the ride...by wasted I mean at the end of the interval my breathing is very labored. My son rides as hard as he can, but his breathing never gets labored. He says his legs start burning and that is what limits him..not his lungs. Is there any specific workout that can be done to improve in this area? We have gotten a book on weight training for cyclists...but I don't want too much of that since he is only 13 (going on 14). Any suggestions?? Thanks all!!

 

[MrContador]

Squats, squats and more squats would be my tips, but since you don't want your son to train with weights at such a young age, I would recommend an excersise where he pedals at a high gear with a low cadence. I'm not sure what it's called in English though, but it's great to build leg muscles!

 

[Nicoper]

Pedal at a high gear with a low cadence is like doing squats but more fun and tolerable. Tip, find a hill 4km long with a gradient of 4-6% and slowly grind your way to the top, but really slow 10km/h.
Great workout, I did it a lot as a junior while I was training.

 

[daviel]

Let him do that hill on a fixed gear with a high enough gear to make it hard.

 

[brianf7]

Keep doing what you are doing you are suposed to be out of puff after an interval he is young he recovers faster than you .

Soon he will leave you dead on the road that is the way it is . Lactic acid can eventualy be tolerated more with contstant training.

You teach the young kids everything then they end up putting you in a nursing home

 

[Tapeworm]

Wow, misinformation central here...

1) It's lactate, acidosis usually does not occur, if it does you've got bigger problems than getting up a hill.

2) Sensation of what is giving out first (legs, lungs) is simply that, a sensation.

3) As is oft discussed ad nauesum re: weight training vs power I would suggest that this is not the issue with your son. Rather it is probably more like the body's ability to deal with metabolites occuring from the intense effort. This is solved by making the body adapt to the effort by... training more. I would guess that your sons relative power to weight ratio is better than yours, thus the relative effort would be more about lactate threshold rather than oxygen delivery (vo2max).

4) Teenagers can weight lift very successfully (and safely) if this is what you really want to do. Look up what Mark Rippetoe says on the subject.

 

[online-rider]

Squats, squats and more squats would be my tips, but since you don't want your son to train with weights at such a young age, I would recommend an excersise where he pedals at a high gear with a low cadence. I'm not sure what it's called in English though, but it's great to build leg muscles!

But Isn't that what young riders should avoid because they risk screwing up their knees? As a junior they always told us to spin a high gear, in fact we had gear restrictions up to 16 years of age ( 53x16 ?? if i remember).

I dont know i was no great racer but sit on the seat on an easy climb and DO NOT lift your buttocks off the seat for as long as you possibly can. Don't use a high gear (imo) pedal an easy cadence and just let the leg pain and oxygen deprivation come to you slowly so you can teach your body to deal with it effectively. Whatever you do don't lift your buttocks off the seat

 

[VegaSinclair]

If you think about it, your son has smaller leg muscles than you but he has fresher lungs than you. It makes sense that his legs get tired while you get out of breath faster. I think by continuing what you two are doing, he'll improve his leg muscles and you'll improve your lung capacity and stamina.

 

[TRDean]

Thanks guys!! Good stuff.