Help with a training regime...please!!!

[bassjamm]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this site but have had a look around and see that some of you really know your stuff and wondered if I could please get some advice.

I'm looking to get into road cycling and using a turbo trainer. I also use a Concept II rower and have a press up and stomach crunch regime already going.

Thing is, I'm in need of surgery on my right knee to reconstruct a ligament in there. The time scale is rather down to me, but I've decided to get myself in good condition for this operation, and the cycling is going to play a major part in this, not only for cardio reasons, but also to build my legs up.

I'm 23, 5'11", 11st 9lbs, or around 74Kgs, and I've always been quite active but I've never really trained hard as such.

Basically I want to strip what fat I have on me off, so get my body fat percentage down fairly low, but also build up my level of fitness and my muscles, particularly in my legs.

I'm hoping to cross train between the rower and the cycling, and just carry on my normal press up and stomach routine as normal.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a plan that could help me achieve my goals? Or have any thoughts at all?

Any help would be most appreciated, and if you need any more info please ask.

Thanks
Jamie

 

[theswordsman]

Hi Jamie. How long of a rehabilitation period is there after the surgery? I was just thinking that if it's considerable, why not do the surgery first, so that none of the physical improvement from your work is lost during down time (if there is indeed much of it)? Good luck

 

[bassjamm]

Hi there,

Thanks for the reply and the input.

There is quite a long rehabilitation period, up to 12 months or so for certain activities, probably around 6 months before I can start to train at the level I can now.

It's also a case of getting my business all in place before having the operation, otherwise yes, getting it done asap would make some sense.

My main reason for wanting to achieve the above goals though is to build up my legs and to lose so fat, as my legs will wither and I will put on weight as a result of being unable to use my leg fully and train to a high level. That, and the better condition I'm in going into the operation then the better I'll be coming out of it.

Thanks for the thought though.

Jamie

 

[durgadas]

My Suggestions for Training for Surgery

As someone who has gotten a similar knee surgery (ACL replacement after 20 years of not having one) recently and was an elite cycling coach for more than 20 years, I'd make a couple of suggestions. When you say you'd like to "build up your legs" you're on the right track, but it's more specific than that.

If you're just "getting into" road cycling, then I'd not short-change yourself by trying to go hard right off. Quite the opposite. I'd take an old-school approach. Do the standard base-fitness first- LSD, long slow distance with a high cadence- start with 90 rpms and increase to 120 rpms over time, and NOT on a trainer unless you have to, due to weather. You need the up and down of real world riding.

If you can do it on a fixed gear, even better. The primary thing you want before a surgery like this is not muscle mass, but strong and fibrous tendons and ligaments. LSD gives you that, especially where your cadence is high. LSD also helps in reducing fat stores and makes you burn fat efficiently.

Now, as soon as your surgery is over get into some physical therapy to start working that leg again. I waited far too long to start my PT, as I had some bad advice around that. Within a week, or even less, you should be able to start moving that leg to get your range-of-motion back, as painful as it might be to do.

Tendons and ligaments become less fibrous without exercise, but far slower than muscles atrophy, so if you've handled your tendons and ligaments properly in the build-up to surgery, then you should be all set.

As a certified yoga teacher, I'd also suggest taking some yoga classes because yoga really helps in recovery from injury in several ways. First, inverted postures like headstand or even shoulder-stand can allow you to use gravity (look up Starling's Law if you want to understand the principle) to keep up your heart rate a little, even when you can't move around much at first. I'd be quite good at one or both before you go to surgery, as these exercises will increase venous return from the legs also and keep that heart healthy and more in shape than just laying around waiting for PT each day.

Also be sure to do plenty of standing yoga poses before surgery, but then focus especially on forward bends (sitting and standing, with legs far apart and together) and try to master them. They affect your hamstrings and inner stabilizing muscles (gracilis, etc.) most of all and you do this because often an ACL ligament reconstruction will involve stripping out the part of the gracilis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gracilis_muscle to use for replacement- it did in my case. The larger that muscle is the better off you'll be in the end. Of course, I have assumed an ACL replacement here, but the general principle should apply to any cruciate ligament replacement.

Additionally, yoga will help keep your cardio-vascular fitness in another way. When I was racing and I couldn't fit in a 6-8 hour Thursday training session, as was my habit, I would be sure to do, throughout the day, many huge inhales as possible to oxygenate my blood and keep my lungs open, which is the primary function, beyond simple endurance, of The Long Ride each week. This was well before I taught yoga, however.

Yoga pranayama exercises perform a similar function, and are easy to learn, have tons of benefits and few, if any, side effects. The ones I recommend are kapalabhati http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2v-9LmU7IE&feature=fvw(forced exhale breathing) and anuloma viloma (alternate nostril breathing)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rAZH9S5w2I. Check out those videos as good descriptions of how to do those, and your lungs will feel better once you get back to training on the bike again. Sorry I have to include other people's videos here, but my own videos will be forthcoming once my yoga studio is built.

Breathing, inversions and generally relaxing yoga classes (I don't recommend hot yoga, or any advanced class for example) should allow for more flexibility and concentrate the practice on all the areas that count most when it comes to preparation for and recovery from, surgery.

I hope that's helpful.

Thanks,
Regis Chapman
DurgaDas
Silent Motion Yoga
http://silentmotionyoga.com

 

[bassjamm]

Hi Regis,

Thank you very much for that extensive reply, it's certainly been very interesting to read and good to hear that I'm not the only one out there who's going/been through this.

You're right, they're going to strip a few strands from my hamstring to reconstruct the ACL. So the need for the hamstring to be in good shape is certainly a big issue.

As for the cycling training you've mentioned here. I'm very new so I'm not too sure of some of your points or the terms used, but I'll Google them.

Regarding the LSD training. How long a distance, or time should I be looking to train then, and how regularly, or times per week? I'm self employed and hope to take some time out of work to train, but during the week I can probably only spend a maximum of 90 minutes per session maybe 3 times a week at the very most.

As for the fixed gear bike, may I ask why it is that you'd recommend that as opposed to a geared bike? And what would the advantage be with this?

I understand your reasoning behind the Yoga, and I fully take all of that on board, but for a number of reasons I'll be looking more into Pilates to help me along. It's something I've dabbled with on and off for about a year now, but I'm going to concentrate on developing my Pilates skills and knowledge with immediate effect.

Thank you once again Regis, and I hope you don't mind me asking you for the further information within this post.

Thank you...

Jamie

 

[Aapjes]

Regarding the LSD training. How long a distance, or time should I be looking to train then, and how regularly, or times per week? I'm self employed and hope to take some time out of work to train, but during the week I can probably only spend a maximum of 90 minutes per session maybe 3 times a week at the very most.

Distance is irrelevant for training. Training is all about time & effort. 10 miles into a headwind can be equivalent to 20 miles with a tailwind.

A good schedule is to do a 2-3 hour slow ride during the weekend, with a rest day afterwards. Then during the week one 90 minute slow ride and one or two 60 minute more intense rides. Slow is slow and more intense is not full out! Warm up at the beginning of the ride. Don't be afraid to mix it up a little, for instance by doing a few sprints during a slow ride (especially the short ones), or riding with a relatively easy or hard gear for a while.

Listen to your body and don't push yourself if your body doesn't seem to be happy.

As for the fixed gear bike, may I ask why it is that you'd recommend that as opposed to a geared bike? And what would the advantage be with this?

A fixed gear forces you to spin (high cadence) on the downhill and with a tailwind, but forces you to grind (low cadence) uphill and with a headwind. You can always choose to use a relatively easy or hard gear with a geared bike, to get the same effect. And that is not forced by circumstances, but can be tailored to your training goals, so I consider it preferable.

 

[bassjamm]

Thanks for that reply Aapjes.

I've got myself a fixed gear bike now and did my first ride yesterday, an up and down route that is about 18.5 miles. I did it in about 1hr 20mins averaging around 14mph.

What nutritional things should I consider on the rides then? At the moment I've just got the one bottle holder space on my bike, should I be taking in food as well?

Any help on this would be really useful thanks guys...

Jamie

 

[Aapjes]

What nutritional things should I consider on the rides then? At the moment I've just got the one bottle holder space on my bike, should I be taking in food as well?

You should drink quite a bit on the bike. When you get thirsty, you are already dehydrated. The exact amount depends on your intensity and the weather. A bottle for every 1 to 1.5 hours of riding is pretty normal. That means that for rides longer than 1.5 hours, you need a second bottle or a refill. I would suggest mounting a second bottle holder on your bike if possible (there are solutions for bikes without braze-ons for a second holder: http://www.nordicgroup.us/cageboss/)

Depending on the intensity with which you ride and how well you ate in the hours & days before the ride, you should start to take nutrition for rides over 1.5 to 2 hours. Around that point you deplete your carbohydrate reserves, which causes the dreaded bonk. Some riders take energy drinks, some take food and some take both. Whatever you take, you want high-calorie, low fat. It's not necessary to buy sport-specific food. It's mostly a matter of personal preference and experimentation with what your digestive tract can handle.

 

[bassjamm]

Hey,

Thanks for that info once again

I'm averaging that amount of water intake per hour to hour and a half. Had someone meet me half way yesterday on a 2 1/2 hour ride with a refill. My bike only has the one braze-on point, so thanks for that link as I've been looking for a solution. Need to carry a pump around with me as well I guess so I'll need a few of those things.

One thing I am having issues with is comfort whilst riding. I've been on 3 rides in the past 6 days and each ride is more uncomfortable on my bum and back. I've got some padded shorts.

I'm guessing it's just a case of getting used to it though?

Thanks again.

 

[fatandfast]

Hey,

Thanks for that info once again

I'm averaging that amount of water intake per hour to hour and a half. Had someone meet me half way yesterday on a 2 1/2 hour ride with a refill. My bike only has the one braze-on point, so thanks for that link as I've been looking for a solution. Need to carry a pump around with me as well I guess so I'll need a few of those things.

One thing I am having issues with is comfort whilst riding. I've been on 3 rides in the past 6 days and each ride is more uncomfortable on my bum and back. I've got some padded shorts.

I'm guessing it's just a case of getting used to it though?

Thanks again.

You got lots of good info here. 1st thing you need is a sound bicycle..full size pump,tube, patch kit and if you live in the US, 3 dollars. The dollar bill was specially designed to work as a sidewall repair and get you home. The other 2 bucks will allow you to make phone calls or buy candy or beer when your wheel or bottom bracket crap out and your bike is unrideable . Lots of intensity is a great idea if you have sound mechanics in your stroke and position. A sore bum and any other quirk will be worked out by spending time in the saddle. Learning to handle your bike is critical and there are no shortcuts. Any time spent on your bike will pay you back in the future. Being super comfortable on your bike is an important skill that can only be learned on your bike. Taking on and off gloves arm warmers, switching water bottles, getting food out of your jersey all while riding is a level of comfort that you are working on. Riding in 2 up pace lines, bumping by accident or on purpose are all skills/conditions that you need to learn way before you race or ride in big groups. As you progress through cycling you owe it to yourself and everybody else to know what you are doing. Nothing is a bigger F-up than not knowing what it feels like to touch another guys wheel or vise versa before you do fast group riding. I have seen crashes caused by a small bump or tap, a dropped water bottle or feed bag all because the person causing the crash did not have a comfortable state of mind on their bike. Ride your bike everywhere and as often as possible the collective skills will serve you well. Always wear a helmet for a load of reasons..1 strange one is when in a group, you not wearing a helmet can occupy all the space in some peoples brain and cause them to fixate on you and cause crashes that are somehow related to your not wearing your lid. There is something really weird going on in modern culture that has people convinced that they can walk, ride or drive and text or play video games,watch videos,listen to music or all of them at the same time. Yelling and screaming at a non-helmet wearing rider is another pause in concentration. The yeller decides he or she can ride and dispatch advise at the same time..almost never the case.

 

[bassjamm]

Fatandfast...

Thanks for that insight and for the funny take on why to wear a helmet

You'll be pleased to know I have one on the way, as well as all the other little bits and bobs i need to keep me out on the road too.

The majority of my riding will be done on my own to start with. My dad is just getting back into cycling too, but my fitness levels are a lot better than his at the moment so he's only managing about 30% of what I'm able to do at the moment. As he's able to last on the longer rides though, we'll be working together a lot which will be good for the skills you've mentioned.

I'm unable to join my local club on their rides too which is a shame, the times clash with my current commitments I'll occasionally be bale to join them though which I'm looking forward to.

Thanks again for the advice.

Jamie