which exercises to prefer

[vishnu]

i want to about exercise which increase speed and stamina for long ride?
please help to this beginner in cycling family

 

[brianf7]

Ride your bike as much as you can a little further each day. keep it up untill you can ride 100 miles then try to do it faster.

No magic just do it gradualy starting off slow.

 

[Indurain]

Short intervals ranging from 5mins (3 to 4 reps with equal recovery in between) to 20mins (2 x reps with about 10mins recovery in between) 1 to 2 x a week. 2 other days (not same day as intervals) of endurance, 2 1/2 hrs minimum. Can add some sprint training and efforts up to about 45secs on your endurance rides.

Read "The Cyclist Training Bible"

 

[DirtyWorks]

+1 "cyclist's training bible"

The "ride longer" scheme didn't work for me. I have my own crackpot scheme for increasing speed.

I increase strength, then the speed comes shortly thereafter. 60 seconds at 60 rpm on a hill, max effort. The next 60 seconds spin up to 80-90 rpm and really try to maintain a high rpm and speed still going up a hill. Rest for 2 or more minutes between. Do three and go home. If you aren't toast by the second, then the gear's not big enough in the first 60 seconds and you aren't going hard enough in the second 60. The next day, a recovery ride. One day a week, do a long ride.

I like the weight training too. There are some strong opinions about weight training on this forum. Squats and a variety of Swiss Ball weight training totally works for me.

 

[CoachFergie]

In recent years many cyclists have adopted what is know as sweet spot training. This has both a physiological basis in the ideal intensity vs duration to maximally develop endurance and a empirical basis from the work of pioneer running coach Arthur Lydiard whose concept of "best aerobic pace" and long phases of conditioning work before speed work has been modified and copied by many cycling coaches and national team's.

Essentially it is getting in a sufficient amount of going hard time on the bike starting low (I am just starting back into training) with 20-30mins and building up to 2-3 hours. To start I would suggest doing it every third day and just do basic endurance rides in between. Once you can handle every 3 days drop it to once every two days. Add hills and if possible train in a group. When you can do 2 hours every 2nd day I would start to look for some races to do.

Then you may want to look at some more specific intervals for road racing like 2 x 20min efforts or 6 x 5min efforts and building up to major events some shorter intervals like 3-6 x 60sec very hard with full recovery.

The training side of bike racing is actually very easy. The racing well side is another matter entirely. You didn't mention in your other post what racing opportunities you had in India or is the plan to wait till you get to the US.

 

[lalorm]

For me, it's all about strength. If you do a long endurance ride and feel weak, then you won't last long. If you have strength, then you will last longer and as a result your endurance increases. So it's simple, yes gradually increase your riding times on the bike, but work in some strength building exercises in the gym as part of your training program. You WILL see an improvement in both endurance and speed as a result. For me, before increasing my weight training, I was able to cruise at around 35-36km for a short time. After performing weight training (squats etc) for around 2 months, I was able to maintain that speed for longer, and my sprinting speed increased to 55kph and even up to 70kph on the flat with a strong wind on my back!! My trainer in the gym I go to told me the benefits of weights but I didn't believe him that it would make so much of a difference but I'm now converted. I'm training for the Etape next year and weight training is at the moment priority number one for me and cycling 2nd.

 

[CoachFergie]

Road cycling is not a strength based sport. The force required to pedal a bicycle at anything under 500 watts for durations over 2min's is minimal and goes down even further if one adopts a higher cadence.