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Spring Training for Roadies coaches you through the crucial 8-week bridge between the off-season and summer cycling.

Coach Fred Matheny's daily workout schedules are preceded by descriptions of a variety of training techniques, giving you an arsenal of effective workouts for entering the summer season fitter than ever.

Plus, Coach Fred provides his expert advice on . . . .

• Nutrition

• Weight loss

• Equipment

• Clothing

• Injury prevention

• Avoiding overtraining

• Coping with changeable spring weather

What's your current cycling ability? What are your goals?

This eBook presents 8-week training schedules for 3 levels of roadies. One program is likely to be on target for you now. Another might be perfect for next season as you progress in the sport.

Level 1: Fitness cyclists. Choose this if you are just getting started in the sport or want to achieve and maintain general cycling fitness.

Level 2: Fast recreational cyclists. This is the program for more experienced riders who want to perform well in group rides, in centuries and on multiday tours.

Level 3: Competitive cyclists. This is for licensed racers and cyclists who want to ride athletically with speed and power in club training rides and events.

When should you begin your Spring Training for Roadies program? It’s ideal for April and May, but what you’ll read works during any 2-month period when your goal is to convert general fitness into cycling-specific speed, power and endurance.

  $14.95 eBook

The following excerpt comes from Chapter 2, "Building Endurance." In it, Coach Fred Matheny explains why peppering long rides with a few hard efforts is so beneficial.

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EXCERPT: Distance and Speed

Cycling events require you to go the distance—but they also require speed and power. You need speed to stay with the pack or catch back up, and to sprint. Power is required for climbing and battling headwinds.

Think about when you get dropped. Is it when the pack is spinning along at a steady and moderate pace for a long time? I doubt it. It probably happens when the pace increases abruptly or the pack jams up a tough hill. If you have the power and speed to stick with these hard accelerations for 30 seconds or even a couple of minutes, the pace will ease and you’ll still be in the shelter of the group. But if you lose contact even for a moment, you’ll likely be off the back for good.

 

EXAMPLE!  Average power output during a road race is meaningless. Pros may average only about 150-170 watts—well within the capacity of recreational riders. However, watt-measuring devices such as the PowerTap reveal relentless spikes of power during races. Peak loads of more than 1,000 watts are common, and these surges are repeated many times. The wattage profile looks like the teeth of a saw.

 

Now you see why a diet of long rides at a steady pace is fine for winter conditioning, but it’s an outdated approach for building endurance in the spring when events are much closer. It’s much better to mix faster, harder efforts into long rides to simulate the demands of the events you’re preparing for.

Even if you usually ride solo and set your own pace in long events, developing speed and power will increase your cruising speed. This means you’ll ride faster with the same perceived effort. You’ll also finish more comfortably by reducing overall on-bike time.

 

 

 

Here’s the training approach I recommend:

During the middle third of any long ride, push some hills, do 2 or 3 fast time trial-like efforts near your lactate threshold (see page 8), and throw in a few short jumps. On group rides, sprint for road signs or other landmarks against your training buddies. Sandwich this period of hard efforts between steady spinning in the first third and last third of the ride. This is the way to build speed and power in concert with endurance.

  $14.95 eBook

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TOC:  Spring Training for Roadies

About the Author Introduction How to Use This Book PART 1: TRAINING TECHNIQUES Chapter 1: Foundation Information Set Your Goals Measure Your Intensity Learn Your RPE Put It All Together Lactate Threshold Primer Find Your LT Beat Spring Weather Nutritional Guidelines Reaching Ideal Cycling Weight Weight-Loss Strategies Chapter 2: Building Endurance How to Add Mileage Distance and Speed Tips for Long Rides Comfort and Safety Chapter 3: Muscular Endurance Strength-Maintenance Workouts Base Strength on the Bike Muscular Endurance on the Bike Grinders Chapter 4: Boosting Lactate Threshold How to Ride at LT LT Workouts Testing for LT Improvement Chapter 5: Climbing Hills for Intervals Stand or Sit? Training for Faster Climbing Uphill Skills Chapter 6: Sprinting Sprint Training Sprint Tactics Chapter 7: Group Rides Paceline Rules Solo Training Objectives in a Group Chapter 8: Overtraining Symptoms Prevention You Overtrained. Now What? Chapter 9:  Spring Injuries Colds and Flu Knee Pain & Treatment Upper-Body Discomfort Saddle Sores Chapter 10: Spring Weather Rainwear Riding Techniques Wet-Road Cornering Wet Group Rides Headwinds Crosswinds PART 2: TRAINING SCHEDULES Chapter 11: Three Training Plans Workout Notes Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Excerpt   $14.95 eBook

 

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