rotation for cyclists.. guru's please help!

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desertbriez

Banned
i was wondering if any of you rotation guru's could set up a rotation/rotations for cyclists!

a few of us have discussed which cathe's are best, when on the other forums on this site.. but we haven't been able to come up with any good rotations!

the big thing is not having our legs worn out for saturday and sunday rides!

i, personally would love to see a rotation that is cathe mon-fri.. leaving sat and sunday strictly for cycling! (this is the way i work out now.. but my hodgepodge way of doing it!)

also... if you know which workouts would best benefit and strenthen legs for climbing hills.. going faster and harder on flats, etc!

thanx!!!!! hope someone can help!


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cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
I'm not a rotation guru but have been using Cathe's workouts for 5+ years during which I've ridden several centuries, toured (unsupported) from San Francisco to L.A, climbed Mt. Whitney & done a few 1/2 marathons. They're all endurance training, so I might have some ideas.

What are your cycling goals? Just 2 rides per week? How far? Are you a light weight that can "dance on the pedals" while climbing or a sit in the seat & endure climber? Have you built an endurance base on the bike for summer riding?

Debra
 
Desertbiez, sounds like a great idea for someone more savvy to this stuff than me to come up with a cyclist's rotation. I ride usually minimum of 2 days a week. One ride would be on a Wednesday (shorter, training type ride, maybe 30 miles, with climbs of a few miles). My 2nd ride is on Sundays, longer, (50 to 60 miles depending on the event that's coming up.) I'm fairly light, 117 lbs or so, but more of a sit and endure type, but I do like to climb. I too try to structure my workouts so I don't burn out my legs before a cycling day. I think Low Max and anything with intervals has helped my fitness a lot, but I'd still like to improve my leg strength. I just received GS Legs and Core Max but have not used it yet. I find working my back has helped a lot too.

Thanks for any help.

Jeanette
 
hmmmmm what are my goals? the first thing that pops into my head is: to be able to go faster!

in the summer (spring/fall) i try to ride at least 5 days a week... and most times can manage 6 (no kids and hubby rides, too) my big/biggest rides are on weekends since that's when i have the time. during the week i squeeze in what i can after work.. .sometimes just an hour (about 15 miles).. sometimes more (20-25 miles)... however i don't worry about my leg workouts with the weeknight rides cuz if my legs are tired from a leg workout.. so be it.. it's a shorter ride anyways! my biggest concern with leg workouts vs the bike, are of course, the longer and sometimes organized weekend rides! (i do a lot of 40 mile rides on weekends cuz i either have some place to go or i get bored :( and i'm not fast enough to go further in the time alloted to ride) i almost always take friday off the bike if i have a big ride planned saturday.. and of course, no legs on friday (or thursdays usually either) it works for me! :)

yes.. i'm a lightweight which makes me a pretty good climber.. not the fastest (as in not the strongest).. but i can get out of the saddle.. don't do it a lot (i don't think).. but can when i need to... (i know i was popping out of the saddle sunday going up oak glen!) i can go the distance... but i'm slow (call me a tortoise!)

after my first century.. i actually felt like i could have kept going! (that tells me i didn't push myself hard enough!) i've done a lot of metric centuries (organized and with hubby) i rode all winter long (i live in the desert). so yes.. i would say i have my endurance base!

oh... and i've only been riding 9 months... so i'm still a newbie (i think) i was doing cathe and workouts before cycling and refused to give it up even with the whole "cyclists don't lift weights" controversy... i'm sure the fact that i was doing cathe before cycling is what helped me to become a pretty good beginner rider really quick!

so anyways... whatever help you can offer (or anyone else that has ideas/suggestions) please let me know!

currently i pretty much choose what i feel like doing that day.. just making sure i don't do legs or hard stuff before a big ride (i.e. my second century is this coming saturday... so i did legs & glutes today.. and will finish out the week with 3 CTX workouts doing 2 upper body parts per day unless someone has a better suggestion!)


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cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
Wow, you ride a lot. I'm lucky to get 3 days for the week. I used to ride a bit more but in the last couple of years have reduced my riding, but still have gotten some faster.

What is the reasoning on not doing weights during the cycling season? I've heard this but don't remember why. I know mass in the upper body is not so desired for a cyclist, but I'm not worried about that.

How was your second century? I have yet to even do a metric this year. My first will be May 1st in Redding for the Shasta Jamboree. Even then, it's a 1/2 century. Last year my first century was the Chico Wildflower, a really good ride, with a challenging climb of Table Mtn. My challenge for the year will be to do the Ashland century in June. I've done the metric with 5000' of climbing twice. Think the century has a couple thousand more feet of climbing. It's a BEAUTIFUL ride. Got a buddy trying to talk me into the Shasta ride in August. It's a lot of climbing too. The hot weather kind of wipes me out so I don't know about that one.

Have a time trial this coming Tuesday so will attempt Gym Style Legs after that as I'm afraid of having sore, tired legs.

Hopefully someone will come up with a rotation for cyclists.

Ride careful and have fun.

Jeanette
 
ya know... i'm not really sure why they claim you shouldn't workout in the gym... but lance does... so it must work! lol!

i just did my second century this past saturday! it was a blast (well...after the first 30 minutes when i nearly froze!) i actually finished total ride time ahead of hubby! i have bragging rights for a month! (but when we checked total ride only time... he was still shorter.. he spent more time at the 2nd & 3rd rest stops cuz of a knee problem) but the info at the site will show me with a 21 minute better total overall time! woo hoo! and personally.. i did faster ride time than my first!

this weekend coming up we have a climbing 60 or 70 mile ride.. i will probably choose the 60.. we'll see what saturday brings!

i'm still hoping for a rotation! :)


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cute work out clothes are good for AT LEAST an additional 10-15 calories burned!
 
Congratulations on the century. It's so hard to know what clothes to wear/bring when we start out so early. You hate to have to carry a jacket all day that you only need for a little bit. Personally, I hate being too hot while climbing and tend to dress lightly. But then the downhills chill you right down so that's a factor too. During winter/colder weather I always feel like I'm attempting an ascent of Everest, what with all the clothes to consider (short finger, long finger gloves, vest, tights, arm warmers).

I did a 32 mile ride yesterday, bringing along a newbie so it's hard to get the distance in that I need. She did great so we're bumping it up next week and more climbing to boot. My first metric is May 1st so I'm not worried. Have a few centuries planned this year and somehow I'll be ready.

Have a 12 mile time trial tomorrow after work so no leg workout today or tomorrow morning. After that, I will do Gym Style Legs. Haven't done it yet and am anxious to.

Congrats again on the good time. Last year we worked on not staying at the rest stops so long.

Jeanette
 
Desertbriez,

I'm not sure you need to do much off the bike leg work during the spring & summer, drills on the bike should take care of your training needs when your mileage is high. Carmichael's book "The Lance Armstrong Training Program" has a lot of drills with clear descriptions of the benefits.

I would do isolation work on the abductors & adductors, 2 or 3 times per week. That's a tip from my Spinning instructor when she was training with her hubby, a Cat 2 racer. Any of Cathe's leg workouts with floorwork would work. Core work 2 to 3 x per week. Two upper body workouts per week is plenty. Remember you can choose something very time efficient like Body Max upper body or chose an upper or down only Pyramid.

Save the full Pure Strength, Slow & Heavy, Gym Style leg workouts for those times of the year when your mileage is lower. I use them when I'm working on my aerobic base. I switch to endurance workouts like Leaner Legs as mileage climbs. We all have to listen to our bodies. Drop the leg work when it starts having a negative impact on your bike workouts.

When you do non-bike cardio, keep the easy/hard balance between your workouts. I would chose workouts with lots of lateral movement since it's lacking in cycling.

Stretching, yoga or pilates will help you from walking like Groucho Marx. Consistency is probably more important than long sessions.

One more training option (I know I'm running on). I'm training to climb Half Dome in Yosemite & I'm finding that doing one or two body parts per day works very well, even with a lot of trail time. I'm using the Gym Styles (inspired by Aquajock's Faux CTX rotation), hitting each body part hard once per week.

Sorry to take so long to respond. Life got a little messy. BTW, rest stops don't stop the clock! You earned your bragging rights.

Debra
 
Debra, thanks for the tips. I'm starting a CTX style rotation this week and have picked some more kickboxing and hi/lo to mix up with the step. Will also throw in Coremax segments. I really love these and have found them to help me immensely on the bike. I've also decided for legwork to focus more on floor work from GS Legs and Legs and Glutes. So far, my legs are really getting strong on the bike while using MM and ME workouts for the last 4 weeks. They just have so much more muscle endurance than before.

I realize that only riding 2-3 times per week is not much, but I want to cross train with Cathe workouts to make those times on the bike more productive. I have other hobbies (horse), family and work obligations, and so far, with the people I ride with and events I do, it seems to be enough time.

Thanks again.

Jeanette
 
Wow I'm so jealous you guys are doing century rides already!! Looks like my first one will be mid-May. I've been cycling a lot already though, have close to 400 miles so far this season. I'm a triathlete so do a lot of endurance training as well. As far as a rotation I use Cathe's workouts 5 days per week in the mornings and my triathlon training in the evenings and long endurance workouts on weekends. I mix up rotations, normally I will do strength work 3 days per week and cardio 2 days. For strength, sometimes I do total body on those 3 days or split up the body parts by doing GS, S&H or PS series...and then other times I will do something like the CTX or Timesaver rotation where I'm doing one bodypart plus cardio each morning....that is actually my favorite. I do have to watch the intensity of Cathe's step routines though, have taken my step down to 6" and don't always do all the power moves, especially when I'm doing a lot of running and racing.

Cheryl
 
Hi Cheryl,

Up here in northern California we had a longer, colder winter so my century training is a bit off. First century will be Memorial Day weekend. Have a metric in a week.

I really like CTX and am doing that rotation now. I usually step with 6" but went to 8" for Low Max. Great routine and I like not having the high impact, but it's still a heart thumper for me. I have to watch I don't wear out my legs before a ride. I'll be incorporating more floor legwork into my rotations too. I do like the full body workouts like Muscle Max and Muscle Endurance.

Triathlete, that's pretty cool. Our pool in town closed down so I don't know where all the triathletes are swimming. I cycle occasionally with an iron woman. Forgot to ask her the other day where she's swimming or if she's swimming at all. Training for her is a full time job. Her husband is pretty supportive and a couple years ago he bought a bike and cycles with her now.

Take care,

Jeanette
 
Just wanted to add that I did GS Legs floorwork only in the a.m. and did a climbing ride in the afternoon (30 miles). No problems at all with leg strength. Now if it had been squats and lunges with weights, think that would have taken away from the ride. Good to know I can still work them on the same day as a training ride.

Jeanette
 
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