Re: Training Qs: intervals, blowing up, fat...

On May 13, 6:03=A0am, "joseph.santanie...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"
<joseph.santanie...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> On May 13, 5:07=A0am, Ryan Cousineau <rcous...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > I have two goals right now:
>
> > -Lose a huge amount of weight
> > -up the wattage
>
> > I'm mostly interested in sprint bursts of power, since every race I
ever=

> > won, I won from a sprint, and this Fall I'll probably start riding
track=
..
>
> > Conversely, I really, really like CX, so I wouldn't want to throw my
> > 30-minute power under a bus, and while I don't care either way about
> > TTs, I always seem to enjoy them while I'm actually doing them (I
> > realize that may mean I'm doing it wrong).
>
> > So, this year's strategy could be summarized as:
>
> > -goal-wise, I'm throwing long races and hill climbs under a bus. If
they=

> > help my training, fine, but it's going to be a long time before my
body
> > composition makes me look like a climber*.
>
> > -I wouldn't mind doing well in crits, but as far as I'm concerned, the
> > whole purpose of road season this year is to get me back into race
> > shape. If I come good for some of the August crits, fine. If not, CX
> > season is soon enough.
>
> > Given that like all fatty masters, I have limited time (that beer
won't
> > drink itself, you know), my current plan is to strive for 2-3 serious
> > training sessions per week, plus as much high-HR work as I can manage
on=

> > my commute (which, bizarrely, consists of four 15-minute rides a day:
I
> > go home for lunch).
>
> > Here's a typical training, er, plan:
>
> > -multi-modal commute halfway across town, 25ish km in multiple
sections.=

> > Because of the hills and the timing, I have to ride faster than slow
to
> > get to the crit on time.
> > -yes, crit: ride Cat 4 crit until I explode spectacularly, and then
keep=

> > riding until I get lapped or show signs of endangering the sprint.
> > -ride home in a very screwed-up state, probably have to stop for a
> > drink. This ride reverses the commute, but the hills are more
favorable.=

>
> > The goal is to do a fairly long ride that will burn fat, but to throw
> > enough high-HR riding in that I build power. Is it dumb to combine
these=

> > activities? Is it dumber than not doing one or the other at all?
>
> > I'm certainly in such a state, physically, right now that any serious
> > riding is likely to help, but I don't want to be doing some sort of
> > ridiculous physiological suicide that will be totally
counterproductive
> > (as, for example, I suspect long rides at 25 km/h would be. Junk miles
> > ho!)
>
> > I will also try to pack in a few dedicated sessions of riding hard,
> > 60-90s intervals uphill (3 sets of 3 to start), since that has
> > historically made me strong fast.
>
> > If the biggest result from my training is that I lose 25 pounds and
> > maintain some semblance of current power, I will be highly competitive
> > in the local crits, and should shoot up the CX results as if I was
> > experimenting with The **** That Will Kill Them.
>
> > Finally, are my training goals ridiculous? Am I sabotaging the CX
season=

> > with my devotion to intervals, when I should just work on hour-power
or
> > something? Is training for both CX and sprinting purely hopeless? I
> > don't see a lot of peloton-ing happening at the front end of local "B"
> > CX races, but then I don't see a lot of the front of those races,
period=
..
>
> > Thanks for any suggestions, even the funny ones.
>
> > *will never happen.
>
> I don't see how losing 25lbs should have to have a negative effect on
> power. We are talking fat, not muscle.
>
> As for sprint vs CX, my take is that with -25lbs it's not going to
> matter. And the general fitness gains from the more rigourous plan
> will just make you better all around. I think one has to be SUPER
> strong before specialization comes at the cost of sacrificing some
> strengths to the favor of others.
>
> In other words, the strong guys who are faster than you can probably
> ride away from you in a TT, up a hill, and in a sprint, and CX too
> (unless they suck at bike handling). Specialization doesn't really
> matter at this level, fitness does. Same goes for peaking, and all
> that other rubbish.
>
> The main thing IMO is in general more riding, with more intensity will
> make you stronger and thus faster. Losing weight will also make you
> faster (duh). There are myriad ways to optimize how you do the work
> you are going to do in training, and how to schedule recovery or
> whatever you want to call it, but the short version is "ride lots."
>
> Joseph- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Unless you're incredibly careful with the diet, and training you are
going to lose some muscle, unfortunately. The "cutting up" phase for a
bodybuilder heading into a competition is really a mixed bag, since
you really start seeing all the muscles pop out, but you are also
losing some size you killed yourself to add, but since Ryan isn't
looking to go to that extreme it's pretty doable with losing minimal
amounts of muscle, or if he wants to lose slower you can hold, or gain
muscle, but it's tricky to only lose fat. I'd suggest looking for "pre-
contest" diet and training routines which adapt really well to
cycling. I used cycling as the primary, non-impact, tool for keeping
the metabolism up, and fat burning.
 Something like a 1-2 hour ride in the AM before breakfast at about
75%, breakfast, snack, circuit type workout w/no rest between sets and
exercises, lighter weights, more reps, keep moving!!, lunch, afternoon
ride, about same as the morning ride, dinner, late mostly protein
snack about an hour before bed, should be well under 20grams protein,
and minimal carbs.
 Basically the day  in this cycle goes, high carb/low protein in the
AM to the opposite before bed.
 the multiple small meals and snacks, along with several aerobic
activity sessions are the key to keeping the metabolism elevated.
Throwing in some sprints, and occasional LT/anaerobic work shouldn't
hurt at all and would probably help since the body is SO good at
adaptation to a routine. You've got to keep changing things up for
consistant gains. Cycle the amount of calories too around the target
weight/projected rate of loss, calculated figure. Give yourself a day
or two a week/10 days that's actually a little higher than the
baseline to help keep the metabolism up too. Anecdote says that L-
Carnitine is the standard supplement suggested, and commonly used to
aid in this. My results weren't conclusive, but it wasn't spendy, and
didn't hurt.
 You might want to talk with a nutritionist/trainer who's current too.
If you do make sure they are certified. Usually an eval, and basic
plan isn't too expensive, and the objective set of eyes can really
make a difference. Think of how many times we've all looked at
something, over and over, and yet never saw it/couldn't find it, until
"DOH!" someone else pointed it out.
 Bill C