Next Level Fitness - How to get there?

[Liberty555]

Its been a great year and I've achieved my weight loss goals and seen my fitness improve significantly, general wellbeing and attitude all progressed for the better...

But my question is this - what tips can you give to get my fitness to the next level?

Realistically I'm marching towards middle age, have three kids and work in a sedentary job. Long sessions at the gym and bulk saddle time are simply not going to happen. My training time has to be focused and to some degree "fun". I do a bit of night time trainer sessions to clear the head after work but find I just sit and spin rather than push the envelope... Are sufferfest-like videos any good and are there any aimed at MTB? I don't own a road bike and already spend enough money on the other bikes so that's not an option.

I'm sure most people will say "Do Intervals" which is great, and there are some short, sharp hill climbs near me which I try and fit in with the morning ride to work. But is it enough?

So, for general MTB XC and Marathon type races, what can you suggest to help with getting the fitness up?

What do people to do to log their training time?

Cheers

 

[pharmaboy]

Spoken to lots of guys who go well, and read as much as I can find, I think there is a genetic issue and a mental approach. The first you cannot effect, the second - well maybe.

For instance a guy who is always near the top in local amateur stakes doesn't seem to ride much, but when questioned he points to a spin bike that he just drills 4 nights a week - setup with screen, fans etc, which brings on pt 2.

You have to suffer, and be able to go at race pace when you are on your own, seek out hard hills. As it's often written the difference between average and well above is often training intensity not volume.

If you use strava you can see this amongst the fast guys - their rides will be a similar number of hours to me but travel nearly twice the kms. No rests, sweating like pigs, going hard and real close to their PRs all the time.

 

[steve24]

# Disclaimer- I also seek this next level and have heaps to do to get there....

I find home trainer the best place for intervals because you can really smash it with out worrying about cars, lights etc
Having said that they bore me and I much prefer the road bike.

XCO racing is great for the fitness, don't know another way to get HR up for 1 1/2 hours.

Strava is great for finding intervals on roads or tracks, I go hard to beat roadies strava times ;-)

Have you done a bike fit with someone who knows their stuff?

Suspension/ tyres/ tyre pressure set up.

Coaching- even for 3-6months can be great. I did 3 month with Mark Fenner before 2010 24hr Worlds and still use the training plans he wrote for me.

Bike skills are another thing to look at, riding/ racing with people who are better riders than you and also spend time to practice sections you loose time to others (Strava is again handy).

Nutrition: best foods at the right times before, during and after racing/ training.

Getting enough sleep/ rest/ as well as proper tapering before A races.

If you don't have it already buy Joel Friels MTB training bible.

 

[pistonbroke]

I am far from an athlete or fitness expert. But I really like Sufferfest videos. They suck me right in and it's almost like playing a video game except I get off with legs shaking and feeling like a spew. No they are not aimed at mtb but I don't think it matters. They are all aimed at different things. Some endurance, some power, some climbing. They range in time from 25 minutes to close to two hours(ouch).
They work for me as you just turn it on and follow along. You don't need to work out intervals or plans, it's all in there.
I also bought the Sufferfest 10 week training program. And found it good. But any training program will be good if you stick to it. The Sufferfest 10 week program is usually 2 or 3 sessions on the trainer per week as well as 2 or 3 bike rides, with usually 1 longer ride on the weekend.

I found Joel Friels MTB Training Bible useless. It just didn't work for me as there was just too much information and too much to work out for myself. Too hard to put into practice. But I know it works for plenty of others. So if your the kind of guy who likes to track, record and measure everything it may work for you.

Oh, and buy a road bike.
Can you commute to work?

 

[Thomas11]

Spoken to lots of guys who go well, and read as much as I can find, I think there is a genetic issue and a mental approach. The first you cannot effect, the second - well maybe.

For instance a guy who is always near the top in local amateur stakes doesn't seem to ride much, but when questioned he points to a spin bike that he just drills 4 nights a week - setup with screen, fans etc, which brings on pt 2.

You have to suffer, and be able to go at race pace when you are on your own, seek out hard hills. As it's often written the difference between average and well above is often training intensity not volume.

If you use strava you can see this amongst the fast guys - their rides will be a similar number of hours to me but travel nearly twice the kms. No rests, sweating like pigs, going hard and real close to their PRs all the time.

This is exactly it.
What i did for my running fitness for football was exactly this, I became super running fit (not distance, but repeat efforts AFL footy style) by doing serious high intensity interval training.
For example I have a park across the road from me which has a path around it which is 1.5km, I used to do time trials around it 5 times a week. Usually 4 laps sometimes 5, other times when I was a bit fatigued 3. I always had a 4 min break between each run and I dropped my lap time by over a minute, as every 2 weeks I would just do 1 lap as hard so i could to record my improvements.
I rocked up to pre-season footy training and went from middle of the pack the season before to winning the 1km time trials.
So the real keys IMO are probably more mental than anything. Discipline, consistency, getting used to pushing yourself to exhaustion and I cannot stress enough and probably the most important factor of all is having a correct diet.
I noticed this correlated to much better riding also, I don't do any strava or time trials when I ride but I noticed I could climb hills i couldn't before and just generally ride for longer.

P.s. Proper Diet.

 

[onesilop]

One suggestion that has helped me is a heart rate monitor then do some interval training based on heart rate.
Depending on what you want to achieve you can use the Polar or Garmin (any of them really) websites to work out a program.

I am a data guy, I love to know everything about what I am doing so I have a GPS enabled HRM but any will do for measuring your interval training plan.

I had a variety of interval training types that I would do
For fitness - Warm Up, then 3 mins 90% HR, Recover to 60% (usually about 1-2 mins) repeat say 5-10 times depending how much time you have. Cool Down
For weight loss - Warm Up, 5 mins 70%, 1 Min 90 % repeat for 8-10 times, Cool down

The beauty of this type of training is you can do it on a stationary bike, bike, running/walking, boxing etc any cardio based exercise you can fit into your day.

That was until I discovered the "Magic" of Sciatica and now I can't put in the long seated workouts.
Did help me loose about 25% of my body weight though.

 

[Minlak]

Complimentary training!

Explaining this very badly but don't just focus on riding to get better at riding. Think tri athelete run swim and cycle.
Different exercise will create stress and growth in different areas.

I am explaining this very badly sorry very tired and trouble concentrating.

Go running / join a gym / strength train / swim

DO NOT!!! Crossfit...... you will have no time to train as you are explaining to everyone that you 'Crossfit"

 

[slimjim1]

One thing that worked for me was riding around for a few months with a 5 year old set of avid's with sticky pistons and insane amounts of brake drag. When I finally got around to putting the xt's on I felt like a rocket!

 

[Minlak]

The other thing to consider especially for marathon events is managing your effort. Keep your heart rate below 60ish percent of your max an you will be able to push for longer. As fitness grows you can sustain a higher cadence or gear for longer before the heart rate tops the threshold.

 

[Cúl-Báire]

Do some intervals?..

If it's just fitness you are after rather than chasing podiums, etc... I would say riding more and even running here and there will help. Aim to get out on the bike for a decent ride "X" times a week ("X" being once or twice more than now). Set yourself fun little challenges i.e. I have a short sub 10min XC loop I do near home with a brutal climb, and awesome techy decent... I aim to beat my time each week, or if I am out for a while aim to lap consistent fast times. Try beat your time on xy&z climbs is another good example and indicator of fitness.

I'd suggest Crit racing but you don't have a roadie; so jumping on a trainer and doing say 3 x [10 x 30sec on / 30sec off intervals] once a week will yield similar results, and should bring up the top end fairly well.

Cant get out on the bike, go for a run - take it easy to begin with if you aren't a runner!

 

[josh_chis]

Best way to avoid plateauing your training is like a few people have said and mix things up.

One little trick is to use free weights instead of spending an hour doing cardio, sounds a bit silly but with a heart rate monitor and a good routine you'll fitter faster stronger using the weights than by hitting the spin bike 5 times a week. even if you just add one weight session in a week will make big difference.

Your going to be lifting one rep max's so keep it light weight and high reps and depending on your age get your hear rate up around 130bpm and try keep it there.

Hope it helps

 

[unsafe]

Its been a great year and I've achieved my weight loss goals and seen my fitness improve significantly, general wellbeing and attitude all progressed for the better...

But my question is this - what tips can you give to get my fitness to the next level?


So, for general MTB XC and Marathon type races, what can you suggest to help with getting the fitness up?


Cheers

I'd suggest running on the beach and running up hills or using the stepper at the gym. Doing it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach (or with BCAA's) and/or at higher altitude too. Anything that makes your effort in training compared to when it comes to cycling higher.

I'm convinced weight training doesn't make you a better cyclist (I'm sure plenty will argue this), although it will convert fat to muscle way faster than cardio and the less kg's you're trucking aroung come xc time the better. Mid reps/mid sets type stuff if you do hit the weights. Fast twitch muscle is what you want to staminise.

HIIT works a treat after work to get your metabolism flowing and really helps with burst energy.

Hope this helps. It helped me lean right out and my fitness did hit the next level for a while there.

 

[mtb101]

commuting will get you to the next level.

then when you hit a 50 or 100k event you will have the staying power to hold pace.

its the working man's best friend and will build power and stamina.

too far to commute? then drive your car to a spot that gives you 30 minutes each way ride time, with an option for a longer loop coming home.

the daily training requirement of riding in/out to work can't be beat I reckon.

 

[pinnin]

Complimentary training!

Explaining this very badly but don't just focus on riding to get better at riding. Think tri athelete run swim and cycle.
Different exercise will create stress and growth in different areas.

I am explaining this very badly sorry very tired and trouble concentrating.

Go running / join a gym / strength train / swim

DO NOT!!! Crossfit...... you will have no time to train as you are explaining to everyone that you 'Crossfit"

I may have too much time on my hands but my training regime looks like this:

Mondays - Touch football (off season - gym)
Tuesdays - Gym night (touch off season - swimming laps)
Wednesdays - Indoor rock climbing
Thursdays - Road riding (good group, always pushing)
Then the rest of the weekend has some random activities thrown in.

My main focus is enduro motocross. I have a DH bike but no longer use it (selling) and rockclimbing is becoming really fun (more outdoors adventures).

I also have done a half ironman and am contemplating trying a full one before the end of 2015.

The variety of training makes it easy to get motivated. I went through a big stage of gym nights, lean muscle build. hard work, and sometimes couldnt be arsed.

I find the rock climbing probably the most beneficial. if you get busy in the rockclimbing gym, you can get working really fast. It is amazing what it does for my motorbike fitness too. no more arm pump (seriously)

Not sure if this helped but.. Rock climbing is a super fun sport and works out your whole body, and if you have a crack, is really intense. Although it does not isolate the legs...

 

[shakes]

I may have too much time on my hands but my training regime looks like this:

Mondays - Touch football (off season - gym)
Tuesdays - Gym night (touch off season - swimming laps)
Wednesdays - Indoor rock climbing
Thursdays - Road riding (good group, always pushing)
Then the rest of the weekend has some random activities thrown in.

You have to much time on your hands.

As a fairly hands on parent. I'm either up at 4am to get a couple of hours on the roadie in before work. I have saturday mornings booked in to go riding/climbing/something but thats usually a social thing. One night is yoga and one night is gym/bouldering. The other nights my wife is out doing her thing and I'm home cooking/cleaning and being a good husband.

Commuting helps me keep some endurance, but due to the amount of other numpties on the road it's not really the place for structured intervals.

I could get fitter and faster, but I'm not prepared to give up family time. I've managed to balance that line of keeping the fitness I need to do the rides I enjoy without struggling. And without re-arranging our schedule and potentially sacrificing other aspects of my life, things I'm not going to improve to much more.

For the OP I think if you do have that time to 'sit and spin' on the trainer to clear your head, it's time to go digging through the archives on interval training.

 

[pinnin]

You have to much time on your hands.

As a fairly hands on parent. I'm either up at 4am to get a couple of hours on the roadie in before work. I have saturday mornings booked in to go riding/climbing/something but thats usually a social thing. One night is yoga and one night is gym/bouldering. The other nights my wife is out doing her thing and I'm home cooking/cleaning and being a good husband.

Commuting helps me keep some endurance, but due to the amount of other numpties on the road it's not really the place for structured intervals.

I could get fitter and faster, but I'm not prepared to give up family time. I've managed to balance that line of keeping the fitness I need to do the rides I enjoy without struggling. And without re-arranging our schedule and potentially sacrificing other aspects of my life, things I'm not going to improve to much more.

For the OP I think if you do have that time to 'sit and spin' on the trainer to clear your head, it's time to go digging through the archives on interval training.

I figured I did.

Also, how do you find yoga? I have been trying to get to a class for a couple of weeks now. Help with climbing? / general flexibility?

 

[shakes]

I figured I did.

Also, how do you find yoga? I have been trying to get to a class for a couple of weeks now. Help with climbing? / general flexibility?

Like you wouldn't believe. Takes away alot of the knots and tightness that you get as well, not quite a massage but similar feeling afterwards.

I quite enjoy the meditation/relaxation side of it too.

 

[swaz]

No one has really mentioned weights. Even body weight exercises can lead to massive strength gains (have a look at gymnasts. Tabata, crossfit style work outs and olympic lifting will all make you a better rider. Endless riding to get fitter is not needed in my opinion.

 

[dolphinman]

Move somewhere where you don't have a car that is super bike friendly (eg Denmark).
Ride your kids (25kgs + trailer) to school in trailer every day on a 7 speed clunker, with some decent hills (18km round trip, 2 x per day).
Ride fast - chase that young lass in the leggings off to uni up the next hill.
Do that for 3 months.
Return home and have everyone asking why you are so fast.

 

[Liberty555]

I may have answered my own question...

So back in late October '14 I asked the question about next level fitness and how to get there…

As coincidence would have it less than 2 weeks after penning that topic, I was in hospital with a gangrene appendix and in a world of pain… having come down crook part way through a training ride on the MTB… about 12-14 hours later I was in an ambulance and about 2 hours after that I was in surgery.

Just thinking back over it, I sends shivers down my spine.

Anyway, after excellent medical care things improved quickly. The Surgeon strongly recommended I avoid the Mountain Bike for at least 6 weeks for fear of opening one or more of the holes he’d put in me if I came off. The thought of not riding, or only riding on the turbo trainer had me going spare, so I sold my soul to the LBS and bought a roadie.

Well, after about 2 months of concerted roadie training (riding with a great mob of folks) I got back on the trails again and can say without any shadow of a doubt that loads of solid roadie miles pays dividends.

I know mountain bikers like to bag out roadies, but there is something to be said about the fitness you’ll gain by turning your legs non stop at 90rpm for two hours solid a few times a week... All of a sudden those long sticky climbs seem flatter and less sweat inducing.

Don’t knock it ‘til you try it.