Core strength

[Julian]

Just idly wondering about this training plan I'm going to start resume in January, and how necessary core strength is.

I'm not a gym bunny, and no amount of coveting toned biceps is going to turn me into one.  So far I've concentrated on increasing distance, which has just been a question of putting miles in legs.  But 2009, with TRAT and possibly another crack at the Mersey Roads (without being hospitalised this time plz) on the cards, I want to increase my speed significantly.  I can currently ride for ages at 20kph, and by June I want to be able to do the same at 20mph.

Do I need to improve my core strength to get faster, or is it just a matter of general fitness and practice?

And if I do need to, what should I be doing, bearing in mind that I'm more Ewok than Stormtrooper by build?

[border-rider]

Don't worry about strength if it's speed you're after.   

Join a club, go on club runs and survive.  After a week or two start joining the sprints for signposts and the mad dash at the finish.  Then go on weekday evening training rides.

If you can keep up with the chain gang as the season gets underway you're in business. 

It'll hurt, mind.

[Chris S]

Core Strength provides a platform from which you can do Big Things.

Long spells on a bike. Pushing big gears for long hours. These are aided by a stable core.

So I'm told.

Some options:

1. Join the 100 Push up Challenge.
2. Practice The Plank until you are really good. At least five minutes is deemed Good.
3. Good form Situps.
4. Ditch the office chair, and sit on a Swiss Ball. This may not be compatible with client facing situations.

[Julian]

I can keep up with the club run!  on the tandem

Club runs on a solo are my first call.  I was tentatively wondering whether spending a couple of evenings for a month in the gym would make it hurt less.  I suspect not. 

[hugo15]

Totally un-scientific, but I have been doing some core exercises on and off for the last few months and I do feel that they are helping out on the bike. I seem to be able to push a bigger gear and I seem to have more power when I am climbing. Been doing some of the exercises from the article below

Core - bicycling.com

[Chris S]

One 2x20 intervals session a week has added a few km/hr to my average.

[Mike r]

Some cross training maybe, go swimming or maybe something like rock-climbing? I have been rock-climbing for 10 years and find it really helps on climbs or the hard fast stuff. You can also appear to be quite relaxed with a stable upper body even if you are struggling.

[Crystal Tips]

Hi Liz,

A cautionary tale from someone who's not been able to run for 6 months or cycle in the last three. I went from half marathon to marathon running and from 50 cycling miles in a day to 100 over a year or so - all based on leg strength and lots of practice. It all went well, I met all my goals set at new year - then ping. Ouch and hobble home one day - and I've not been right since

Since then all doctors, physios, podiatrists I have been to see just keep saying 'core strength' as a mantra.

So I am sure you probably oould get faster and fitter on riding alone, but I think it would be best to do all the core work as an insurance policy.

Good Luck

[inc]

Just idly wondering about this training plan I'm going to start resume in January, and how necessary core strength is.

 I want to increase my speed significantly.  I can currently ride for ages at 20kph, and by June I want to be able to do the same at 20mph.

Do I need to improve my core strength to get faster, or is it just a matter of general fitness and practice?

You don't say if you are riding in a group or alone and at what level of effort 20kph is for you at the moment but it is quite a big ask to go from 20 to 32 kph average speed for an extended period.  It is a 50% speed increase but will require a lot more than 50% power increase. It depends on what your core strength is like now as to whether spending time developing it will bring any noticeable benefit. You will need to adopt a more aero position the higher the speed which in turn means more work for your back, arms, shoulder,neck  and abdominal muscles. You will also need to have some sort of a structured training plan to make those sort of gains in six months it just won't happen going out for a ride.

[slowfen]

Core strength will help, but a couple of evenings a month at a gym wont help, not efrequent enough.

Try pilates, or te more athletic yogas, say once a week, and then repeat the evening later that week at home.  The worse thing with pilates/yoga is if you get the exercise out of shape it wont work/do harm.

Failing that, try some general fitness books, again it needs to be done regularly.

Good luck with it

SF

[Wendy]

I would think you should spend most of your time simply riding at below your ventilation threshold, putting away a lot of mileage for three months.  I.e. easy riding, starting with distances you can manage at the moment, and slowly increasing them.  When you've done that, then you can start to think about the higher intensity involved with club rides, intervals, etc.

The core strength you need will still be built by just going out and cycling, but not as quickly.  To avoid injury, most of all you need to make small increments in workload at a time, never large jumps in intensity or duration.

If you're really keen on getting better, then get a coach.  Just ask Gonzo how effective a coach is.

[toontra]

Another vote for pilates.  I combine a session twice or three times a week with my gym visits, after doing fixed weights and before sweating away on power intervals on the cycle trainer.

You can be fairly fit (or think you are) but a thorough pilates session will leave you begging for mercy as the core muscles are stretched to their limit.  I've heard good things about the benefits of pilates for cyclists, especially speeding up the recovery time after injury.  I can't say I've noticed any direct effect yet (a few months) but it may be a subtle benefit.  I've certainly had far fewer physical niggles on multi-day long trips.

BTW the women always put the men to shame (me anyway), having far greater "bendability" in the hips and neck.

[toontra]

The core strength you need will still be built by just going out and cycling, but not as quickly.  To avoid injury, most of all you need to make small increments in workload at a time, never large jumps in intensity or duration.

I don't think just cycling will do much for core strength specifically, certainly in the short term.  It's amazing how specific various activities are in their development of certain muscle groups.  You can be fantastically strong in a certain discipline but useless at another, even if it seems to use the same general body parts.

If Liz is wanting to be sure her body holds up over several gruelling days (something that can't be replicated in training), then a quick way of developing core strength is specific exercise IMO.

[Wendy]

Yes, cycling probably doesn't use or train a great deal of core strength, but that's because you don't need much for cycling.

My point is that if Liz just wants to get faster and do her events, she'll do better by focusing all her training and recovery capacity on cycling, and not cross training.  If, OTOH, her goals include more rounded fitness and health, and less focus on the performance, then cross training should assume a higher importance.  This sort of thing is why a coach is the right choice, because he or she will be able to tweak a massive improvement from anyone, and in the right direction for the particular student.

[toontra]

My view is that developing core strength certainly can't hurt, and is good for general well-being and posture.  Cycling long distances day after day is a totally un-natural activity and can lead to all sorts of physical problems.  Why not try an alleviate this in advance?

If it's a question of time,  I'd say a 1-hour power interval session on the cycle trainer and a 1-hour pilates session is of far more benefit than an un-structured 2 hours on the road, both for developing strength and endurance.

[Wendy]

Intervals/power sessions before building base miles?   

[Sergeant Pluck]

One 2x20 intervals session a week has added a few km/hr to my average.

Any straightforward websites on this 2x20 business?

[toontra]

Intervals/power sessions before building base miles?   

Not before, alongside.  Any problems with that?

PS  Leave off with the rolley eyes.

[mike]

One 2x20 intervals session a week has added a few km/hr to my average.

Any straightforward websites on this 2x20 business?

the training page on Timetrialling Forum (Powered by Invision Power Board) is quite good.  One of the links goes to this:
Understanding Intervals

I've got a lot quicker since starting doing 2 x 20s.  I'm doing other stuff as well which should be helping, but the main hard sessions are either 2 x 20 at about 95% of flat out or (occasionally) 6-10 x 3 minutes at over 110%.

[toontra]

One 2x20 intervals session a week has added a few km/hr to my average.

Any straightforward websites on this 2x20 business?

Nothing straighforward that I know of.  My motivation was this thread - http://www.cyclingforums.com/t-314849-15-1.html


It follows a 64 year old as he moves from being left behind on road runs to developing enough power to blast his friend away on hilly routes and having the capacity of a cat 3/4 racer.  There's a lot to wade through and I'm sure the basics are available elsewhere in a more succinct form, but I found this really inspiring.  the first 50 pages are the most useful!


EDIT: Cross posting - see above. Thanks for that Mike!

[Wendy]

Not before, alongside.  Any problems with that?

Isn't that rather like building the 2nd and 3rd floors of a building at the same time as the ground floor?

[Wendy]

My view is that developing core strength certainly can't hurt, and is good for general well-being and posture.  Cycling long distances day after day is a totally un-natural activity and can lead to all sorts of physical problems.  Why not try an alleviate this in advance?

It can't hurt general all-round fitness, but it's not necessarily going to do anything to prevent "physical problems", and it probably won't do much for the performance Liz is looking for.  In training terms, injury prevention is mostly about not doing too much too soon.  Things like not doing intervals until you have sufficient base training, not increasing volume/intensity by more than 5-10% per week, proper recovery, learning to listen to your body, etc.

[Wendy]

Liz, this book is pretty good: Joe Friel - the Cyclist's Training Bible

The Cyclist's Training Bible: Joe Friel, Tudor Bompa: Amazon.co.uk: Books

There's apparently a new one out in January.  Personally, I'd go with a personal online coach for the sort of performance improvement you're looking for.  They don't seem to be that expensive, and you'll learn a tremendous amount about training and about your body's reaction to it.

[Julian]

Cheers guys (and those who have PMd me) - lots to think about. 

I'm aiming for a 20mph average within a group, not by myself, so it's not quite as mad as it sounds.  I'm going to try to get lots of miles in over January and then look at working on speed a bit more.  I'm also going to try to get to yoga a bit more often, and have a look at coaching. 

[Ariadne]

I have to say that I disagree with you, BentMikey - given the problems Crystal Tips has been having, and just from my own PT training, core is essential and really will help performance massively -- and prevent a lot of 'physical problems'.