How to Train for Competitive Cycling

[synti12]

1.train for some months

2. climb alpeduez.

3. i did that, it wasnt easy, but it wasnt hard. but iwas great!

[carlosdeno]

Gone from 97 kilos to 75 in 7 months, road cycling was for the last month after a lot of gym work and running. I'm 47 and back to my best which was when I was 25. I'm so glad I went back to cycling after over 22 years away, it is easy on the knees and one hell of a total all round fitness builder.

[ArmyOfSweden]

Or you just do like Armstrong, you get cancer and come back with even more EPO

[titanium1228]

i started cycling to loose weight eventually i got good at it. and started to join competitions... it takes hard work and a little bit of sacrifice. to win a race. i salute all cyclist out there. this sports really pushes the human strength to its limits.

[Klemmetsmo]

@titanium1228 How did it work for you? Dropping the weight and getting in shape ?

[titanium1228]

@Klemmetsmo

i use to be at 130kilos. at 5'7 in height. i was just so determine to loose weight.

now im at 85 kilos and dropping. i ride around 4-5 times a weeks. 2 group rides. and the rest hill climbs. i ride about 2 hours even more or so per ride.

and on some occasions. i ride twice a day...

i mainly use a mountain bike. i do have a road bikes. but i use a mountain bike for practice.

[Klemmetsmo]

@titanium1228 Nice, :). Well done realy.

I become addicted to Cycling so saving up to buy a Road bike. And hoping to get better in shape so i mix it with strengt training to try to look better :P

[Duffweiserable]

To remain in keeping with the general conversation, i have both hairy arms and legs... moving on. When i train for sportives or triathlons i find hill training to be the more beneficial for my endurance. Short sharp shocks to your system are a tried and tested way to improve your fitness and average speed.

[auvaol]

good

[drewgonzales360]

Whenever I'm behind someone with hairy legs, I move up. 

[IgoOrLee]

I hate hills XD

[TurkiyeCumhurbaskani]

I'm a cyclist always shave my legs

[MrKenneththeboss]

@Topthai23 there you go again you make no sense reply once you have completed grammar school.

[MrKenneththeboss]

@Topthai23 Learn English before you comment on youtube videos.

[danfoz]

The legs are shaved so that when the inevitable crash happens (in Cat4/5 they happen quite a bit), the wound is much easier to clean. Oh and yes they help a massage and plus it looks cool. There was almost a crash every race in my Cat last season! I don't know of anyone outside of Cat5 who does not shave their legs, It's the cycling equivalent of Abraham's covenant with God. it's ok if you don't get it, we don't really care.

[Topthai23]

@raregeezer well six people understand it . So u much be a real english man than . Also it was a joking to all people who like cycling.

[raregeezer]

@Topthai23 what?

[Topthai23]

@raregeezer what u don't understand than u never been cycling

[poprambomarine]

I MEAN THIS ACCOUNT (NEW) IS NOW MY ACCOUNT (POPRAMBOMARINE)

[poprambomarine]

HEY GUYS THIS IS MY NEW ACCOUNT (LIVESTRONG) CUS THIS ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HACKED!!!IVE GOT 5 NEW VIDS COMIN OT LATER...

[slavicman09]

shave the legs... it shows the definition of the muscles and everybody does it in cycling, what are you scared people will tease you, BE A MAN!

[BrianBUrlacher]

@slavicman09 they also shave their legs for plasters etc so the pain thrshold is easier to take and it makes for quick treatement on the bike :-)

[vic0mark]

@BrianBUrlacher Then why not shave the arms as well? I think slavicman09 makes the most convincing argument: it's a thing that cyclists do. Ritual, identity or aesthetics--anyway you slice it, it's psychological not logical.

[jhardy66617]

@vic0mark do a multi-day stage race, crash after 3 days, then try cleaning the wounds with a stiff bristle brush because it has to be clean to heal to race more. youll wish u had no hair on your legs, massage oil works better when it isnt absorbed into your hair as well. so lets see what you get here. clean legs, better recovery, and awesome tan lines.

[vic0mark]

@jhardy66617 Thank you for the information and advice. Would it be okay if I crashed on the second or the fourth day, or should I wait for the third day? Perhaps you should consider that not everyone who makes comments on youtube is a rank amateur who is interested in a pissing contest.

Incidentally, in the seasons that I have bucked the trend and went stubbley, my tanlines were just as ridiculous as the years that I shaved and my road rash was equally as sticky and disgusting.

[jhardy66617]

@vic0mark maybe you suck at cleaning out road rash then, mine are always cleaner, hurt less, and heal with less chance of infection

[vic0mark]

@jhardy66617 Yours is "always cleaner": this implies a comparison. Cleaner than rash of people with hair? Of your own rash with hair? Or of mine--a person who you have never met? Your conclusions are anecdotal, and so are mine. I guess the difference is that when someone disagrees with me, I don't attack them personally or make assumptions about what they do or do not do well. If you want to convince someone, or just win an argument, try not to indulge in 'ad hominen' attacks. Regards.

[jhardy66617]

@vic0mark if u want to heal faster with less pain and mess shave em, if u didnt figure that out from everyones statements your at a loss

[joerdm1991]

your run of the mill people go everyday to a massage therapists for massages without any thought of hair legs...

[joerdm1991]

sorry ktayor1 but the reason they do it isnt because it looks better, and yes it does have to do with protection because when your sliding, the hairs have the tendency to "grab on" if you will to the pavement and because of that it starts a pulling action at your skin tearing it more forcefully than if you were hairless sliding across with no friction from the hair.

you are correct though that it does not serve any aerodynamic advantage.

and i have to disagree with the massage statement as

[chrisbear08]

@Triple777ER Just keeping the cycling tradition alive noob...

[Triple777ER]

Yes keep doing that.

[ktayor1]

The reason why cyclist shave their legs, is it just looks better! Its got nothing to do with road rash is worse if you fall off and you have hairy legs, or aerodynamics. Its just part of cycling now.  It looks the part and looks better than hairy legs!

[marcoss92]

@ktayor1 shaving legs is necessary in pro and semi-pro cycling because of the massages you need. after every ride and competition you need to get some leg massage to relax your muscles, try massagin your hary legs... not nice

[chrisbear08]

@joerdm1991 And shaved legs also bring out muscular and vascular definition intimidating other riders.

[joerdm1991]

@chrisbear08 very very true...those hairy bastards just look stupid on a bike!! they dont scare anyone...its funny because when i pull up to a local ride...the people who don shave...are usually the ones that end up at the back of the pack. it just means your not that good...get over you ego and what your friends might say and life your own life.!!!!!

[chrisbear08]

@joerdm1991 Excatly they just look like some kind of wild beast on 2 wheels coming at you.. to put it nicely :P

[Lwpbenigma]

@joerdm1991

I am like a bear and I ride my MTB like a fucking enraged demon as fast or more than the shave ones. Shave or not, means nothing.

[rimfire72]

@peter3337: yes jeepneys. jeepneys are improvised military jeep used here in the philippines as mode of public transport. which unfortunately are driven by un-educated drivers who don't care or value life.

[joerdm1991]

the reason they dont shave their arms is because your shoulder is usually the first to hit the ground, then the elbow (dont know how much hair you have so hard to gauge) but not many people have alot of hair on their elbows...by the time that happens youve slowed down enough to not effect your arms all that much. it also easier to live with a cut on your arm.

[rimfire72]

you guys are lucky you don't have jeepneys to bother you on the road. here in the philippines, jeepneys would kill you.

[peter3337]

@rimfire72 jeepneys??

[huntingfreak901]

@passwordresetisbroke true that and i don really pay attention to average but i would say around 20 24 mph about 3 hours 30 or 40 mins.... but i just recovered from a bike crash ( went skidding acros the road due to a front tire blow out) i seperated my arm from the ball had 2 pins and was riding 25 miles on the trainer a day

[passwordresetisbroke]

@huntingfreak901 Bloody hell, you ever cycle competatively, as if I remember properly that sort of level is well into semi pro/pro sort of standard.

An arm injury isnt going to affect your cycling performance all that much once it heals is it? So I guess you got lucky.

[huntingfreak901]

@passwordresetisbroke yeah i have been racing since i was 5 and the army wont affect anything besides that i might have a shorter reach due to not being able to straighten my arm back out from a mtb crash

[jamesrazer2]

hope you get soon man

[passwordresetisbroke]

@MRDURRUS I dont agree, its not neccasarily impossible, I have known people who did nearly that amount (though not 3 times a week but they did have jobs)

I will say that it is pointless though. Buy a car!

[danielb1787]

@passwordresetisbroke Having a car or not is irrelevant.

[huntingfreak901]

@passwordresetisbroke cars arent that fun unless you buy a race car...

[huntingfreak901]

im ride 150 miles every other day (25 every other day also) and i am not even old enough to drive yet

[friendlyal32]

@huntingfreak901 cool

[jkovalchek]

@huntingfreak901 i agree with friendyal23...

[shockey957]

@huntingfreak901 Bullshit.

[huntingfreak901]

@shockey957 how am i lieing i love my bike :)

[MRDURRUS]

@huntingfreak901 150 miles 3 times a week isnt possible unless u dont have a job and are tour de france standard.... fantasist...

[huntingfreak901]

@MRDURRUS i dont have a job im not even old enough to drive plus i dont have a life my life is on my bike :)

[MRDURRUS]

@huntingfreak901 150 miles every 2 days? methinks you crazy....

[passwordresetisbroke]

@MRDURRUS He may be crazy, but his thighs are bulletproof!

Hell I have to say 150 is insanity! After about 20 my balls have receded to somewhere near my voicebox :/

[huntingfreak901]

@passwordresetisbroke it also helps that i have been racing/ riding since i was 5

[huntingfreak901]

@MRDURRUS  yeah i people call me crazy all the time i guess i am idk

[SeaRanger311]

Strangely this has been the only decent informative one, and i stress the decent.

[timbetan]

you can say nothing about biking i you wanna be good you must ride as much as you can

[enurit]

what??? I have been Mountain biking and I just started road biking and my first team ride was 5 and a half hours!! how could he say only 1-2 hours?

[TheDavidPhil]

He's probably talking about people who don't have time for long rides so they do high intensity rides, which are shorter. Both long and short a beneficial because the build stamina and strength respectively.

[BrundukasLT]

well when u're going on 25km/h then it's easy.. try on +35 :)

[merrygaming4]

woah hw far dude u go man?

[mightyPants]

@enurit

Well, unless you are unemployed, I doubt anyone could find 5 and a half hours to cycle 4 times a week.

[ChiChiRodriguez1]

@enurit he wants us to lose the race so he and his team members can win the race .

[chsspartan]

this didn't help too much...

my personal recommendation for a basic guide for/mainly during season is 4 easy 1 hour rides cad-110, easy pedal to were you can't feel anything (150-200 watts). one of those days being 3 hours of that (it will be slow at like 15mph). 3 workout days in the week spaced out every other day. 1day with out of saddle int, 1day with hills, and other with in saddle sprints. minimum warm up time of 30 minutes and sprints hold 30sec-40sec and recovery is 2 minutes between.

[videolover61]

What happened to KL? He left the sport all mad at Lance...The guy made NO mark. Then went over to that nut wanna be jan Ullrich! Ugh!!!

[patrickJMT]

the best thing to do is to climb mt. bonnell 50 times in a row!!

[CircaRigeI]

Heh... maybe I should do that to train for the Triple Bypass (Colorado race).

[maches71]

can you give us more tips than you . and what about the food

[7bmwm3gtr]

He said "here are a few general tips to get you started." I don't think that should include the diet, so the he gave us what he said, general tips.

[mustardjunkie]

Jack like hell

to bring that 78 undoped VO2 max to 100ml/kg.

And that 370 FTP up to 520, higher than your old VO2 max.

[xmanskater]

geez cussing? this isn't a politics video...right?

[hunkydevil9]

Great Advice, thankyou

I'm 16, just started training with the Manchester Wheelers

And hoping one day to join the cycling world

perhaps even one day wearing the meillot jaune

:)

[kyledrum15]

hey! same here!

what bike do you ride?

[EWStranger]

OMG me too except for im 15.

What bike do you have?