am just counting on the app adjusting the workouts as appropriate once I start the next build phase.
I got an 8% drop, which I was disappointed with, but had a 2x20 sweet spot session yday that i would have struggled with, but it was survivable. So I'm sticking with their recommendations for now.
Worth listening to a couple of the recent pods to understand the new model a bit better.
Ok I have done 4 weeks of VO2 sessions Tuesdays, Sweetspot or Threshold Thursdays and my usual 70-90km group road rides at weekend...I have also not eaten any biscuits. I was thinking an easier week this week with a z2 Tuesday then I guess an FTP test Thursday.. did a 20 min one before Xmas and not sure I want to again..can someone tell me a ramp test is fine and then let me know what to do next I was thinking the dirt destroyer training plan as it factors in outdoors rides. Thoughts anyone?
Thoughts anyone?
Depends what you're training for I guess?
I've now abandoned my plans for one last CX race of the season and since you can apparently plateau after 6 weeks or so of genuine threshold training, there doesn't seem much point in me continuing with threshold and V02 workouts right now if my goal is endurance first, speed (a distant...) second.
So for me, I'm going to do another 6 weeks or so of just building up my sweetspot workouts, ideally get up to 3x20 minutes. Then Z2 at weekends although Z2 offroad tends to stray into Z3 at times 😂
Closer to my goal event April/May I'll start doing more hard hill reps as the event (Grand Old Dukes) has a lot of successive steep climbs.
Thoughts anyone?
This coming from someone who has listened to TrainerRoad podcast, and used it quite a bit the last 18 months.......sounds like you're not giving yourself any recovery time. And all fairly high intensity sessions. Will you not overtrain if you don't introduce some endurance sessions and some recovery time?
sounds like you're not giving yourself any recovery time. And all fairly high intensity sessions. Will you not overtrain if you don't introduce some endurance sessions and some recovery time?
The Saturday ride is endurance (85% zone 2 heart rate) and the rest comes on the days I don't ride. Is that not enough?
Depends what you're training for I guess?
Just general fitness, bit of bike packing in the summer, being fit enough to do a week's riding in Mallorca in February, no major plans
I think that 3x sessions a week is fine, but depending on how hard your group ride is you might want to tone down your threshold or VO2 max session to a sweet spot one to avoid things getting on top of you. Most training plans with a lot of intensity like that tend do recommend 3 weeks on then a week of recovery/endurance riding - all e plans I’ve seen with longer gaps between rest weeks tend to be high volume, low intensity so you can tolerate longer stretches of work.
As for ftp testing, I have no idea what dirt destroyer is but I’d say use whatever ftp test your chosen platform recommends. In my experience ramp tests work as well as 20min tests and are much easier to execute. If you start the plan and find the workouts too hard or too easy you can always manually adjust by a few watts.
I think that 3x sessions a week is fine, but depending on how hard your group ride is you might want to tone down your threshold or VO2 max session to a sweet spot one to avoid things getting on top of you.
Makes sense, I took the group rides easy this week...i repeat the words of Marcellus Wallace "that's just pride ****ing with your head".
I'd do more endurance/zone 2 stuff but I refuse to ride more than an hour on the turbo.
As for ftp testing, I have no idea what dirt destroyer is but I’d say use whatever ftp test your chosen platform recommends. In my experience ramp tests work as well as 20min tests and are much easier to execute. If you start the plan and find the workouts too hard or too easy you can always manually adjust by a few watts.
This is the correct answer, thanks 😆
I've made myself a zwift workout using the 4x8 intervals suggested above.. currently it's at 105% of my FTP..
Maan i've lost lots of fitness recently!
I can jsut manage 3 of the workouts at 93% intensity!
yes yes, this likely means my FTP should be set lower, but i've a weird power curve that i can manage, say, 90% of FTP for ages..but anything over it becomes a struggle! So i'm going to persist and aim to get my VO2 max up aagain!
Also...have swapped the cranks on the turbo to 165mm (from 172.5) jsut to see if this makes turbo work more productive!
DrP
I've made myself a zwift workout using the 4x8 intervals suggested above.. currently it's at 105% of my FTP..
Maan i've lost lots of fitness recently!
I can jsut manage 3 of the workouts at 93% intensity!
It certainly exposes any weaknesses! 🤣
I dialled my intensity back just enough that I could be guaranteed to finish, at least I can push a bit harder in the last interval if I feel I can. I decided consistency > absolute intensity!
2x20 sweetspot tonight, with a view to slowly building up in 5 minute increments to 3x20. Any longer than that and I'm taking outside and finding some long hills to repeat.
I was going to ditch any seriously high intensity for a month or two but Wattkg did an interesting article on 'maintenance' intensity.
https://www.wattkg.com/off-season/
I doubt much of it really applies to me, but since my natural disposition as a rider is 'plodder' I don't really want to abandon the really sharp workouts entirely. Will fit a 30/15 in once a fortnight hopefully...
this may be of interest https://www.reddit.com/r/Zwift/comments/1qoge8t/im_56_with_higher_ftp_than_at_26_and_i_created/
I've made myself a zwift workout using the 4x8 intervals suggested above.. currently it's at 105% of my FTP..
Maan i've lost lots of fitness recently!
I can jsut manage 3 of the workouts at 93% intensity!yes yes, this likely means my FTP should be set lower, but i've a weird power curve that i can manage, say, 90% of FTP for ages..but anything over it becomes a struggle! So i'm going to persist and aim to get my VO2 max up aagain!
A couple of thoughts occur to me:
- I wouldn't use VO2 efforts as a gague of ftp, it's really common to have to tweak VO2 efforts based on your power curve. That said, if you haven't tested for a while you should do that as a priority because training without a good benchmark for your zones is unlikely to be productive.
- A 4x8 min super-threshold session is a pretty hard way to start interval training if you haven't been at it for a while. So far both folk who've mentioned it on here have talked about not being able to finish it and I'm not surprised! I know the wattkg guy says it has good science behind it but AFAICT it one study from 2011 with 35 participants so not the most overwhelming evidence. I don't doubt it would work under the right conditions but if you're struggling to complete it as prescribed then I'd suggest considering a different approach.
I'm interested in what others are up to so will keep an eye on this thread
Me: age 62, 191cm, 86kg, FTP ~285w, VO2 Max fluctuates around 51-53 - this is what Garmin says, but I do NOT believe I'm a "Top 5% for age" athlete! /<humble brag>
I'm not particularly competitive and I'm not a great fan of racing with a load of random people - I don't want them to crash and bring me down. I'm shit-scared of a major injury that would keep me off the bike as I'd be deathly bored!
I hate turbo training and would rather ride outside BUT there's no denying how much more time-efficient HIIT/VO2/Over-Under sessions are. I'm generally much "fitter" (power/speed) at the end of winter and I generally lose that fitness but replaced by "more endurance" as I do longer rides in Spring/Summer/Autumn. My main focus is back-country gravel rides slash bike touring so the ability to churn out back-to-back 6hr+ rides is important to me.
Anyway, a riding buddy recently got gravel bike and wants to ramp up his riding, so is putting together an official, licensed "team" ie invited riding buddies to avoid clueless randoms and keep numbers small and manageable. He and some of the others have got various races/fondos planned and I want to join them for training purposes as well as having a pool of like-minded/ability people I can train/ride with through the year.
I suspect I'll be the oldest person but as I'm retired I also have the most time to train 👍 So I've got a Rouvy subscription and am trying that for a month but will focus on Anaerobic/High Aerobic rides only, whether solo ridings with ERG workouts or races. I'm a bit disappointed in Rouvy races so far, there's nowhere near the choice or number of riders that Zwift has....however, Rouvy has thousands of AR (filmed) routes to choose from so it's good for scoping out exotic locations.
So, a typical week for me is a 3 to 4 outdoor, mostly Z2 rides of 1.5 to 3.5 hrs during the week when the weather is good topped up with a couple of turbo trainer HIIT sessions or races when the weather is shite. I don't really do rest days/rest weeks properly - I'm not serious enough to care. If the weather is good, I'm riding whatever! (I should probably change this 😅)
In terms of specific rides, nothing definite yet but I'm hoping to get to Iceland and/or Norway this summer. Mrs Vlad doesn't ride so on those trips I'll be looking at couple of 5hr+ rides spread over a week or so, so I can do the sight-seeing/hiking with her (she seems happy to allow me to indulge in riding but there's no way she's gonna let me go to Iceland and not tag along herself!)
I wouldn't use VO2 efforts as a gague of ftp, it's really common to have to tweak VO2 efforts based on your power curve. That said, if you haven't tested for a while you should do that as a priority because training without a good benchmark for your zones is unlikely to be productive.
Bit of a strange comment seeing as the standard 20 min FTP test is ridden at ~105% of FTP. If 20mins at 105% works then 4x8mins at 105% is gonna let you know if you're in the ballpark. It's obviously a hard session, but it should be achievable with reasonable legs and a correctly estimated FTP.
The most common problem is that people neglect the 5min full gas interval that should be done before their 20min FTP test, so the FTP ends up being too high.
I just think my issue with the 4x8 interval programme is that I haven't done that sort of interval training for a while, so i wouldn't expect to smash it out straight away.
I'm happy building up with 3 then 4 intervals at a lower intensity, and I'm confident pretty quickly my body will remember to 'ignore the pain' and i'll be able to complete them!
DrP
Bit of a strange comment seeing as the standard 20 min FTP test is ridden at ~105% of FTP. If 20mins at 105% works then 4x8mins at 105% is gonna let you know if you're in the ballpark. It's obviously a hard session, but it should be achievable with reasonable legs and a correctly estimated FTP.
Yep, fair point. For some reason I'd fixated on the notion of VO2 (IME, typically higher than 105% FTP) rather than looking at the actual power quoted. Gladly retracted.
I'm happy building up with 3 then 4 intervals at a lower intensity, and I'm confident pretty quickly my body will remember to 'ignore the pain' and i'll be able to complete them!
If you're happy with it and not getting demoralised then it sounds like a good approach. I guess if you need to vary things to keep motivated you could also look at changing interval length.
I just think my issue with the 4x8 interval programme is that I haven't done that sort of interval training for a while, so i wouldn't expect to smash it out straight away.
I'm happy building up with 3 then 4 intervals at a lower intensity, and I'm confident pretty quickly my body will remember to 'ignore the pain' and i'll be able to complete them
Assuming your FTP is correct, then a better strategy would be to increase the rest period between intervals. Or make sure that your legs are fresh by reducing the frequency of intense workouts (once every 7-10 days). Or aim for 3 intervals instead of 4. 3x8 at 105% is still a decent stimulus. If you lower the intensity then you change the nature of the workout and in that case you might as well just do a sweetspot session. Nothing wrong with that of course, but it's a different beast to 3x8.
As per the other comments, reading with interest - relatively unstructured in terms of training so keen to see what others are up to!
37, 6'2", 87kg. FTP roughly 350w.
Not overly competitive, used to do a good number of enduro races, but found them stressful and ultimately didn't enjoy it so knocked it on the head. That said, I've spent the last few years watching cross, and not actually racing so maybe there's something to try there...
Picked up Zwift about 12 months ago in order to stave off the inevitable decline in fitness over winter - was derailed last year by emergency surgery and some time off the bike, but this year, I feel like I'm coming through winter with a bit more bike fitness than usual, mainly on the basis of 8 weeks of consistent Zwifting rather than anything else.
Loose goals for the year are Tor Divide (gravel route) in sub 11-12 hours, hit an entirely arbitrary FTP of 400w, and drop the weight to closer to 80kg than 90kg. I've also been bumped up Cat A racing on Zwift which is an entirely different, significantly more painful ball game, and it would be nice to be back at the pointy end. In terms of riding, I've loose plans for a couple of semi-uplifted weeks in Andorra/the Alps with a hefty chunk of winch and plummet, so fitness to do big days back to back would be nice.
Current training looks a bit like threshold intervals (3x 15 at 100% FTP), 1/2 Zwift races, then 1/2 longer Z2 rides, all on the turbo. Generally a couple of rides at the weekend outside to keep sane on an MTB.
I'm sort of hoping the volume is sufficient to see a natural increase to 400w with the general boost to overall endurance, but not averse to adding in some strength training/gym work if it looks like it's getting further away. I think I've a reasonable understanding of 4-week cycles for training, but the longer term 'do x for 4 weeks, deload, then increase for x weeks' stuff seems a bit more opaque, so will be lurking to see what others get up to!
Ok did my ramp test just now...background 52 this month, weight around 73kg, lost 1 or 2 since Xmas. Before Xmas did a 20min test, found pacing hard got FTP of 256w. Have done a VO2 interval and a threshold or seetpot interval each week for 4 weeks and usual outdoor 3-4 hour ride at weekend Ramp test today....got 275w. Quite surprised at that highest I have seen (in 6 or so years of turbo riding in winter) is 279w. Going to do the Dirt destroyer training plan on Zwift next mainly as it has built in outdoors rides. Would like to get FTP/kg to 4.0.
Some impressive numbers above! I'll never know an accurate FTP as I'm just going off virtual power on a dumb trainer, should probably go to a gym or something with a Wattbike to do a test, but having a number wouldn't change my training, and would probably just depress me! 😂
I can however weigh myself depressingly accurately, 4 months to do something about those numbers!
Am enjoying planning some bigger training rides for the spring, silly rides just picking off multiple climbs of appropriate length and gradient, some 100km/ 2300m climbing days coming up 🤮
Some impressive numbers above! I'll never know an accurate FTP as I'm just going off virtual power on a dumb trainer, should probably go to a gym or something with a Wattbike to do a test, but having a number wouldn't change my training, and would probably just depress me!
I'm always wary of comparing FTP numbers between people because there's so much variation in how they're estimated* that it's hard to know if the comparison is fair. It's also why doing a test on a machine that you aren't going to be training on can be a bad idea as there can be huge variations between devices. My smart trainer typically reads 6-7 watts lower than my power meter at threshold so if I used that for FTP testing then my outdoor training would be much less effective.
* even very good power meters have to use some assumptions to estimate how much power you're producing and these assumptions will differ depending on where the power is measured. To add to that the question of what FTP actially *means* isn't that simple - a quick look at the TR forums reveals a lot of discussion around the topic.
Yeah true but despite that an FTP like the one above of 350w would be nice!!!
Oh dear, another aborted workout last night, beginning to wonder if I'm just a bit burnt out with the indoor stuff.
Legs were actually feeling good, warmup felt easy and the first couple of 30 second openers felt effortless, but I was just constantly uncomfortable in niggling little ways (a recurring theme recently) and very distracted, the bike was creaking, my computer needed charged, my favourite mix on the headphones suddenly started getting on my nerves, etc. etc.
Basically I suddenly realised I really really couldn't be arsed sitting through the whole workout. Not the first time recently either.
Guess I have two options - just focus on weights and running midweek, accept I might not get quite as bike fit but probably end up 'fitter' overall, or drag out my mottly collection of old headlights and waterproofs and try and take it outdoors again in the evenings and mornings. Recent weather (constant drizzle and 3-5°C temperatures) has been a big demotivator for getting out when it's still dark 🙄
I need to keep reminding myself that I could probably improve my performance more just with some dedicated weight loss than with any specific training! 😂
Funny how the slightest things get inside your head when you're 'not feeling it' and contrive to force you back onto the sofa!
Maybe it's time to take a break and make a slight change - some nice steady spinning for a week with a new playlist, freshen up and provide some different, motivation? Sort out those little gremlins that magnify when you're under stress.
Remind yourself how crap it feels after you've given in to those nagging voices!
I got really tired of structure around New Year so took an unscheduled easy week and followed it up with a week of racing for a different stimulus. For the record, I hate racing on the turbo.
Worked a treat, fully back on plan now and starting to see some progress.
Argh, hope you find some motivation again 13thfloormonk! I agree with Haze that a wee rethink can be just the thing.
Ive just had my first FTP detection with trainerroads new system and it reckons I’m up 2.5% on this time last month. It doesn’t sound much, but I definitely feel much stronger. I’m a long way off the 350w that folk are dreaming of but it’s definitely good to have a little reminder that I’m making progress and I’m making a point of taking some joy from that. Hopefully that’s what will keep me on the pedals for the next couple of months !
I really need to get back into my fitness. Just before xmas I was really on it with non bike stuff, with combination of boot camp, weights and running most days.
Managed to pull my back just before xmas and done nothing since. Back still aches a bit now but I really should be getting back to doing something. Sadly, a combination of nervousness with the back, knowing I’ll have to take it easy and being back where I started, means I have zero motivation.
Fact I’ve now spent two months doing nothing but eating and drinking rubbish isn’t great 😩
Assuming your FTP is correct, then a better strategy would be to increase the rest period between intervals. Or make sure that your legs are fresh by reducing the frequency of intense workouts (once every 7-10 days). Or aim for 3 intervals instead of 4. 3x8 at 105% is still a decent stimulus. If you lower the intensity then you change the nature of the workout and in that case you might as well just do a sweetspot session. Nothing wrong with that of course, but it's a different beast to 3x8.
I agree and disagree - i think my issue is i've not properly trained for a while.. So at present i'm building up with 3 intervals at about 102% FTP.. soon (I promise sir..!) I'll be at 3 intervals at 105%..then at the 4.
I'm getting there. A few months of illness and injury can set you back, but i'm not starting from scratch!
a few years back i had an ftp of 312 at 68kg... now muscle bulking so 75kg, and an 'unfit' ftp of 265 currently.
DrP
I agree and disagree - i think my issue is i've not properly trained for a while.. So at present i'm building up with 3 intervals at about 102% FTP.. soon (I promise sir..!) I'll be at 3 intervals at 105%..then at the 4.
In that situation I would just be doing sweetspot - that is why is called 'sweet' spot - maximum stimulus:fatigue.
4x8 is an icing on the cake workout, sweetspot is bread and butter. You are trying to run before you can walk.
But at the end of the day, as long as you're doing something (with consistency) then that's the main thing.
Argh, hope you find some motivation again 13thfloormonk! I agree with Haze that a wee rethink can be just the thing.
Yes thanks both, my wee slump last week happened to coincide with three relatively consistent good weeks beforehand, so maybe just needed a rest week.
Out and feeling good on the gravel bike today, reminding me that for my objectives (long rides) I could be achieving just as much from strength training as from speed work, my triceps and delts were not enjoying five hours of twisting mud and roots ob a rigid CX bike!
In that situation I would just be doing sweetspot - that is why is called 'sweet' spot - maximum stimulus:fatigue.
4x8 is an icing on the cake workout, sweetspot is bread and butter. You are trying to run before you can walk.
But at the end of the day, as long as you're doing something (with consistency) then that's the main thing.
Ah, so you reckon start with sweetspot, then move to the 4x8 later.. sounds ike a plan actually.
DrP
Ah, so you reckon start with sweetspot, then move to the 4x8 later.. sounds ike a plan actually.
Exactly. SS and 4x8 are both aiming to increase threshold power, but SS does it at the bottom end of the threshold range, whereas 4x8 is at the very top of the range. Start easier, finish hard - periodisation.
Interesting thread.
I've got the Glentress 7 solo this year at the end of May. Never done an endurance event. Done plenty of enduro over the years.
I don't have a plan, I'm just trying to ride more, 3 times a week at the moment. Just riding, no real structure. I struggle with hamstring cramps a lot, so I can never truly push on a bike.
My FTP is well under 200. I'm 43 and 82kgs.
That Reddit thread is an eye opener for sure.
I really like the 'icing on the cake' analogy, my mistake has been trying to make these a regular, ongoing thing.
I'm going to try and 'sprinkle' intensity into the mix once every couple of weeks. I get the opportunity to go out and absolutely rinse myself once a fortnight, typically 4-5 hour gravel (usually incorporating lots of muddy singletrack also) and which is firmly Z3 'junk miles' (I know, I know, it's not junk if you enjoyed it).
Either side of that I think I just want to focus on consistent 1-2hr Z2 rides, twice weekly strength and at least one short run. This might leave time for a short VO2 type workout per fortnight, really just to keep the legs used to it.
I always wonder about the training effect of the long gravel rides. I'm stiff and sore today (in a good way) and will probably take tomorrow off as well. A two-day break every fortnight doesn't seem to harmful and I've banked a bunch of Z3 which is exactly the sorts of efforts you want in the tank for the big days out (I hope). I do sometimes worry though that all I'm doing is banking fatigue and low back pain 😆
Agree with the above that prioritising consistency over intensity is a good idea. A couple of times I've hit December or January thinking 'I can handle hard intervals, I'm just going to smash myself' and then had a max of 6 week worth of motivation. I don't know if that's a physiological thing but for me I just can't enjoy putting myself in that pain hole multiple times a week, even if it is kind of fun at first.
It all comes down to the individual's aims at the end of the day. If you want to be hitting 4W/kg+ then you're gonna need consistency and intensity, but the point is that the intensity should be managed, otherwise it's burnout and/or stagnation. You wouldn't go to the gym and just train max deadlifts every week otherwise you'd be absolutely shagged after 6 or 8 weeks.
And of course you can only manage intensity effectively if your FTP is correct. So the ego must be dropped and the proper 20 min test must be completed... as a priority. If your FTP is correct, then none of the main interval sessions should be that bad (4x8 @ 109% is the exception!) 2x20 @ SS should be a comfortably hard session - the sort of level that you could do 3 times a week if needed. Same for 4x4 @115% - it should not be a death or glory type effort, otherwise your FTP is simply too high.
Not that I'm particularly "training" for anything (although I do have a couple of gravel races I've signed up to) but this year has just been shit.
January's mileage was virtually all done during a week in Spain (and even there the weather was properly shit a couple of days) so it was a 10-12 days of no riding, a week of lots of riding followed by another 10 days where I did a small amount of commuting on the e-bike.
I've also been plagued by a series of colds. As soon as one has gone, the next has rolled in.
I'm spectacularly unfit. Just desperate for some decent weather to allow riding to and from work and to not have a nose made of thick yellow-green mucus.
Did the "SST Medium" zwift workout yesterday...much more manageable despite being 2 x 30 min intervals.. had to pass on the final 5 min of the last set purely because my knee was giving gip, rather than "it was too hard"!
I've shortened my cranks on the turbo to 165, and basically raised the saddle but not shifted it forward!
Good advice Jamz... Doing that workout was 'hard' but fine..!
That coupled with the Sunday 'coach north workout' which is basically the lower end of sweet spot and I'll be a good in again!
DrP
I swore I would drag myself out this morning for a quick Z2 spin. Woke at 5:30am, took one look out the window (didn't need to, could hear rain against glass) went back to bed 🙄
Hoping new saddles arriving today might make turbo sessions more bearable, shall have a fun night of low sweetspot while fiddling with saddle positions (have a Trek Aeolus and Selle Italia SLR Boost to play with).
Just used Zwift for the first time yesterday after a period of very little riding. The new feature where it suggests training sessions according to your current fitness seems pretty good.
Saying that though, I thought I was going to die by the end of the dog my session yesterday. I really need to do a new FTP test to get an up to date number.
Hoping new saddles arriving today might make turbo sessions more bearable, shall have a fun night of low sweetspot while fiddling with saddle positions (have a Trek Aeolus and Selle Italia SLR Boost to play with).
Well that was successful, new saddle certainly made the turbo a bit more tolerable. Also in unrelated news I've dipped below 90kg on the scales for the first time in forever so that's a step in the right direction, and I also learned from Dylan Johnson/Aerocoach that I could save 10W by TTing with no gloves on and could maybe save 5W with new socks and 30W with a new helmet, so I barely need to train at all now 😎
Joking aside, if the new saddle stays comfortable it could yield some good results, allowing my to comfortably rotate forward definitely seems to bring the glutes into play more, and clearly allows me to get more aero, just a shame the nose feels a touch wide (Trek Aeolus) so now I'm wondering about those Shimano pedals with the +4mm axles...
My 'training' this winter has been the worst for as long as I can remember. The main thing though is that I'm injury free and still holding my own when riding in group rides. I've a weeks gravel riding in France in April so I really need to pull my finger out training wise, but this recent weather isnt encouraging me to get out and about, I think I will fit some slicks on my bike and hit the rollers as I think 40-60 mins of interval training does wonders on improving my fitness.
My current training regime, if you can call it that:
Monday
- 30 min walk at lunch
- Gym, 2km run as a warmup, weights and 30 min climbing on the indoor bike
Tuesday
- 30 min walk at lunch
- Night time mixed pace gravel ride with my cycling club.
Wednesday
- 30 min walk at lunch
- Gym, 2km run as a warmup, weights
Thursday
- 30 min walk at lunch
Friday
- 30 min walk at lunch
- 2-3 hours off-road cycle at a mixed pace
Saturday
- Parkrun with my son
- 60 min walk, ideally with some elevation involved
Sunday
- 2-3 hours early morning off-road cycle at an easy pace
- 60 min walk, ideally with some elevation involved
So, you can see that I'm active just not pushing myself very much, I also want to get back to the weight I was last March so that means losing 6kg of belly.
I've neglected "proper" mountain biking for a couple of years now, and have been riding mostly road or gravel. But today, I thought I'd have a go at a proper, long, hard local climb on my (32lb) hardtail. (About an hour of solid, technical singletrack effort - not spinning up a service road!)
Aerobically, the heart and lungs were fine. Even the legs were OK but, bloody hell, my lower back is in terrible shape and it feels like a have a VERY weak spot about 3 vertebrae above the top of my hips.
Any suggestions for fixing this weak point? I don't think it's a bike fit issue per se, as the seat tube angle is quite steep. I do lots of hamstring stretches and body weight squats every single day. Recently I've started doing some dead lifts and lunges.
Anything else I should be including in the mix?
My turbo work (while there is ice and snow out) has tailed off a bit in the last few weeks. Previously I was three times a week, now only two and I really need to get back to three. I'm also seeing a drop in average power and training load that I can't explain for the rides that I do do. It's not injury (but I know my right hip flexor is not happy) and it should not be post-viral fatigue or similar, just a weird drop in form.
Weights are still ongoing, but not every day and they were only ever kettlebell workouts. When I get access to the outside gym again I'll start doing more heavier weights.
So, predictions for 2026? I'll for sure being doing more riding outside, probably road mixed with the odd short bash out onto the local trails, but I won't be doing any races or events. I might even take the bike to Gotland with me in June.
Aerobically, the heart and lungs were fine. Even the legs were OK but, bloody hell, my lower back is in terrible shape and it feels like a have a VERY weak spot about 3 vertebrae above the top of my hips.
What are the symptoms of your lower back? First time I jumped back on the MTB after a long spell off I ended up with a very sharp spasm in the mid-back, presumably because I was wrestling wider bars that I was used to and using all sorts of different muscles.
Since then I've always been sure to incorporate some very light resistance band work (as a minimum) for my upper back.
But you've reminded me I need to start getting out on the MTB again, I've got a 500km weekend coming up in April!
So, predictions for 2026? I'll for sure being doing more riding outside, probably road mixed with the odd short bash out onto the local trails, but I won't be doing any races or events. I might even take the bike to Gotland with me in June.
I've got a ridiculous year planned and have to keep reminding myself that there is absolutely no way I'll manage everything I'm currently cramming in to my calendar 🤣
April - L'Enfer de Forth - 170km of road and cobbles from Edinburgh to Stirling and back
Also April - 3-4 days MTB touring around Lochaber and Ardnamurchan
End May - Grand Old Dukes (my 'A' race) 180km of gravel and climbing.
June/July/August - Not sure, looking forward to getting back on the road bike for our local Tuesday night TTs and getting some long hilly rides in for the Ba Sportive in September
Also June/July/August - An attempt at a Fife Coastal Path FKT. The bar has been set at 10:34 by James Lamb at a speed I *think* I could maintain, but he looked like a fitter and more skilled MTBer than me, albeit on a heavier bike and he took some wrong turns, so it looks tantalisingly possible 😎
September - Ba Sportive
Also September - River Lyon and River Tay 'Source to Sea' ride.
So, predictions for 2026?
I've got my follow up DEXA scan in May, where hopefully i'd have reversed my rather low muscle mass concern!
Riding wise; Stary fit and strong for a week's enduro riding in Madeira, wanna gravel ride the Avenue Vert all in one go, and do some summer XC racing!
Oh, and try to have a 6 pack for my summer holiday in August to impress the American lady tourists!!!
DrP
