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Cycle Power??

yak5yak5 Posts: 5
in General Chat
Endurance - slow twitch muscle fibres as opposed to short twitch ones (i.e. not the type that enable you to bench press masses). The short twitch ones fatigue very quickly, although they are powerful.



You just need to adapt your body by training... and that will involve endurance training. Expect to loose a lot of mass! Eat less protein and more carbs.



Crudely put, your endurance muscles burn carbs + oxygen - so your lungs need to get efficient, and your heart big and strong to move all the blood to the right pace.



You won't be able to do "explosive" actions - massive power, in a short space of time, but push out a lot of power over a long time period.

Comments

  • yak5yak5 Posts: 5
    Jack Hughes wrote:


    Endurance - slow twitch muscle fibres as opposed to short twitch ones (i.e. not the type that enable you to bench press masses). The short twitch ones fatigue very quickly, although they are powerful.



    You just need to adapt your body by training... and that will involve endurance training. Expect to loose a lot of mass! Eat less protein and more carbs etc. etc.



    So long endurance rides is the way to go? What about lactate threshold sessions?
  • Jack HughesJack Hughes Posts: 1,262
    Yes - the LT stuff is all about increasing the efficiency of your aerobic systems.
  • yak5yak5 Posts: 5
    Hi,



    I used to play rugby and have recently been bitten by the Tri bug. I have been training consistently on the three disciplines. My question is this:



    From my time playing rugby, I have high level of strength (550kg+ leg presse and 250kg+ squat) in my legs and I believe I am capable of pushing extremely high wattages. But I can't sustain it for a very long time. I see that the elite triathletes tend to complete there 40k bike at about 40-45kph average whereas the ironman pro's can complete their 180km bike at approx the same pace.



    What type of fitness is required to maintain these high wattages for such a long time and what is the best way of building this fitness?



    Thanks for your help!



    Yak.
  • treefrogtreefrog Posts: 1,242
    It takes a long time to build up the required endurance. The ability to hit your desired speed let alone maintain takes specific training. Basically gut wrenching intervals and long rides forcing yourself to maintain the speed. Join a good (fast) cycle group and ride with them.

    Once you get your bike legs it is quite "easy"/do-able to get up to speed and maintain it.

    My key session for it is a 60kM turbo session averaging 40kMh (approx 80-90mins)

  • MGMG Posts: 470
    yak5 wrote:


    Hi,



    I used to play rugby and have recently been bitten by the Tri bug. I have been training consistently on the three disciplines. My question is this:



    From my time playing rugby, I have high level of strength (550kg+ leg presse and 250kg+ squat) in my legs and I believe I am capable of pushing extremely high wattages. But I can't sustain it for a very long time. I see that the elite triathletes tend to complete there 40k bike at about 40-45kph average whereas the ironman pro's can complete their 180km bike at approx the same pace.



    What type of fitness is required to maintain these high wattages for such a long time and what is the best way of building this fitness?



    Thanks for your help!



    Yak.



    What distance are you looking to race at?
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