Toolbox: I’ve mentioned it earlier than and I’ll say it once more: I’m in my fifties, and I nonetheless wanna go quick! Staying sturdy and using the best way you wish to trip when you hit the half-century level requires some modifications to the best way you propose and prepare in comparison with if you have been youthful.
Sean Kelly (66) crosses the road within the Roubaix velodrome
The important thing areas of change are transition, energy, depth, and persistent coaching load. This doesn’t imply we prepare much less; it means we prepare in a different way. Let check out every of those areas and evaluate recommendation for the older you and the youthful you.
The Transition Interval
One of many advantages of the youthful you was that you might relaxation longer after which prepare tougher and stand up to a a lot larger degree of acute coaching load. Which means you might relaxation from 4-8 weeks and let your physique completely get well, then bounce again into coaching, pushing your development laborious and gaining health quick. Your physique may deal with a fast ramp fee of coaching load and nonetheless have sufficient power to adapt and enhance.
Now, at 50+, you’ll be able to’t observe that very same rhythm. Why? The remainder could be nice, after all, however the actuality is that as we age, we can not deal with the upper acute coaching a great deal of our youthful years and nonetheless adapt. We merely aren’t that resilient.
It’d sound counterintuitive, however much less time without work is the reply, as the price of rebuilding the health is just too excessive. I usually suggest that fifty+ riders take 1-2 weeks of post-season relaxation, then interact in a transition/cross coaching plan for 4-8 weeks specializing in constructing practical energy and sustaining (or minimizing) the lack of health.
Johan Museeuw revisits the Kwaremont
Power
Youthful, you might get away with out energy coaching, however 50+ you want it. There’s little or no true analysis connecting energy coaching (each practical and energy resistance) and improved biking, however it’s my expertise that doing each as we age permits us to coach tougher after we actually need to, which ends up in improved peaks.
Depth
Right here’s one other space the place the reply is counterintuitive: as you age, you want extra depth within the base/basis interval than you probably did if you have been youthful. The important thing causes? You lose each energy and VO2max as you age, and sustaining a stability of some excessive depth coaching within the base/basis interval will assist combat the lack of each. The trick is realizing how a lot.
In my view, there are two methods to make use of higher-intensity work: some riders go all in and have interaction in Excessive-Depth Interval Coaching (HIIT), which focuses on frequent higher-intensity days with much less general coaching hours, and a few use polarized (or 80/20) coaching, which analysis suggests has some advantages. For myself, I hold it easy by including one high-intensity coaching day each 7-10 exercises all through the bottom/basis interval. This work is true excessive depth, that includes all max efforts starting from 30-90 seconds primarily based on the athlete.
Johan Museeuw (57) and Erik Zabel (52) nonetheless have their dash
Persistent Coaching Load
Youthful, you might stand up to lengthy durations of upper persistent (or cumulative fatigue) coaching, however older it is advisable to be extra cautious. One of many errors I usually see with grasp riders is coaching with an excessive amount of coaching load (a mixture of period, frequency, and depth) for too lengthy. In the event you’ve been coaching for years, you in all probability want 8-12 weeks to peak for an occasion, assuming you preserve and construct your base/basis.
That is simpler to know if you consider coaching in weeks forward of your huge occasion or desired peak. I see many masters using and coaching laborious for his or her occasion as many as 24-28 weeks out. Certain, that’s a very good time to transition or construct your base/basis, however you’ll be able to simply overdo it.
Deal with delicate features within the base/basis interval, after which get severe about 8-12 weeks out out of your occasion. This may scale back the persistent coaching load, which can be cumulative fatigue. Use the prolonged base time to enhance cardio health, energy, and expertise.
Relaxation
The reply is straightforward: relaxation extra now that you’re over 50. This ought to be accomplished in two methods. First, take an additional relaxation or very straightforward day as soon as each 7-10 exercises, and second, scale back your coaching microcycles from 3 weeks to 2 or 2.5, relying on the time of 12 months.
On the finish of the day, there isn’t any straightforward reply for the 50+ rider. We will nonetheless prepare laborious, go quick, and revel in success on the bike; we simply want to alter the best way we strategy coaching.
Make it sturdy!
Francesco Moser (71) and Roger de Vlaeminck (75) nonetheless going sturdy
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