Sprinting and going fast

[fossyant]

No dumb questions here. We don't bite.

 

[ayceejay]

See fossy you got stuck in that 'just ride yer bike' groove twenty years back and have never thought about it since.
Andy asks a question that, like any question regarding training, elicits that same old response, I just happen to think there is more to it than that so call it dumb if you want but I know who is looking dumb from where I stand.

 

[Citius]

There's very little in cycling that can't be achieved by just riding your bike at various intensities for various durations.

 

[ayceejay]

There's very little in cycling that can't be achieved by just riding your bike at various intensities for various durations.

If done in a controlled way this is what I would call training and not just riding your bike.
What a novice doesn't understand (hence the questions) is how to tailor various intensity and duration to meet their needs and to
answer that question we need to know what those needs are.

 

[vickster]

He says he wants to go faster on the bike and sprint for longer distances

 

[Andywinds]

My post was regarding sprinting and cycling faster. I suppose cycling faster for long, and how to improve sprinting. I'll just go on the bike and ride faster and hopefully I will be able to maintain more and more speed overtime.
Just to add I go to the gym 3-4 time a week and concentrate on strength training, I include clean and presses, squats and single leg movements, plus other movements. I also do tyre flipping in the car park

I think your original question referred to training on the bike and this in my opinion requires a bit more thought than Ride, ride and ride more.
So: train for what? might be an appropriate question Andy

 

[vickster]

Join a club, you'll go faster in a group

Also work on core, glutes, hamstrings and calves, not just front quads

 

[Citius]

There's very little in cycling that can't be achieved by just riding your bike at various intensities for various durations.

Like I said before...if you are new to road riding, this is all you need to do for the time being..

 

[poynedexter]

in order to get involved in a sprint, first you need to be there, at the end of a race or event. if you arent fit enough to last until last 200m, then you arent going to need a good sprint.

a good sprinter is one who can put out high power whilst being tired already. train for the journey first.

 

[ayceejay]

Question: How to I learn to sprint and ride faster?
Answer: I'll just go on the bike and ride faster
Yep that should do 'er

 

[Crandoggler]

Sprints would be achieved by carrying out interval training. 30 second bursts, followed by 90 second recovery. Do a Google search.

Riding faster would be achieved by increasing your threshold. Effectively, you must ride at the cusp of exhaustion for long periods of time.

I don't know why people must point fingers and take the piss. You can ride for 10 hours at a time, but if you're riding at 10mph on the flat you're not going to improve your sprint or ride speed.

 

[Citius]

Let's not start prescribing training programmes for the OP. We don't know anything about him and he hasn't asked for one anyway. Ask a general question - get a general answer.

 

[Crandoggler]

It's not a programme is it? It's very basic, generic exercise tips that would work for any cardiovascular activity.

 

[ayceejay]

Let's not start prescribing training programmes for the OP. We don't know anything about him and he hasn't asked for one anyway. I'll just go on the bike and ride faster.

Although I agree with that in principle I think there are a number of people watching who have a similar unformed question who would benefit from a bit more and this is why I persevere in this kind of thread. So rather than a ask a general question - get a general answer. attitude perhaps we can dig a little deeper to see how it might be possible to pass on knowledge gained from experience as unlikely as this seems at first sight.

 

[Citius]

It's not a programme is it? It's very basic, generic exercise tips that would work for any cardiovascular activity.

Except the length, duration and intensity of any interval work tends to dictate specific outcomes. So you prescribing 30 sec intervals with 90sec recovery (without even specifying how many sets he should perform) seems a bit random and doesn't necessarily offer anything meaningful.