Coming back

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

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tomb
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:40 am

by tomb

Alright, I have been away from cycling for the last 5-6 year and am looking to return to a decent level of form again and am trying to work out the best way to go about it. In the past I put in a lot of 15-20 hour weeks to get to a good level which I just don't have the time for now.

For the last couple of months I have just been enjoying riding and getting back in to the swing of things, this last 4 weeks I have run a more focused block of tempo/sweet spot work to build my aerobic base.

I am not sure how long I should continue tempo work for or if there is going to be much more benefit from doing another 3 week block of tempo seeing as I am not getting the stress of doing the long hours I used to do during a tempo block.

At the moment I am doing 2 days a week in the gym and 2 days on the ergo. Both days on the weekend I am on the bike.

In the past my FTP was around 4.8-9 w/kg and I would like to get back to that level with a real focus on my 3-5 min power.

If anyone has some experience or insight in coming back after such a long time off the bike it would be much appreciated.

boots2000
Posts: 1393
Joined: Mon Oct 15, 2007 9:28 pm

by boots2000

What is your age?
How much time do you have to put into cycling (and how much time do you desire to train)?

Keep in mind that 5-6 years off is a lot, especially when you want to return to a high level. Takes even more time as we age.

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tomb
Posts: 63
Joined: Sat Jan 05, 2008 4:40 am

by tomb

I'm 31. At the moment I am putting in 8 - 10 hours a week, I could bump it up to 15 if I had to.

I finished my first base block yesterday and decided I should see where my FTP is sitting at the moment, I was only 30 watts off my old best which surprised me.

I am probably going to run 2 more base cycles with the same focus on tempo / sweet spot work and see if I can push my FTP past my old level before I move in to some harder training.

This is the base cycle I have been running.

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