Hey guys;

Bit of an odd question, but long story short I won't have access to a bike for a month, what are some good exercises that I could look to do to keep my cycling/fitness strength at where it is now?

Thanks in advance

_________________
Apparently my bikes were talking the other day & are undecided whether to upgrade the current rider or get a new one...

one of the schemers...

Could you speed skate or inline skate?

_________________
-For my next trick I will set myself on fire!
-This board and the world in general would be a much nicer place if everyone could just take themselves a little less seriously.
-Sticky Fingers John Rockefeller
-First one over the cliff wins!

Squat jumps for strength, simple bodyweight squats for endurance?

You could always use the time to focus on increasing core stability & functional strength plus flexibility. Would probably do you some good when you got back on the bike

@Juanmoretime; Don't think so, I might as well post the long story so that its easier to give advice

Long Story (which isn't actually that long ): I'll be visiting China for a month during late December. During 2013 I would like to start racing and I would like to keep my current fitness/strength so I can build on it, instead of rebuilding it when I come back. I have access to practically nothing, other than what you might find in a hotel.

@malformedfawn; thanks, I'll keep those exercises in mind

_________________
Apparently my bikes were talking the other day & are undecided whether to upgrade the current rider or get a new one...

one of the schemers...

Can you determine whether there is a gym near the hotel? Are there gym chains or individual private gyms in this part of China where you can go buy a membership, go inside, ride a stationary, do intervals with a simple HR monitor, and maybe do some endurance work?

Alternatively, you could buy quality running shoes and try to maintain your cardio capacity with 20-30 minute speedwork sessions. I realize those are completely different muscles, but the aerobic base takes the longest to build, and if you want to maintain as much of it as possible, speed intervals on the road or treadmill could be the key. You can rebuild the strength of the cycling-specific muscles when you return to home, and you'll have much less work to do than if you let your systemic aerobic base decline.

-Tim

I've heard that running up stairs recruits a lot of the same muscles. Try to stay at a high rise hotel.

Would you mind giving a few examples of what a 20-30 minute speedwork session would look like?

Thanks.

thanks Tim; I'll take a pair of cross trainers with me. I'll check to see if there is a gym around when I am there

@dgran, I'm not aware of any buildings that aren't high rise in the city that I'll be staying in

_________________
Apparently my bikes were talking the other day & are undecided whether to upgrade the current rider or get a new one...

one of the schemers...

"Would you mind giving a few examples of what a 20-30 minute speedwork session would look like?"


Sure- this pyramid method worked for me: 5-minute warmup, 5 minutes each at 4 successively higher thresholds, 5 minutes to do a cool-down jog. After that, a few minutes of low-impact cool-down walking and thorough stretching is the ticket, but I consider that last part pure recovery, not cardio-building exertion. Use a stopwatch like a Timex Ironman or G-Shock that can deal with a lot of sweat, shock, and signal the 5-minute marks.

My run looked like this:

5 minute warm-up jog at 7mph.
5 minutes at 8.5 mph.
5 minutes at 9.0 mph.
5 minutes at 9.5 mph
5 minutes at 10 mph
5 minutes of cool-down jogging at 5.5 mph

Walk a bit then stretch.

The actual thresholds will vary by individual, but they should be challenging. You can play with the treadmill initially to see which speeds correspond to your known HR training zones, and then just set the speeds to correspond to the kind of zone training you know you need to maintain your base. Granted, don't dive-in head first and slam on the treadmill if the legs aren't used to those speeds, because that could cause injury and setbacks. But if you are forced away from the bike for an extended period, this is great cardio maintenance.

Ideally, each new speed setting should arrive just as you acclimate to the current speed, so you never settle into too much of a rhythm, the workout doesn't get monotonous, and it actually seems to pass more quickly because something is always changing or about to change. The 30 minutes is very segmented. It's easier that way than thinking "oh man, 30 minutes running on a plank..."

-Tim

Very useful, thanks.

It sounds like you will have time after you return to do the whole VO2 max boost, so I would agree with the sort of session recommendation.

Essentially, you want to keep your threshold as high as possible, and all this HIIT malarkey will raise your VO2 max but might not help the threshold.