Aerobic endurance outpacing muscle endurance?

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

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TobinHatesYou
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Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:02 pm

by TobinHatesYou

Cat6Barrister wrote:
Tue Jun 22, 2021 7:57 pm

At the moment I do 1.5 - 3hrs/day on the trainer during weekdays. The first two weeks I tried it, I basically felt fatigued all day but now--3.5 months later)--I can basically go about my day afterwards. However, the only people who would consider me aerobically fit are non-cyclists so...Should I not be doing this?

If you only ever ride Z2, you'll only be good around Z2... You need to do SOME intensity during your training week, 2 workouts worth ideally. The rest can be all-you-can-eat low Z2.

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Cat6Barrister
Posts: 13
Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2021 3:49 pm

by Cat6Barrister

TobinHatesYou wrote:
Wed Jun 23, 2021 7:22 am
Cat6Barrister wrote:
Tue Jun 22, 2021 7:57 pm

At the moment I do 1.5 - 3hrs/day on the trainer during weekdays. The first two weeks I tried it, I basically felt fatigued all day but now--3.5 months later)--I can basically go about my day afterwards. However, the only people who would consider me aerobically fit are non-cyclists so...Should I not be doing this?

If you only ever ride Z2, you'll only be good around Z2... You need to do SOME intensity during your training week, 2 workouts worth ideally. The rest can be all-you-can-eat low Z2.
Hey thanks for the feedback. I do hard rides once or twice a week; I live in NYC so I usually head to central park where there are no shortage or riders to put me in my place lol. That said, I assume you mean structured intervals?

iheartbianchi
Posts: 680
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2019 9:17 am

by iheartbianchi

Cat6Barrister wrote:
Tue Jun 22, 2021 7:57 pm

I'm a medical student who picked up cycling after gyms closed during the pandemic to keep sane and like OP probably genetically adapted towards anerobic fibers;
I don't think any human is genetically adaptated for "anaerobic" (I assume you mean Type II) fibers. Humans evolved over tens of thousands of years to walk/run long distances every day in search of prey. I think what has happened in modern society is, people have become sedentary, and are not functioning as they have evolved to function. This is why you see so many people's bodies "rebelling" against this unnatural human state we find ourselves in through various medical disorders, alignment issues, frequent injuries, not to mention obesity.
Cat6Barrister wrote:
Tue Jun 22, 2021 7:57 pm

I've always had a scrawnyish upper body relative to my legs, can't run a mile to safe my life but I could probably outsprint most non-pros, lifted sporadically without structure and at 72kgs I could squat 165kg and deadlift 190kg for reps.
Those are impressive strength figures, but yes, it's a problem if you can't run a mile.
Cat6Barrister wrote:
Tue Jun 22, 2021 7:57 pm

I've since switched to basically z2 rides on my smart trainer (hr kept between 120-130), since it allows me to exercise and study at the same time. I was under the impression that when building an aerobic base there should be progressive overload through volume, a-la increase hours.
This is where people get confused, and people get confused because terminology. When serious athletes talk about "aerobic base," this is very different from what Joe Recretational Rider thinks about aerobic base, or what would be an appropirate "aerobic base" for Chris Strong Amateur Rider.

1) "Real" Aerobic base for serious athletes - part of a 1-3 month progressive buildup of "time in zone," which is part of a roughly 9 month "season." The base block is followed by an intensity block followed by a peak block. This is all very generalized, there are many many twists and variables. But anyways, during the 1-3 month "base" block yes, you are mostly doing easy aerobic exercise, increasing your "time in zone" by roughly 3-10% a week. Of course you are doing maybe 1 "mildly" intense workout a week (nothing too hard) to keep your muscle fibers going, also doing weights to build up your leg strength. But even for pros, there is a limit to the "progressive overload" you refer to. They don't keep increasing mileage indefinitely. At some point (depends on your body, but usually around 25 hours a week for cylcists, and probably 10-15 hours for runners) the cost of fatigue/injury outweights what little marginal gain you are gaining beyond this point.

2) "Fake" aerobic base for strong amaterus - amateur riders rarely follow a structured block training program. Either they don't race enough to make it worth it, or life is too variable to follow a strict program. But here's the funny thing - a strict, structured program is probably not ideal in terms of physiological development, and in fact is in efficient, but necessary for pros due to the racing season. Strong amateurs can follow a pure 80/20 program, where they spend 80% of your time in zone continuously building base, and the 20% focusing on your "strength on the bike." In terms of progressive overload, the same principle applies in terms of marginal gains vs. fatigue/injury risk. For strong amateur riders, unless you are coming back from injury or you took some time off, to me it makes no sense to build in a "base phase."

3. "Non-existent" aerobic base for recreational riders - for poor amateurs, any riding is contributing to your aerobic base, and at this point, you just need to be able to ride as much as possible as consistently as possible. Time in zone and consistency is why people tell recreational riders to ride slow, so they can get more time in.
Cat6Barrister wrote:
Tue Jun 22, 2021 7:57 pm
At the moment I do 1.5 - 3hrs/day on the trainer during weekdays. The first two weeks I tried it, I basically felt fatigued all day but now--3.5 months later)--I can basically go about my day afterwards. However, the only people who would consider me aerobically fit are non-cyclists so...Should I not be doing this?
I don't know your current physical condition, but 2-3 hours a day sounds terrible unless you are either very fit, or you are going very slow. If you feel fatigued all day, you went too hard. If you feel fatigued all day every day, you are close to burn out. You can do 2-3 hours a day if you want, but you really need to slow it down to around 60% or so of MaxHR.
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