1mph improvement

[Martinsnos]

Dear knowledgable members,
I’m 53, on a fairly decent road bike. I picked a fairly flat course today and average 18 mph for 1 hour.
My question, what 1 training ‘thing’ would you recommend to get me and extra 1mph?
For example…
Squats?
Upping weekly mileage?
Frequency of riding?
I just tend to go out and ride as fast as I can but I appreciate that probably means I’ll stick at about 18mph (until the age thing becomes a big issue!).
Many thanks.

 

[neil_merseyside]

Dear knowledgable members,
I’m 53, on a fairly decent road bike. I picked a fairly flat course today and average 18 mph for 1 hour.
My question, what 1 training ‘thing’ would you recommend to get me and extra 1mph?
For example…
Squats?
Upping weekly mileage?
Frequency of riding?
I just tend to go out and ride as fast as I can but I appreciate that probably means I’ll stick at about 18mph (until the age thing becomes a big issue!).
Many thanks.

Not much wind today so wait for a tail wind?

 

[cougie uk]

Slap a pair of Tri bars on and you'll do it.

If you want to get fitter though then intervals are your friend assuming you've got a good base. Going flat out all the time isn't the best way to do things.

 

[Martinsnos]

Slap a pair of Tri bars on and you'll do it.

If you want to get fitter though then intervals are your friend assuming you've got a good base. Going flat out all the time isn't the best way to do things.

Many thanks. I thought intervals but I didn’t want to face the reality.
Running I do 3 minutes on 1.5 minute recovery for 5 sets.
What would be good sets on a bike?
Thanks in anticipation.

 

[raggydoll]

I know you want to increase it but I reckon your current average speed is impressive!

 

[Martinsnos]

I know you want to increase it but I reckon your current average speed is impressive!

Very kind. I amaze myself to be honest. It was a very flat and easy route though!

 

[Sharky]

Improvements in absolute fitness in the same year are probably insignificant. Riders go faster as the season progresses, but a lot is due to becoming familiar with a certain course or distance and knowing how to ride at a level just below the "blow out" level. And knowing when to commit to maximum effort coming into the last few miles without blowing.

You can "buy" improvements with better or more aero equipment/clothing.

Then the weather plays a huge part. I can be 1 or 2 minutes faster/slower on a 10 mile timetrial from one week to the next, riding the same bike/course. As my fitness won't change much from week to week it proves that it is the weather that probably gives the most improvement in the same season.

Have been riding timetrials for far too many years now, so my fitness is on the decline, but each year, I "improve" two to four minutes from the first ride of the season to the end of the summer. And I doubt that I am much different fitness wise.

As others have said, 18 mph for a training loop is very impressive but stick a number on your back and ride an organised timetrial and you will soon be riding 20mph plus.

 

[Arrowfoot]

Shorten your ride to 45 mins. Usual pace for first 30 mins and push harder for next 15minutes. You should see your avg going up. 18 at 53 is good so you are already fit and should have no issues.

 

[Martinsnos]

Shorten your ride to 45 mins. Usual pace for first 30 mins and push harder for next 15minutes. You should see your avg going up. 18 at 53 is good so you are already fit and should have no issues.

You are a cruel person but I’ll do my best. Thank you.

 

[Martinsnos]

Improvements in absolute fitness in the same year are probably insignificant. Riders go faster as the season progresses, but a lot is due to becoming familiar with a certain course or distance and knowing how to ride at a level just below the "blow out" level. And knowing when to commit to maximum effort coming into the last few miles without blowing.

You can "buy" improvements with better or more aero equipment/clothing.

Then the weather plays a huge part. I can be 1 or 2 minutes faster/slower on a 10 mile timetrial from one week to the next, riding the same bike/course. As my fitness won't change much from week to week it proves that it is the weather that probably gives the most improvement in the same season.

Have been riding timetrials for far too many years now, so my fitness is on the decline, but each year, I "improve" two to four minutes from the first ride of the season to the end of the summer. And I doubt that I am much different fitness wise.

As others have said, 18 mph for a training loop is very impressive but stick a number on your back and ride an organised timetrial and you will soon be riding 20mph plus.

In fairness I think the weight factor probably comes into that too. I know as the summer progresses I’ll be carrying less of the Christmas Celebrations [the chocolates].
Of course wind affects but I’d never thought much about temperature before but the other day I was hearing about how air resistance reduces with temperature because of course the air molecules are less densely packed at warmer temperatures.

 

[HarryTheDog]

I have tried readng training books to sort out a programme for myself and gave up cos I am a lazy sod or just too plain stupid to understand all the effort versus rest etc etc. I am following a Xert Time Trial plan at the moment and found it has given me more power over the hour.
I also have power meters which helps with "the plan".
The most frequent session it comes up with is a 1.5 hr session of 10 minute warm up , 1 x 20 min effort , repeat 3 times. This is not full gas efforts over the 3 x 20 min but just under my FTP power level. Also its at a fairly low cadence of around 75 rpm.
Other days it may be several 8 minute efforts with rest inbetween etc.
On the road all these efforts I find are dam near impossible to carry out so its turbo for me for efforts. Ideally then a weekend ride of over 3 hrs at a endurance pace.
If you signed up for Xert with a power meter and upload all your old rides it can show you where your strengths and weaknesses are. My strengths is I am a natural born sprinter but relatively not so great at longer efforts ie 1hr plus against the rest of the training population.
It helps if you know what is holding you up to going faster, is it your lungs or your legs? is it spinning too slow or to fast etc etc. Some plans will bang on about cadence of 90+ , being a old fart ( 59) I find cadence below 80 over gives me better results over a hr.
Its different for different people my daughter was a junior National TT champ she would spin at 90-110 all the way.

 

[Martinsnos]

I have tried readng training books to sort out a programme for myself and gave up cos I am a lazy sod or just too plain stupid to understand all the effort versus rest etc etc. I am following a Xert Time Trial plan at the moment and found it has given me more power over the hour.
I also have power meters which helps with "the plan".
The most frequent session it comes up with is a 1.5 hr session of 10 minute warm up , 1 x 20 min effort , repeat 3 times. This is not full gas efforts over the 3 x 20 min but just under my FTP power level. Also its at a fairly low cadence of around 75 rpm.
Other days it may be several 8 minute efforts with rest inbetween etc.
On the road all these efforts I find are dam near impossible to carry out so its turbo for me for efforts. Ideally then a weekend ride of over 3 hrs at a endurance pace.
If you signed up for Xert with a power meter and upload all your old rides it can show you where your strengths and weaknesses are. My strengths is I am a natural born sprinter but relatively not so great at longer efforts ie 1hr plus against the rest of the training population.
It helps if you know what is holding you up to going faster, is it your lungs or your legs? is it spinning too slow or to fast etc etc. Some plans will bang on about cadence of 90+ , being a old fart ( 59) I find cadence below 80 over gives me better results over a hr.
Its different for different people my daughter was a junior National TT champ she would spin at 90-110 all the way.

Thanks very much. You certainly put a lot more effort into the research than me.
Your lungs/legs thing is certainly staring me in the face because I’m fairly sure my leg power is the one that gives in first.
Would I be right to pick a gear that is slightly too hard for me and then slog along in that gear?

 

[HarryTheDog]

If its your legs than you have the opposite problem to me, Without knowing you or watching you ride its hard to see where your improvement is needed. I know from following plans that it quite often bangs on about improving your 5 minute or 8 minute power before being able to improve 20 minute etc , I stop my lungs/heart giving out by using low cadence as I have the power in my legs, even when I race I watch my heart rate etc knowing if I go too far into the red then I will blow up.
If you are training on the road try hill repeats for leg power ie find a hill and ride up and down it several times, I would suggest where you can ride seated most of the way but a bit where you have to get out of the saddle as well.
As I say I really dont understand the science fully and really on training plans/power meters, cadence meters ( in the power meters) and a heart rate monitor and I balance them all out for my optimum performance on what I know works for me.

 

[steveindenmark]

Lose weight and get a good wheelset.

 

[Martinsnos]

If its your legs than you have the opposite problem to me, Without knowing you or watching you ride its hard to see where your improvement is needed. I know from following plans that it quite often bangs on about improving your 5 minute or 8 minute power before being able to improve 20 minute etc , I stop my lungs/heart giving out by using low cadence as I have the power in my legs, even when I race I watch my heart rate etc knowing if I go too far into the red then I will blow up.
If you are training on the road try hill repeats for leg power ie find a hill and ride up and down it several times, I would suggest where you can ride seated most of the way but a bit where you have to get out of the saddle as well.
As I say I really dont understand the science fully and really on training plans/power meters, cadence meters ( in the power meters) and a heart rate monitor and I balance them all out for my optimum performance on what I know works for me.

Thank you very much.
I don’t think I will ever get to the power meter stage but I can find myself a hill and do those repeats. Thank you for the advice.
Good luck to you for your training.