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Senior Cyclists Speed Without Suffering Any older cyclist can get faster with the right training and recovery! by Coach John Hughes John Hughes is the author of Anti-Aging: 12 Ways to You Can Slow the Aging Process and of the book Distance Cycling. He has written 40 articles on training, nutrition, psychology and medical issues for RoadBikeRider.com. More about Coach Hughes. How to Become a Faster Senior Cyclist. Joe, a senior RoadBikeRider reader asks, “I'm 78 and a lifelong rider. Four years ago farm dogs ran me down and as a result a fix of the femur requiring a pin. My goal after the recovery was to gain fitness and motivation to take on club rides and do a few metric rides. That has not happened and I have tried training plans, i.e. climbing, cross training and have not completed due to the boredom of indoor training. My motivation is lacking. Is there still a way to get faster with endurance?” You are asking three common questions. I'll answer these in three related columns: Three Ways for a Senior to Build a Faster Cruising Speed Without Pain Ride a Little Faster than Normal Note that I said “a little faster.” If your endurance pace is 12 mph and you start mixing in some tempo riding at 13 or 14 mph then over time you'll increase your cruising speed to 13 mph. This won't happen over night. Or even over a month or two. Be patient. Most amateur roadies ride at the same pace most of the time. The pros improve by varying the pace. So in addition to riding a little faster you also need to ride more slowly on some of your rides. Remember that Overload + Recovery = Improvement. You can do this all by feel. Riding at an endurance pace you should be able to easily carry on a conversation talking in full sentences, even in full paragraphs. To build your cruising speed, ride a little faster at a tempo pace. You should still be able to talk in full sentences but won't be able to whistle. If you currently do all of your riding at an endurance pace, then mix in a little tempo riding, about 10 to 20% of your total ride. Mix tempo riding into your endurance rides with steady endurance riding between tempo sections. If you already do some tempo riding then increase the amount 5 to 10% week by week. You don't need a heart rate monitor, power meter or even speedometer to do this. Just listen to your body. Take advantage of simple opportunities like riding into a headwind, climbing hills or hustling to get home before the rain starts. Pain Free Power Riding in the sweet spot you should be able to talk in short phrases but not full sentences. If you're breathing rapidly and/or your legs are talking to you, you are riding too hard. Start with a few small sweet spot efforts, e.g., 3 to 6 minutes, with recovery that's about half as long as the sweet spot effort, e.g., 1:30 to 3 minutes. Do 2 or 3 repeats and gradually build up to 5 to 6 repeats. When you can do 5 or 6 repeats, then increase the duration of the sweet spot efforts by 30 to 60 seconds and the recovery by 15 to 30 seconds.Of course, you don't even need a watch! Just push a little harder on those hills and recover on the way down. One of my favorite games is “Chase John.” My buddy, also named John, gives me a head start. I ride at a tempo pace and he chases me in the sweet spot. Then he rides away and I chase him. Remember: if it hurts, then you're riding too hard. Slow down into the sweet spot. Increased Efficiency Sprints. Because sprints demand maximum power your body learns to coordinate the firing pattern of individual muscle fibers. A sprint of 20- to 30-seconds is long enough to cause your body to adapt. Don't worry about your heart rate or power. Just put it in a big gear, e.g., a 53 x 15, and go hard. Add 2 or 3 sprints to your endurance ride with plenty of recovery between each sprint. One-leg Pedaling: This is a great trainer workout when you don't have much time. Rest your right foot on something, e.g., a box.
Repeat this pattern several times and then switch legs. If you can easily do three 30-second repeats, then increase #1 the one-leg time and #2 the two-leg time by equal amounts, e.g., to one leg for 45 seconds and both legs for 45 seconds. Some riders attempt to do one-leg drills on the road. However, it's not safe! It's hard to ride a straight line doing the drill and if you're focused on your pedaling then your full attention isn't on traffic. They All Work Anti-Aging — 12 Ways to You Can Slow the Aging Process. 106 pages for $14.99 from RoadBikeRider.com Examples of Older Cyclists Elizabeth Wicks broke the senior women’s age 65 to 69 record at Calvin’s 12-Hour Challenge in 2013 and the W70-74 record in 2014. I coached Wicks. Here is her 2013 training program. Peter Lekisch was the first 60-year-old rider to finish the solo Race Across AMerica in 2001 in 12 days 20 hours 50 minutes. I had the pleasure of coaching Peter. Here is his training program. More Information for Senior Cyclists Intensity Training Using Perceived Exertion, a Heart Rate Monitor or Power Meter to Maximize Training Effectiveness. 41 pages for $4.99 from RoadBikeRider.com Cycling Past 50: A 4-article bundle of 98 pages for older cyclists for $15.96 ($4.00 savings) from RoadBikeRider.com. The bundle includes:
Cycling Past 60: A 2-article bundle of 47 pages for senior cyclists for just $8.98, a 10% discount from RoadBikeRider.com. The bundle includes:
Cycling Past 50, 60 and Beyond. A 3-article bundle of 100 pages for seniors for just $13.50, a 20% discount from RoadBikeRider.com. The bundle includes:
Coach Hughes other articles from RoadBikeRider.com
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