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Being at uni doing chemistry I don't have a lot of free time for riding (nor are there many places within riding distance that are fun 😛 ) so my only riding time is my commute...its about 15 /20 minutes on the road each way. There's a few little hills (well enough to challenge me on my ss inbred!) so can incorporate that.
So what do the STW experts recommend to get the best out of my ride?
Go flat out.
Then make sure you get a long gentle ride in on the weekends.
Why don't you have time in the evenings or free periods? Not got a Weds afternoon sport slot?
Or do you have a job too?
Go flat out.
+1
Fast as poss. Get yer heart rate right up. Really push yourself.
Time yourself with a stopwatch. Try to catch and pass as many other cyclists as you can. Use a stopwatch, try to beat your 'personal best'..
You will get sweaty doing this though. 🙂
I was thinking flat out is probably the way to go. Wasn't sure if there was something special I should be doing with intervals and what not.
Apart from wednesdays I'm in 9-5 for lectures / labs. Wednesday afternoon is quidditch, sunday is walk in the peak district day and I have other social things in evenings some time, and yes I do have a job as well (and I still have to fit in all the lab reports and tutorials etc!)
Intervals are for breaking up the pain. You haven't really got time for that if it's only 20 mins. You'll be down to 15 in no time 🙂
Wednesday afternoon is quidditch
😯
Try looking up info about tabata.Quick and not easy 😆
Put the biggest front chain ring on you can lay your grubby mits on and go for it.
Why not just go 20 minutes in the opposite direction & then turn around & head to uni?
A stoodent with no time 😆
+1 for the tabata protocol, the single most unpleasent way to spend 15 minutes.
Night ride?
get some super tackys and run about 18psi in your tyres.
Sprint up the hills and pedal at steady rate down the other side.
HTHBIDIW
Do you really play quidditch?
student- 9 till 5 in the lab?? things have changed since I was a lad and that was when it was proper chemistry with bunsen burners, test tubes and things!
Doubt you'll see any training effect from 20 minutes...
.. plus if you come out cold and go all guns blazing for 20 minutes no warm up your gonna injure yourself in no time.
Leave earlier and lengthen your commute to 40 minutes - 1 hour..
Training is meant to fit around your life but it rarely works that way.
You don't really say what your training goal is??
20 minutes is enough to get good at 20 minute efforts 🙂 But coupled with longer rides at weekends it'd be good training I reckon.
Of course no-one's saying go like hell out of the gate. Make sure you're comfortable at all times. Having said that I used to hammer everywhere by bike as a student, but I never hurt myself - just don't be silly about it and wait til you're warmed up before opening the taps fully. You don't need to fanny about with defined warmups.
Do you really play quidditch?
we have a quidditch society at uni, as much as I'd like it to be its not proper qudditch...its more of a cross between between netball and dodgeball!
student- 9 till 5 in the lab??
Labs run 2-5 4 days a week. And then I have lectures in the morning.
You don't really say what your training goal is??
maybe that would help 😛 My aim is to be reasonably competitive in the Theford Winter Series but I'm really trying to get ready for racing next something, nothing "endurancy" but I need to be fitter than this year 😛
Perhaps I should get up earlier and find a long route to uni, that said its 7.20 and I'm already up and doing work (I'm just on here to stop myself from going completely mad because I can't do this work!), not sure how much earlier I could get up and still stay awake all day!
Well I'm already back from my 10k run
Turbo for those evening of revision etc.
We used to go t'pub, come on sort it out you're a chem undergrad. Drink more study less. Did us no harm.
(Apart from the poor degrees and liver problems)
Don't go flat out in traffic !! Run to Uni would be a better workout (sorry) if it's only a 15-20 minutes on a bike you could run it ?
I agree a run maybe more productive in the short time you have.
Also a turbo trainer would make most of any spare hour or so in the evening... then on the weekend make sure you get at least one 3-4 hour steady ride in.
MAke it a bit longer on the way home and go flat out or do intervals.
Doubt you'll see any training effect from 20 minutes..
Really? no training effect from 20 minutes?
You can warm up for 10 -15 minutes then do tabata for 4 minutes
[url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8897392 ]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8897392[/url]
[url= http://www.brianmac.co.uk/tabata.htm ]http://www.brianmac.co.uk/tabata.htm[/url]
Don't go flat out in traffic !!
🙄
I assume she's got a brain since she's figured out how to use the internet and everything...
I'll stick to convention and continue with base miles and interval sessions...
Chris Carmicheal has a training plan for time pushed athletes
Tabata is horrible, and I never learn that it's bad for me - each time I do it with dumbell squats I can't walk properly for the next few days and going up/down stairs is torture 😆 I still try it again every few months though to see if I can do it any better than last time 😕