LondonSkaters Speed Team - Speed Skating & Rollerblading Club in London

merten · Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 3:54 pm Subject: Cycling training - example sessions?

Hi there, I've got a question for all the cyclists around: What is good cycling training for speedskaters? Right now I use the bike for base endurance, e.g. cycle between 60 and 120 minutes at constant pace, going aerobic but not relaxing too much Smile

when the weather is so-so or I am not too keen on skating.
If I want to work on other things, what could a session look like? Intervals on a bike? Btw - I use a decent road bike, no racing material.
Thanks for any advice!

Mikey-two-Names · Joined: 24 Feb 2004 Posts: 4107

Hey Merten, what would be your goals from a speed point of view?

merten · Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2005 10:04 am Subject:

Don't know, when I go skating I do things like long slower skates, timed intervals, ... and now I wonder if there are any recommendations what type of cycling training is most beneficial to my skating performance.

Mikey-two-Names · Joined: 24 Feb 2004 Posts: 4107

Sorry, I guess I was asking a more basic question than that. What are your goals in skating, that then affect your choices in skating and cycling training. I assume you want to do something like skate good times in marathons, but there could be any number of goals relating to speedskating, some of which could be contradictory. Without that knowledge it's hard to come up with something useful and specific to your needs.

merten · Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2005 8:56 pm Subject:

Ah I see

Well we don't have a track anywhere near I live, so I'll always race in long distance competitions (half marathon, full marathon, etc.), and not do any track races. There might be the occasional shorter ones like Le Mans or a 5k race, though this is not really short track as well Wink

That's about it I guess. So sprint is not part of the profile, though at some point it might be nice to be able to do a little sprint for the finish line.
For now as I'm not fast enough to make the lead pack, time is more relevant, until placements take over Cool

Mikey-two-Names · Joined: 24 Feb 2004 Posts: 4107

I think cycling works very well as exercise to compliment skating, and doing both lets you get in more exercise and recover a little better than you would with just skating. The below is largely what I've learnt from Bill Begg.

Three main uses of cycling in training:
Recovery:
Light spinning for a half an hour or so helps to get your legs working again on the rest day after a particularly hard training day. I tend to do this Mondays after the 500m session, usually when fetching miniMike. Sure, that's towing a trailer, but I just go really slowly to avoid putting much work through my legs.

Replacement of Skate Training:
If the weather is really wet and slippery for skating, then it's acceptable to do whatever skate training you were going to do but on the bike instead for similar time periods and intensities. Bill meant this as indoor work on rollers or a turbo trainer. Of course it's not ideal, there's nothing so good for getting fit and fast on skates as by skating itself.

Some cycle training in addition to skating:
I think many speedskaters do little more than interval and short distance skating when training for marathons, and so rely on cycling for some of their base aerobic training. For example, Bills training week that he set for me was based around all the cycling I have to do anyway, and has only one 20km distance during the week, with the rest much shorter intervals. I seem to average between 5-10 hours of cycling a week, most of it at 75% effort and below.

I use cycling mostly for transport, but get to enjoy the fitness benefit too, especially since I'm doing hardly any skate training.

Mikey-two-Names · Joined: 24 Feb 2004 Posts: 4107

1-2 hours cycling is a good amount. Can you do stuff like use the bike for transport, and if so, how many km per day and how often per week would this be? What about regularly going cycling with a cycle club? That's often a good way to push yourself faster whilst still having fun riding with other people.

If you haven't already got a cycle computer, get one so you can monitor your speed and cadence. Cadence is really important - I see so many cyclists mashing their pedals, when they should be spinning easily at 90+rpm. Cateye Astrale 8 is a nice one I rather like, and it's fairly cheap too.

Oh, I also forgot to add that skating sprint intervals is still super important to all of us, even though none of us really need it in a finish. It's more about lactate removal and tolerance, and quick recovery. You'll also get faster over longer distances as a result of the intervals, and will take much less hurt from those horrible paceline surges.

Beatrice · Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 8:24 am Subject:

Thanks Mike for an excellent post on cycle training! That is very helpful. I don't usually cycle in London, althought i am thinking of purchaing a new bike (i think a racing one actually) i am trying to do as much as cycle spinning at the gym these days. Now i just need to do more training....... Wink

Mikey-two-Names · Joined: 24 Feb 2004 Posts: 4107

Yeah Beatrice, well spotted. Spinning is excellent training too. I forgot about it since I usually prefer to ride outdoors on a real bike, even in the rain. I don't like gyms much. Sad