I’m not a competitive cyclist but I really want to lose some weight and be able to hang with the local fast groups. I do OK for a big guy (6’5" and probably 40 lbs to lose) but there’s lots of room for improvement!!
I’ve tried juggling cycling training, incorporating strength training, and counting calories to lose weight and I just can’t for the life of me strike the right balance. I feel great after strength training and am strong on the bike, but after a few days the fatigue catches up and I struggle to get on track. I’ve gone through so many cycles like this I’ve lost track.
I’ve previously worked with a local coach who was supposed to incorporate nutrition with cycling training but he only prescribed workouts and said don’t eat snacks…Ok I can do that on TR for alot cheaper!!
Any overall tips you could share? There’s so much good info on each of these topics but I’m just out of my depth making them work in practice. I know coaches aren’t cheap, but maybe a good one for a few months could set me on the right track? Would it make sense to focus on one component, nutrition for example, and work with an RD for a bit? Then a strength coach and roll through TR LV plans?
It’s hotly discussed in another topic, but if you’re looking for a singular entity to address all of those
Topics, what about the EF offering? I can’t think of anyone else that that would be singularly as qualified.
I’m not sure many coaches want someone just for a few months but many coaches do do consultations by the hour.
I think you need to break it down:
Diet and nutrition - get specific help there if you need it. I’d recommend that you get an app and track calories to start. Set a modest goal like .5 pound per week. The problem with dieting is that it isn’t compatible with hard training and performance so it can be a challenge.
Weight training and cycling - again, they aren’t super compatible. Which one do you want to excel at? When integrating, I think you want to think of weight training as an intensity session. So, if you are lifting weights, you can delete the anaerobic intervals from your cycling training. I’d think about putting two weight training sessions on your cycling days with intensity or even don’t do any cycling intervals while weight training. You probably don’t want more than two per week. Something like:
Monday - off
Tuesday - morning threshold or below intervals or just endurance
afternoon/eve - weight training
Wed - off
Thursday - morning threshold or below intervals or just endurance
afternoon/eve - weight training
Friday - easy recovery
Saturday - endurance
Sunday - long endurance or group ride
This optimizes for cycling with weight training as secondary. You’ll be lifting with heavy legs but you get a full recovery day after any cycling intervals and/or weight training. You can’t insert the weight training on your recovery days otherwise you’ll be exhausted in short order.
I understand cycling and weight training are at odds with each other to some degree, but I’m so close to the noob end of the spectrum (3 years cycling, few months strength training) that I’d hope I could get some benefit from both.
The schedule you laid out really makes sense. I’ll give this a try along with my fitness pal and see if I can make something stick.