38 year old needs training tips
- Thread starter mattbmx
- Start date
Great stuff! 38 year old rider. Your never to old to ride
I'd say hit the gym, get your legs stronger. Or just practice, practice, practice. You have not got the edge younger riders have, but that's not to say you cannot build strenght and endurance, because you certainly can!
Eat right, drink right and train.
just ride a lot. And don't eat bad food. That will be all.
Great article.... i need to get 1 2 and 3 down, althought i go to the gym at least 4 times a week, i still feel my diet is dampening my efforts....
I don't eat Beef or Pork, but i do eat alot of other junk (chips, cholate, breads etc)
i know if i stop eating this junk i iwll be at my fullest but since i don;t eat the pork or beef it's like my body is calling for these junks foods... i started drinking Muscle Milk as well instead of having a full lunch, and eating fruits and veggies...
i think by next spring i will be RACE ready..
I'm the same age as you. What helped me out was strength training in the gym. I focused on a lot of one legged explosive movements. The rep range was around 10-15. For example, I started with squats, then hack squats, one leg presses, 1 leg extensions and 1 leg curls (3-4 sets of each exercise). Then, I do some plyo work. Good luck.
try intervals on hills... 40 second sprint, 20 second easy pedal, 40 second sprint, 20 easy etc. When the clock tells you to go, GO, when it tells you to go easy, go easy! I used my MTB on some of the longer road climbs to do this.
also, as was stated plyometrics(sp).
Intervals helped me with my MTB endurance and the quick bursts of speed needed to overtake people in XC races.
good luck (and I am only a few years behind you, and am going to start BMX racing this coming year!)
also, as was stated plyometrics(sp).
Intervals helped me with my MTB endurance and the quick bursts of speed needed to overtake people in XC races.
good luck (and I am only a few years behind you, and am going to start BMX racing this coming year!)
Hey I'm 38 this year.
I have the same problem - one thing that's working wonders for me is working on my core - lot's of core body exercises has imporved my 30 second burst enormously.
Get a gym ball and do lot's of core stability exercies. ALL your strength comes from here.
it's not about the endurance, it's about the quick powerful sprint. my advice is to start taking practice days very serious and soon you will not be so winded after a quick lap around the track...
BMX racing? Breathe... You would be surprised how poorly most people breathe while racing, especially BMX.
It is a high paced sprint, Usually four straights, all can be broken down into sprints.
Have you ever done grass sprints?
Also another really convenient one is to use the houses in your neighbor hood as if they were straights. Make sure the road isn't busy, start at the beginning of one house length stop pedaling at the end of it, turn around as fast as possible an repeat for a few "laps" You can also do ladders with this, One house turn, two house lengths turn, three house lengths turn and back down etc. I personally wouldnt go over three house lengths and even I think that is a lil excessive, when was the last time you saw a straight with that much pedaling?
I am a gym rat and I think it has its place but I really doubt any of us who do not ride for a living have our skills dialed enough to neglect time on the bike. The more the better.
My one issue with the gym especially for athletes or aspiring ones is 90% of the people I see at the gym are LAZY AS HELL. People will sit for three minutes in between sets, none of these people are close to being body builders or power lifters yet they think they need similar amounts of rest as a guy trying to move the absolute most amount of weight he can while working at 50-70% of max.
STAY BUSY! If you're doing legs thats dandy, why not keep your heart rate up the entire HOUR you're there. Do some sit ups in between, calf raises, slow stretching movements with light weights, figure out a training split that works for you, Just STAY BUSY, I promise it wont do a bit of harm!
If you really enjoy the gym and want it to benefit your riding look into kettle bells, plyometrics, compound movements or Olympic style lifts.
It is a high paced sprint, Usually four straights, all can be broken down into sprints.
Have you ever done grass sprints?
Also another really convenient one is to use the houses in your neighbor hood as if they were straights. Make sure the road isn't busy, start at the beginning of one house length stop pedaling at the end of it, turn around as fast as possible an repeat for a few "laps" You can also do ladders with this, One house turn, two house lengths turn, three house lengths turn and back down etc. I personally wouldnt go over three house lengths and even I think that is a lil excessive, when was the last time you saw a straight with that much pedaling?
I am a gym rat and I think it has its place but I really doubt any of us who do not ride for a living have our skills dialed enough to neglect time on the bike. The more the better.
My one issue with the gym especially for athletes or aspiring ones is 90% of the people I see at the gym are LAZY AS HELL. People will sit for three minutes in between sets, none of these people are close to being body builders or power lifters yet they think they need similar amounts of rest as a guy trying to move the absolute most amount of weight he can while working at 50-70% of max.
STAY BUSY! If you're doing legs thats dandy, why not keep your heart rate up the entire HOUR you're there. Do some sit ups in between, calf raises, slow stretching movements with light weights, figure out a training split that works for you, Just STAY BUSY, I promise it wont do a bit of harm!
If you really enjoy the gym and want it to benefit your riding look into kettle bells, plyometrics, compound movements or Olympic style lifts.
